William Byron comments on fighting with Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott for the regular season championship

William Byron has made it clear that the rivalry of the regular season championship against his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott is on their minds at least through the week, before and after races. Both drivers regularly look at the points standings just after the races to get an idea of where they are.

But Byron stressed that when it comes to the actual race, decisions are not made with points in mind, as making the best decisions in terms of the race takes priority.

At this moment, Byron leads the points standings by 18 points over Elliott, which means that the rivalry is close and very fierce. This lead (to Byron) was lost after Elliott briefly overtook him after the race in Dover, until it was recovered through his latest win at Iowa Speedway.

With the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers leading the pack followed by teammate Kyle Larson, every race has great importance in their bid to win the regular season title and earn extra playoffs points. As a result, the internal competition between the Hendrick drivers is serving as a major spotlight of the season.

William Byron said in a media availability:

"Yeah, it's on the front of our mind, for sure, during the week. I'm sure every driver's guilty of looking at the points right after the race. So yeah, as soon as we get those after the event, you know, typically Bob (Pockrass), Jayski or whatever, we just look at them and be like, okay, here's where we're at and here's how many points we got this weekend."

"It’s more before and after the weekend. I would say there's very little decision-making during the race that changes because of the points. I think you just try to run the best race that you can, and typically that's how you get the most points."

William Byron expressed enthusiasm for the ongoing rivalry, describing it as a "fun stretch" with all three drivers and their teams working hard to stay competitive.

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William Byron looking forward to fighting Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson for NASCAR regular season crown

William Byron emphasized the importance of consistent effort and maintaining pace rather than focusing excessively on the points margin, acknowledging that there is still much racing left in the season and that playoff points accumulated can shift the dynamics.

Byron also has a solid record at Watkins Glen, with one win, three top-10 finishes, and 66 laps led over six starts, underscoring his potential to continue challenging Elliott and Larson on this road course.

"It's definitely going to be a fun stretch. I feel like all three of us are working really hard and all of our teams are fast and competitive.

"We've just got to keep putting in the effort and the work and showing up every week and just approaching it the same way. I'm looking forward to the challenge of it. I think Watkins Glen is a really good track for all three of us and just got to put in the work this week to make sure we're ready to go and fast there," William Byron added via SiriusXM Radio.

Elliott briefly held the points lead after the Dover race, but Byron reclaimed it by capitalizing on stage points and consistent finishes.