CONCORD, N.C.: Securely locked into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, William Byron is feeling good going into the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
With some of the pressure off, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet still has his eyes focused on winning at the ROVAL; it’s back to work normally no matter where in the playoff field he sits.
Even with that being said, the No. 24 Valvoline Confetti Chevrolet driver is happy to be in his current position but smart enough to know that it is going to be a chaotic race due to the changes in the track layout and the fact that the wildcard race going into the Round of 8.
“Yeah, it’s great. It’s awesome,” Byron said Saturday.
“It changes the whole mood and vibe for the weekend, for sure. I mean, I haven’t really thought a lot about it, in terms of just trying to do the normal preparation and be ready for the race and try to go win.”
Addressing the changes in the track configuration after watching the NASCAR Xfinity Series in their practice and qualifying, Byron is confident in his chances on the track.
Comparing it to the sim practice he had before coming into the weekend, he reflected, “I mean, it looks really similar to what sim was like. So, for us, it’s really status quo. I feel like turns six and seven are definitely different. But yeah, it looks a little bit awkward.”
Still encouraged for Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400, the Charlotte, N.CN. native has a lot to say about the changes.
“Turn seven is a U-turn, really. It’s a very different corner. No banking whatsoever.
“I think you’ll see a lot of dive bombs there, for sure, and some spins because of that. I’m just curious to get out there. Hopefully, we can qualify well. Oh, and the frontstretch chicane, too, is slightly different. But yeah, I’m excited.”
Clearly, Byron has an advantage going into the Round of 8 as he is the only one who has a spare week to prepare for the first race of the penultimate Playoff Round, which begins at Las Vegas Motor (Nev.) Motor Speedway on October 20.
“Yeah, I mean it just allows us to get started on Las Vegas. We’ve already looked at tape, reviewed our setup, and started to get an idea of what we need for Vegas.”
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