William Byron’s Tough Truth After Talladega: ‘We Couldn’t Get Enough Help’
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Alex Harrington is a contributing sports writer located in the West Midlands, England. His focus is on F1, NASCAR, and the technology behind the sport. Alex joined Newsweek in March, 2024, having previously written for DriveTribe, Men’s Journal, and Sports Illustrated. He is a graduate of the Open University with a BA (Hons) degree in Business. You can get in touch with Alex by emailing, a.harrington@newsweek.com. You can find him on X @AlexOnRacing.
Alex Harrington
Sports Contributing Writer
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William Byron had high expectations for the NASCAR 2025 Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Despite a strong performance that saw him fight for the lead, he finished his campaign in fourth place.
Byron is consistently strong on superspeedways. As a two-time Daytona 500 winner, he has the skills to unpack a strong weekend. But Talladega still remains a nut he is yet to crack.
“We had the No. 48 [Alex Bowman] behind us and he was doing a good job pushing. It just seemed like we couldn’t get enough help from the third guy in line and that’s what it takes. For whatever reason, the top lane just couldn’t get the runs off the corner at the right time to get connected.
“We’d get connected too late and then get a little bit squirrely and lose our momentum. I wish just that one time, we could have connected a little better to stay even with the bottom lane, but we were working really hard to do that with the No. 2 [Austin Cindric].
William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, 2025 in Bristol, Tennessee. William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, 2025 in Bristol, Tennessee. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
“It just seemed like it took a lot of effort for us to maintain the track position on the front row. Live and learn. The No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet team did a good job today. We had some issues and had to work on it. We got it better and then we were able to race there in the final stage, so really happy with that. We always want a little bit more.
“I feel like we were in the perfect position there with 10 laps to go.”
Byron also faced mechanical issues with his car that added to a difficult race. A steering issue made him think he was going to crash, but his team was able to fix the issue.
Talking to Fox Sports, he said the following on his struggle:
“[It] seemed like some kind of steering issue,” Byron admitted. “The guys did a great job getting it to where I could drive it there in the third stage… The first part of the race was really sketchy trying to steer through situations and change lanes, but really proud of our team.
“To be able to overcome that is a testament to what our team is this year and the things we can do.”
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