Hendrick star William Byron’s regular season crown sparks big question is he built for the Cup title?

William Byron looked pleased in Victory Lane after winning his first NASCAR Cup Series Regular-Season Championship. The Hendrick Motorsports driver secured the title at Richmond Raceway with a 12th-place finish and a 68-point advantage over teammate Chase Elliott.

Byron has notched two wins so far this season. He defended his Daytona 500 crown in February and added another victory at Iowa Speedway in August. Byron became the youngest driver since Jeff Gordon to win multiple Daytona 500s in 1999. He is also just the fifth driver ever to win back-to-back Harley J. Earl Trophies.

But can Byron go from a regular-season title to winning the Cup championship? The current playoff format makes consistency tough, but Byron has performed remarkably well over the past few seasons. The No. 24 team with crew chief Rudy Fugle has also delivered consistent results with 12 wins and two Championship 4 appearances. Byron has certainly shown that he is built for the Cup title.

With the regular-season crown in his sixth straight playoff appearance since his 2019 rookie year and 15 playoff point buffer through elimination rounds this season, he is positioned for what's ahead.

"We've been through the wringer really" - William Byron ready for adversity ahead

William Byron now has nine top-five finishes and 13 top-10s from 25 races. The average finish of 13.68 and 241 stage points helped him with the regular season title, which he missed last season at Daytona by just one point to Tyler Reddick.

The 27-year-old kept his points lead despite crashes at the summer Atlanta race and the Chicago Street Race. He completed only one lap before a clutch failure forced him to retire in 40th place at Chicago. Another DNF and 31st-place finish at Dover dropped him to second for two weeks, but Byron reclaimed the top spot by winning at Iowa. After these crashes and mechanical failures, Byron is ready for a strong playoff run after the final regular-season race this weekend at Daytona.

"I feel like we have a really good team. We've been through a lot of different adverse situations. I mean, we've been through it all really, so I feel like that just weathers you for whatever adversity comes your way. That anxiety about what's going to happen next is not as high anymore. It's kind of like, OK, we're equipped to deal with those things and just perform. I mean, we've been through the wringer really, in a lot of ways, so I feel like we just are ready for that," William Byron said.

Byron has reached the Championship 4 and finished third in the title race at Phoenix in the last two years.