William Byron will hit the Kansas Cup race with an ‘extra’ edge over Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and more

Hendrick Motorsports ace William Byron expressed his confidence heading into the weekend at Kansas Speedway. As the only HMS driver getting extra seat time in the Truck Series, he's poised to gain an advantage over Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, and other drivers.

On Tuesday, May 6, Spire Motorsports announced Byron as their Truck Series driver for Saturday's Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway. He's set to pilot the No.07 Chevy Silverado in partnership with Hendrickcars.com, marking his second such outing of the season after Martinsville Speedway.

Byron placed outside the top ten at the Truck Series race in Martinsville, while his subsequent bout in the Cup Series saw him finish further back in 22nd. His HMS teammate Kyle Larson, however, attempted a tripleheader sweep at Bristol and Homestead-Miami and ended up securing a Cup Series win on both occasions. Byron won't be chasing a triple this weekend, but he's hoping his double-duty effort at Kansas will yield a similar result.

On Thursday, May 8, Byron spoke with the media and shared his chances at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

"Kansas has always been a pretty good track for me, (crew chief) Rudy (Fugle) and the No. 24 team. Plus, I’m going to have some extra track time in the truck this weekend which always helps," William Byron said.

The 27-year-old went on to reflect on his fourth finish outside the top ten at Texas Motor Speedway.

"Obviously, we were disappointed with how Texas ended but also it just shows the level this team is working at that a 13th-place finish is a ‘bad day.’ It makes me proud to be a part of this group. Hopefully we can regain momentum in Kansas,” he said.

William Byron had his best start to a season with a win at the Daytona 500. Since then, he has logged seven top-ten finishes to place him at the top of the driver's standings. Moreover, his record at the 1.5-mile tracks this year has him with the second-best average finish at 9.67, a promising sign as he heads to Kansas Speedway.

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How does William Byron fare against his HMS teammates at Kansas

William Byron leads the field in average finish this season, marking an impressive 8.9 from eleven starts. However, he trails behind his HMS teammates at Kansas Speedway, as Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman all rank above him with better finishes in the Next Gen era.

Notably, Larson and Bowman are tied with an average finish of 7.2, while Elliot and Byron share a matching average of 10.8. Of the four drivers, Larson is the only driver to emerge victorious with a checkered flag last year.

Bowman's best finish comes at fourth, as Elliot precedes him with a third-place finish. In his last outing in 2024, William Byron began in sixth and took home a stage win en route to a runner-up finish. Despite missing the top step, the result proved worthy for the 24 driver, as he surged to the top of the playoffs standings with a race-high 17 stage points.