Is This Finally William Byron’s Breakout Year?

Is this finally William Byron’s breakout year?

Zach Gillispie: No. Five wins in the last 86 races is pretty impressive already. Young William Byron has already proven that he belongs at the top rung of the stock car racing ladder. He’s been a perennial playoff threat over the past three seasons. He consistently runs in the top 10. So what more is there to prove?

For it to truly qualify as a breakout season, he would need to have a Kyle Larson 2021-type season to truly break out of his current performance. And a Larson 2021-type season has only happened once in a generation. The chance Byron could do that this year is basically zero.

Luken Glover: For the third consecutive season, Byron has earned a win within the first five races of the season. Last year, he was considered a title favorite early on … then the summer hit. That summer time of year is crucial for both Byron and Alex Bowman. Several Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the past have had the summer make or break their season because of the momentum that is needed for the playoffs.

For Byron, his summer performance in his young career has not allowed him to break through. I have a lot of confidence in the pairing with Rudy Fugle, so they could certainly break out this season. It just comes down to consistency.

Mike Neff: Way too early to make a call on that. Hendrick certainly seems to be back in its familiar position as one of the most dominant teams in the sport. With the absence of Chase Elliott, Byron is in a position to grab a few more wins, but he still has Larson to deal with under the same roof. Let’s see what it looks like when we hit the midpoint of the season.

Wyatt Watson: Although Byron and Hendrick dominated at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I need to see Byron beat his teammates and execute on a week-to-week basis. He did the same thing last year, winning early in the season and falling off for the rest of it. I hope to see consistency out of Byron for the rest of the year, but right now, Byron hasn’t shown that he will completely break out in 2023.

NASCAR Cup Series TV ratings have been down every race this year. Should NASCAR be concerned?

Neff: Again, a little too early to panic. There are some compelling stories starting to develop and there are numerous personalities in the garage who will attract eyeballs to the sport. If FOX would cut down the pre-race show and pay a little more attention to the post-race, it wouldn’t…