William Byron’s short-run pace at New Hampshire Motor Speedway could rescue a season that has rarely matched the No. 24 team’s standard. On August 23, Byron will fire toward Turn 1 with fresh tires, hot brakes, and little time to think. The first five laps may offer his best chance to seize control.
Every Loudon restart creates the same blunt challenge. Find grip immediately or spend the next run staring at another car’s rear bumper.
Byron sits 12th with 568 points after 22 races. He remains inside the Chase field, but the standings reveal a sharp decline from his dominant 2025 campaign. Byron has no wins, four top fives, nine top 10s, and three DNFs this season. His average starting position has fallen from 9.94 in 2025 to 15.77 in 2026. According to NASCAR’s official driver data, his laps led have plunged from 1,331 to 136.
The year has felt painfully uneven from inside the car. During a May interview at Dover, Byron summed up the frustration without polishing it.
“It’s like we finished top 10, we finished 30th, we finished top 10, 30th,” Byron said. “It’s kind of been that for five weeks now.”
That choppy rhythm has defined the No. 24 season. Poorer qualifying has buried Byron in traffic. Several crashes have compounded the problem. When speed finally appears, track position or strategy has often kept the team from finishing the job.
New Hampshire offers a chance to break that cycle. A strong car over 30 laps will help. Explosive speed over the first five could decide the afternoon.
Qualifying Must Create the First Advantage
Byron’s Loudon blueprint should begin on Saturday.
Starting near the front matters everywhere, but New Hampshire magnifies the value of every row. The 1.058-mile oval carries only two to seven degrees of banking through the corners. Both straightaways sit at one degree. Without steep banking to support the car, drivers lean heavily on mechanical grip and clean airflow.
A 12th-place starting spot would force Byron to burn his best tire grip while passing slower cars. Fifth place would give him room to pressure the leaders before the balance changes.
That distinction matters because the No. 24 has rarely controlled races in 2026. Byron has started outside the top 10 in 13 of the first 22 points events. Traffic then exposes the car’s weakest moments, especially when the front tires lose bite behind another vehicle.
Starting in the first three rows instantly amplifies Byron’s short-run speed. Clean air helps the nose respond under braking. It also lets him choose his entry instead of following another driver’s line.
The evidence arrived last September. Byron qualified fifth at New Hampshire and finished third, earning his first top 10 in eight Cup starts at the track. The result encouraged him, although he admitted the Team Penske cars were “kind of in another zip code.”
That podium proved Byron can solve Loudon. Now, the No. 24 team must dictate the pace earlier.
Five Frantic Laps Can Define a Full Run
Loudon restarts look violent because every driver understands the same truth. Passing becomes harder once the field stretches out.
Engines crack against the rev limiter. Rear tires spin across painted lines. Spotters shout as three lanes briefly squeeze into two. By the time the leaders reach Turn 3, someone has usually gained four positions and someone else has lost them.
Byron cannot wait for the car to settle.
Fresh tires briefly provide the front grip needed to brake deep and rotate beneath another car. That window closes as temperatures rise. Once the right-front begins sliding, a small mistake can send the No. 24 into the marbles beyond the preferred groove.
A missed apex does not merely cost half a lane there. The gray rubber can carry a car toward the wall while three rivals dive underneath.
Short-run pace at New Hampshire demands precision, not reckless aggression.
Turn 1 Starts with Brake Release
The fastest way into Turn 1 may not produce the fastest way out.
Byron must attack the brake pedal hard enough to gain ground without shocking the rear tires. As he nears the center, a smooth release should transfer the load and help the car rotate.
Holding brake pressure too long pins the nose and unsettles the rear. Releasing too early creates the opposite problem. The Chevrolet refuses to turn, scrubs the right-front tire, and leaves Byron waiting on the throttle.
Finding that early speed requires balance, not blind bravery.
A clean center lets Byron straighten the wheel before applying power. That small advantage protects the rear tires and creates a stronger launch toward Turn 2. Over five laps, a few feet at each corner can become several car lengths.
The Outside Lane Cannot Become a Trap
The outside groove can provide momentum on restarts, but it carries risk.
Loose rubber gathers beyond the main lane as the run develops. One small slide can push the right-side tires into that debris, where grip disappears almost instantly.
Byron needs enough front response to move up when the lower lane stacks. He also needs the rear security to cross seams without snapping loose.
That combination would make his early restart speed useful in traffic, not just clean air. Without it, the No. 24 may turn one aggressive move into three lost positions.
Rudy Fugle Must Give Byron Immediate Rotation
Crew chief Rudy Fugle faces a difficult compromise. The No. 24 must turn sharply on fresh tires without becoming unstable later in the run.
A car built only for long-run security may feel comfortable after 25 laps. It could also surrender the first two rows before reaching that point. Loudon rarely returns those positions cheaply.
Fugle can attack the problem through small, deliberate adjustments. A half-round of wedge can tighten or free the rear, depending on Byron’s balance. One-pound tire-pressure changes can alter initial response and heat buildup. Byron can also move the brake bias from the cockpit as fuel burns away.
Specific feedback will drive those decisions.
“I’m tight” tells Fugle almost nothing. Byron must explain whether the nose stops turning during brake release, through the center, or under throttle. Each phase points toward a different fix.
The final stop may demand restraint. One precise adjustment could unlock the grip needed to win. Two aggressive changes could ruin a car already running inside the top five.
Byron’s 2026 Slump Raises the Stakes
The No. 24 team does not need to manufacture desperation. Its results already provide enough urgency.
Recent oval races have offered signs of progress. Byron finished third at Pocono, then led a season-high 94 laps at Chicagoland. He appeared positioned to fight for the victory before Chase Briscoe gained the lead during the final green-flag pit cycle. Byron eventually finished fourth.
Those performances showed the No. 24 has begun recovering speed. They also exposed how little margin remains between a strong afternoon and another missed opportunity.
After Chicagoland, Byron said the car finally made more sense and that the team had begun “inching up on it.” New Hampshire will test whether that progress can survive on a flat, brake-heavy oval where track position disappears quickly.
The timing makes that test even more important. NASCAR’s restored Chase format rewards season-long consistency rather than giving every race winner an automatic postseason berth. The top 16 drivers in regular-season points advance, while a victory now pays 55 points instead of guaranteeing qualification.
Byron holds a comfortable cushion above the cutline, so Loudon does not represent a must-win race. It represents a chance to turn recent speed into championship form before the Chase begins.
The postseason no longer features elimination rounds. All 16 qualifiers will race across 10 events, and the points leader after the finale will claim the championship. One poor afternoon can linger for weeks. A breakthrough can do the same.
That makes Byron’s recent momentum valuable, but fragile. Pocono and Chicagoland suggested the No. 24 has rediscovered something. Loudon will reveal whether the team can hold onto it when the corners flatten, the brakes heat up, and every restart becomes a fight for survival.
Pit Road Must Protect the Fastest Laps
Even the best short-run car can disappear with one sluggish pit stop.
Dropping Byron two positions could bury him behind cars using the same preferred lane. Losing five might force Fugle into a two-tire gamble or an off-sequence strategy.
The No. 24 crew needs clean stops more than heroic ones. A secure wheel, a clear pit exit, and a strong launch will preserve Byron’s track position. From there, Fugle can choose strategy instead of chasing it.
Caution timing and remaining laps will dictate the tire call.
Four fresh tires provide maximum grip, but they may send Byron behind drivers who take two. Right-side tires could protect his position while giving him enough response to attack. Staying out might work during a very short sprint, although the first corner would become an exercise in survival.
Byron’s early restart speed gives Fugle freedom only when the No. 24 remains close to the front.
The Final Restart Can Reset the Season
Late afternoon at Loudon carries a different sound.
Brake rotors glow behind the wheels. Spotters speak faster. Drivers hunt for clean rubber as shadows stretch across the flat corners. One caution can erase a comfortable lead and turn 250 laps of work into a three-minute fight.
That scenario should suit Byron.
His 2025 podium removed the idea that New Hampshire represents an unsolved weakness. The No. 24 ran near the front, survived a changing balance, and finished behind two stronger Team Penske cars.
A year later, the goal must rise from survival to control.
The Dollar Tree 301 will run at 3 p.m. ET on August 23. The 301-lap race serves as the penultimate event of the regular season, with only Daytona remaining before NASCAR sets the Chase field.
Byron does not need to lead every lap. He needs enough short-run pace to lead the decisive ones.
Qualifying can place him near the front. Fugle can tune the car for clean center rotation. The pit crew can preserve track position. After that, Byron must turn preparation into instinct.
The green flag will wave, and the field will spread across the frontstretch. Fresh rear tires will claw at the pavement. Ahead, turn 1 will arrive with almost no banking and even less forgiveness.
Byron will have five laps before the grip fades, the traffic settles, and every mistake becomes harder to repair.
Can the No. 24 take the race before anyone else realizes it has started?
READ MORE: Tire Falloff Will Decide the Winner at the Dollar Tree 301
FAQs
Q1. Why does William Byron need short-run speed at New Hampshire?
Passing gets harder after the field stretches out. Byron needs immediate grip on fresh tires to gain positions before the preferred groove settles.
Q2. How did William Byron finish at New Hampshire in 2025?
Byron started fifth and finished third. The result gave him his first Cup top 10 at New Hampshire in eight starts.
Q3. Why is New Hampshire Motor Speedway difficult to drive?
The corners have only two to seven degrees of banking. Drivers must control braking, mechanical grip and rotation without much help from the track.
Q4. How does NASCAR’s 2026 Chase format work?
The top 16 drivers in regular-season points qualify. All 16 contest 10 races, and the final points leader wins the championship.
Q5. When is the 2026 Dollar Tree 301?
The race starts at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 23, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
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