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Hendrick Motorsports’ shining star, William Byron, currently dominates the playoff table. With a whopping 4041 points, he stands a comfortable +20 points above the cut-off line, largely thanks to his triumphant performance at Texas during the playoff’s second-round opener. Yet, AJ Allmendinger and Ryan Blaney weren’t to be outshined, which ensured Byron didn’t clinch subsequent wins. To solidify his spot in the Championship-4, Byron might have to taste victory once more. Will he be able to do it? Here is what the numbers say.
William Byron’s prowess has been evident since the very start of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, and as he stormed into the Round of 8, never finishing below second in the Round of 12, it became quite evident that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Las Vegas, however, has historically been a more challenging track for Byron. With an average finish of 13.1 across 11 races, he’s only managed to find himself in the top 10 on four occasions and in the top 5 just twice. Yet, among these finishes lies his first-ever win (in March 2023) at this track since commencing his Cup Series journey in 2018. The victory, especially on a track that didn’t seem to favor him, would have surely been a morale booster.
As October 15, 2023, approaches, marking the commencement of the Round of 8, Byron is keen to replicate his spring triumph. A win here could cement his position among the elite top 4. Besides that, Homestead-Miami has seen mixed results for him—out of five races, he’s clinched one victory and two top-10 finishes. And in Martinsville? In 11 ventures, he’s made it to the top 10 six times, impressively four of which have been in the recent three years.
While each of the three circuits could potentially see Byron emerge victorious, a triumph in Las Vegas would undeniably ease his journey ahead. But as ever in the world of racing, Byron isn’t alone in his quest for glory in Las Vegas. Several formidable contenders have been leaving their mark on the track, backed by impressive statistics.
But as the tides of time shift, Kyle Busch has risen to the fore, boasting an enviable average of 6.9 on the track. Yet, with Busch out of championship contention, the spotlight now turns to Kyle Larson. His record speaks for itself: he’s secured top-10 finishes in 10 of his 14 Cup starts at Las Vegas, including a stellar win in March 2021. And let’s not forget his back-to-back second-place finishes in the previous and current season’s spring races. Since 2018, Larson has impressively led 314 laps at Las Vegas.
Then there’s Martin Truex Jr, another force to be reckoned with. His achievements include 14 top-10 finishes in 23 Cup starts at Las Vegas, maintaining a streak in his last six races. Truex savored victory on this track twice (in 2017 and 2019), though his recent playoff performances have seen him finish no higher than 17th.
Denny Hamlin is another name on the tip of every pundit’s tongue. His track record features 11 top-10 finishes in 23 Cup starts at Las Vegas. His most recent triumph was the playoff race in 2021, managing a respectable 11th place in this season’s spring race.
