William Byron has eyes set on 10-win NASCAR season in 2024

With his most successful season behind him, William Byron is ready to get back to business in the NASCAR Cup Series. Byron led the series in wins this year, taking six checkered flags. He also made an appearance in the Championship 4, finishing third overall this season.

After his breakout year, William Byron could be more than happy to just waltz into next season. He could get complacent. That doesn’t seem to be the plan of attack for the youngest driver in this year’s Phoenix championship race.

2024 is Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th year in NASCAR. For Byron, who claimed the 300th win for Hendrick, it is a big deal. But that isn’t what is motivating him. The battle for a championship is what is fueling his goals for next season.

“I mean, I’m not going to go into next year just because it’s the 40th year and say, ‘man, I really want to win,’ but I hope I win more races than I did this year. I hope I win 10,” Byron said during NASCAR Champion’s Week in Nashville, via NASCAR.com. “So that’s the goal, and I told everybody that we just want to be the fastest next year. We were really good this year, we were always in the mix and always one of the guys, but just want to be faster next year.”

10 wins is a rarity in the modern era of NASCAR. Since Jeff Gordon’s record-tying 13 wins in 1998, only two drivers have won double-digit races. Jimmie Johnson in 2007 and Kyle Larson in 2021. So, why can’t William Byron be the next Hendrick driver to hit the 10-win mark?

William Byron is ready for the ‘next step’

So, how much of a jump is it for Byron to go from six wins to 10? Well, it isn’t as far off as you think. The No. 24 car stole some wins over Kyle Larson at Las Vegas and Phoenix early in the year. He also stole one from Bubba Wallace late at Texas.

He’s a great restart driver, especially when races are coming to a close. At Kansas, Byron was P3. At Charlotte, he was P2 behind Ryan Blaney. Byron was also P2 at both Talladega and the Charlotte Roval. There are four races right there that could have gone a different way and led to more wins for Byron.

Knowing how close they were on so many occasions, William Byron is just ready to take that next step.

“When you look at the results, I felt like we finally put together what we’re capable of, and just the consistency and the being there every week,” Byron said“… I feel like the next step for us is just pushing all those little boundaries — me as a driver, us as a team — and just being a little bit more aggressive and being a bit more on the edge. That’s honestly what I’m focused on.”

At times, William Byron can be dismissed as a “boring” driver. So, hearing he wants to ramp up the aggression – that’s very interesting. Of course, Byron is a tough racer, ask anyone who goes up against him on Sundays. If he’s looking to get more intense on the track, we could see very interesting finishes from Byron in 2024.