Byron finds himself in desperate situation after 12th place finish

William  Byron finished 12th in the Yellawood at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Oct. 2, putting himself in a potential must-win situation to keep his championship hopes alive. 

After spinning Denny Hamlin out under caution at the race prior at Texas Motor Speedway, Byron was handed a somewhat controversial 25-point penalty. The penalty dropped Byron from third in the standings, 17 points above the cut-line, to ninth place, eight points below the cutline. 

With Byron in this hole, stage points would be critical to boost his playoff standing. Ironically enough, he would work with Hamlin throughout the latter half of stage one. It was here that Byron would lead his only lap of the day. 

Bryon, however, was shuffled out, with a disappointing 11th place finish in stage one, earning zero stage points. After restarting in 15th for stage two, Byron would get shuffled to the back and was unable to fully recover. He would finish 13th in stage two. 

The final stage told a similar tale, as Byron started sixth. He was eventually shuffled back and was simply stuck in line, unable to pull out and pass anyone. He would quietly come home in 12th. 

The finish currently puts Byron 11 points below the eighth place cut-line. Hendrick Motorsports did announce last week that they would appeal the 25-point penalty, and Byron’s standing will be clear if they succeed.

Currently, Byron must either win the next race or score 11 more points than both Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe. If Christopher Bell or Alex Bowman steal the victory, and both do not enter into the top eight in the standings, Byron will have to outscore Daniel Suarez by 23 points, alongside outscoring Cindric and Briscoe. 

Byron’s next race will be the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is a part-oval, part-road course track similar to the iconic Daytona International Speedway. Byron has a career-best finish of sixth there, which he has achieved twice. 

Lipowski is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter