LONG POND, Pa. – For the second consecutive Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series William Byron started first and finished ninth.
On the heels of his second Cup Series pole at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, the Charlotte, N.C.-native rode the wave of his third top-10 finish of the year to Pocono’s Tricky Triangle.
On Saturday, Byron earned his third career Cup pole and led 25 of the race’s 160 laps to earn his fourth top-10 finish of 2019.
“Yeah, it was really good,” said Byron. “We had some really good parts of the race. We kind of went for the points, which with the way the strategy was, it was hard to get back there. But we got a lot of points today, which was great. I know it doesn’t sound super good, but we had really good stages and really good runs there.
“So, we were able to go from 12th to ninth on that last restart and that was nice, and we finished with a top-10, so hopefully we can go to Michigan and be able to improve on that even more.”
Closing in on the halfway point of his sophomore season of competition, Byron has tied his rookie record for the most top-10 finishes in his career. Furthermore, Byron joined teammate Chase Elliott as the only Hendrick Motorsports cars inside the top-10 during the 400-mile race.
Byron noted that passing was at a premium on Sunday and should it have been easier to maneuver around his competition; his finish could have been even stronger.
“I wish it was a little easier, but it felt like any time I got within striking distance to somebody, I just couldn’t quite get there and I’d lose as much as I gained and then I’d have to work that all back for 10 laps and then lose it again. It was just really hard,” Byron added.
“I don’t know if that was just me or what, but it was hard to complete it. The only times I could really make a move was when I just went in there and almost crashed the guy trying to do it and just got so close that it got loose. There were very few times I could get that close, but if I could, that was how I passed guys.”
The 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion took a liking to the 2.5-mile triangle after winning in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2016 and earning one of his four top-10 finishes in his rookie Cup season last August.
For a while, all four-Hendrick Motorsports machines appeared poised to finish inside the top-10 for the second straight week but handling problems plagued drivers Alex Bowman and Jimmie Johnson in the waning laps.
While the 21-year-old Byron seemed somewhat satisfied with the finish, he is eager to put his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 inside the top-five and eventually contending for race wins.
“Another pole is obviously awesome. I have to work on some things and just clean it all up and I think we’ll be really close. But overall the guys did a great job on the car and this was a solid day.
“We’ve had two in a row now. That’s great for us.”
Looking at the bigger picture, the guidance of crew chief Chad Knaus, just his 14th Cup race working with the Liberty University college student is slowly paying dividends.
With each passing week, the chemistry continues to build with the hope that Byron will soon return to his winning ways at the sport’s pinnacle level.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
