TODAY’S TALKER

Kyle Larson is widely considered to be the most naturally-gifted driver at Hendrick Motorsports and there’s little doubt that Chase Elliott is the most popular.

But as of March 2023, William Byron might just be the team’s best driver.

It’s been a slow, steady rise for Byron, who has won two straight NASCAR Cup Series races after pushing past Larson in overtime on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway during a pair of frantic restarts. The 25-year-old won in remarkably similar fashion last week at Las Vegas.

“We have four capable teams and four capable drivers of carrying the banner every weekend,” Byron’s crew chief Rudy Fugle said. “Pretty amazing.”

Byron got a relatively late start in racing as a teenager, but has been a quick study. The North Carolina native won twice last season and now looks like a weekly threat while teaming with Fugle.

This is Byron’s sixth season with Hendrick and he received a contact extension last season after winning two races early in the year at Atlanta and Martinsville. He had a mid-season lull before closing with seven top 10s in his final 11 races and finished sixth in the Cup standings.

It’s part of a progression that’s slowly pushed him among NASCAR’S elite drivers.

Now with two wins in the season’s first four races, it’s clear Byron is aiming for the No. 1 spot.

“This level is so different. Took a lot of homework, a lot of details,” Byron said.“i think the fact that I started later than most driving was a little bit — it took some time to bridge that gap at this level.

“Now that gap is bridged obviously.”