William Byron responds to whether he feels pressured about securing a Championship 4 berth for HMS

William Byron went over the 'hope and expectation' of making the championship four for Hendrick Motorsports. The No.24 driver dismissed the notion that his regular-season championship adds to the pressure whatsoever.

Bryon claimed the Busch Light Pole after Saturday's qualifying at Martinsville Speedway. He posted a lap time of 19.286 seconds and overcame Ty Gibbs with a narrow margin of 0.002 seconds.

His HMS teammate Kyle Larson starts third, while Joey Logano rounds out the second row. Both Logano and Byron are in a must-win situation to qualify for the final four.

When Byron was asked if he felt any pressure to secure the championship berth as a regular-season champion, the No.24 driver had a measured response.

"Hadn't thought about it that way. I think just the expectation of our group, right? Just the last couple years and trying to continue to improve. That's what you want to do every year is improve. So, no, I think the regular season championship is its own separate merit and we've seen that, you know, with the way the playoffs go every year," Byron replied via Youtube/Frontstretch.[0:57 onwards]

"So you can never kind of rely on that. But yeah, I think just based on our past history, I think there becomes that kind of hope and expectation that you can do better the next year," he added.

With his pole start, William Byron has the priviledge of pit stall selection for Sunday's Xfinity 500. He's currently fifth on the playoff standings with 36 points below the cutline, while his teammate Chase Elliott stands last with a 62-point deficit.

Final Four contender Denny Hamlin will roll off fifth and could play spoilsport to Byron's chances, since a win for the No.11 team will automatically qualify Christopher Bell for the finale, leaving Larson in prime position to point his way through. Notably, Hamlin won the last outing at the 0.526-mile track.

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Kevin Harvick picks William Byron as favorite to win Martinsville

William Byron is coming off a disappointing finish at Talladega Superspeedway. He lost a potential top-5 placing when he spun out a few feet from the finish line.

Nonetheless, on the latest episode of Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick chose William Byron as his pick for a Martinsville victory. His co-host Mamba Smith agreed with his choice and named Byron as his pick as well.

“I'm gonna pull an asshole move right here. It's not gonna be my championship for a pick, but I, as a defensive gesture. I'm just gonna pick William Byron," Harvick said.

William Byron has a fairly decent track record at Martinsville Speedway, finishing among the top-10 more often than not. He won the first Next Gen race at the short track and repeated the feat last year in the spring race.