William Byron persevered through brutal conditions to make Championship 4

Oct 14, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) during qualifying for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

William Byron was the fourth driver to qualify for the Championship 4, and he was the only one to qualify based on points. The driver No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports endured some really tough conditions to qualify.

Byron finished 13th in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. That was enough for him to finish eight points ahead of Denny Hamlin for the final spot in the Championship 4. Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney all qualified by winning races.

Temperatures were hot at Martinsville over the weekend, and Byron had lots of difficulty keeping his helmet cool during the 500-lap race. Byron battled poor vision over the last 60 laps on Sunday because he was struggling to keep cool.

William Byron was so hot in the car (again struggled to keep his helmet cool) that his vision was bad that last 60 laps or so. But with so much at stake, Byron said as bad as he wanted to pull in, that wasn’t happening.

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) October 29, 2023

“It was kind of hell in a bottle,” Byron said after the race, via RacerMag’s Kelly Crandall. I’ve never been so mad in a race car, I’ve never wanted to get out so much, I’ve never been so frustrated at the car…”

Byron said he probably would have pitted to fix the issue if a spot in the Championship 4 weren’t on the line. But since it was, he endured the hot conditions and poor vision.

Now it will be Byron, Larson, Bell and Blaney battling for the Cup Series championship next weekend in Phoenix. Byron has won 10 Cup Series races in his career. The 25-year-old driver has won six races this season, including March’s race at Phoenix Speedway.