William Byron handed brutal reality check by – Sports News
William Byron has been handed a brutal NASCAR reality check by Steve Letarte and Kyle Petty, with each explaining why he will not win a championship this season.
Following a weekend off, NASCAR Cup Series motion resumes this weekend at Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 350, the primary of the ultimate 4 races of the common season earlier than The Chase. As issues stand, Byron, who lately went public with girlfriend Kylan Darnell, sits above The Chase cutline, with the Hendrick Motorsports driver at the moment twelfth within the driver standings.
Byron has not gained a race this season. He has recorded 4 top-five finishes and 9 top-10 finishes. Last season, the 28-year-old gained the NASCAR regular-season championship and made the Championship 4, a feat he additionally achieved in 2023 and 2024. He additionally gained the 2025 season-opening Daytona 500, defending his 2024 crown within the course of.
This season, nonetheless, has not gone in addition to Byron would have favored. In his final 9 begins, Byron’s solely two top-five finishes got here at Pocono and Chicagoland, with each different race seeing him end outdoors the highest 10.
For that motive, NASCAR analysts Letarte and Petty have questioned his title aspirations this yr, explaining that they consider the Hendrick Motorsports racer has no shot at a championship.
“William Byron has not had back-to-back top 10s. Top 10s! Not top fives. Has not had back-to-back top 10 finishes since March,” Letarte mentioned on a current episode of “Inside the Race”.
“It’s hard to be considered a real contender when you can’t run in the front 25 percent of the field on a week-to-week basis.”
Petty then rendered his verdict on Byron’s 2026 season, with the previous NASCAR driver explaining that he and Hendrick Motorsports didn’t have enough about them to beat any adversity they could be dealt on the observe.
“When a misstep happens, they don’t have the speed or make the right calls or whatever it may be, to recover,” mentioned Petty. “They just disappear.”
“They go from running 5th to running 4th to gaining on somebody to being oh f— how did they get to 13th and why are they running there?”
Byron at the moment sits 88 factors above the Chase cutline with 4 races to go. While he at the moment appears like a comfy guess to make the playoffs this yr, it doesn’t seem he might be as severe a contender as he has been in prior years.
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