Jeff Gordon says HMS will diagnose what drivers went through after William Byron’s “eye opener” Kansas race

Kansas was a struggle for Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron. For much of the 301-lap event, Byron ran outside of the top 20, but, like he said in a post-race interview, the No. 24 team came to life in the final stage.

The driver bagged a P9, marking his 15th top-10 performance of the season. The Round of 12 is underway, and Byron is one of the playoff contenders. So, it could have cost a lot.

Thankfully, he sits inside the top-10 in playoff standings with a 40-point cushion on the cutoff line. In a recent release, Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon said that Byron’s day was an eye-opener.

Evaluating the team’s situation 31 races into the season, the former NASCAR Cup Series champion said:

“The 24 was the one that was kind of the eye opener today. They were pretty far off. They come out of here with a top 10 because they didn't give up either. That one's got our heads…scratching our heads, and we'll go back and diagnose kind of what they went through and why they were in that position.”

"I think that's what we're dealing with is just the inconsistencies there, because you're just playing with hairs, and when you miss it, it can really make you look like you're having a bad day. The 24 is a good example of that. They tried a couple things, and all of a sudden they look like the car just came to life all of a sudden out of nowhere." Gordon added.

Byron bagged 28 points in all, bringing his total tally to 3110, 14 points behind the current points leader, Kyle Larson. His other teammate, Chase Elliott, won the race in an electrifying 10th-to-first overtime leap, thus bagging a spot in the Round of 8. Alex Bowman, who isn’t in the playoffs anymore, finished 28th.

William Byron weighs in on his “Hail Mary” Kansas outing

William Byron was confused because, for some reason, he couldn’t get the No. 24 car to his regular-season championship-winning speed. He voiced his frustration on his team radio, saying he was too slow. After a few adjustments, the #24 Chevy made the top-15 in the final stage.

However, the team scored no stage points due to Byron’s lacklustre run for most of the race.

“It was really confusing, honestly,” William Byron said, reflecting on his day. “I couldn’t carry any speed, and then the changes we made seemed to fix it, and I could carry speed there at the end. Even on two tires, I was competitive on the restarts.”

“It sucks that we’re having to throw ‘Hail Marys’ this time of year. We don’t want to do that,” he added.

Next up for William Byron is the Bank of ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Fans can watch the race on USA (Sunday, October 5, 3 p.m. ET) or listen to live radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.