William Byron has revealed he is even hungrier for success after once again missing out on the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Byron was one of four drivers in contention to lift the Bill France Cup heading into Sunday afternoon's race at Phoenix Raceway, but the Hendrick Motorsports driver came up just short.
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In the end, Byron finished the race in 3rd, but unfortunately for him, in second and first were two of his championship rivals Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano.
It is the second consecutive year that Byron has finished third of the championship four in the title-deciding race having finished fourth overall in the same event last year.
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Byron hungrier for success
Reflecting on missing out for a second straight season, Byron admitted it has only made him more determined to win the championship in the future.
"Makes you hungrier," Byron explained to the media post-race. "But also, just more experience in what it takes.
"I feel like this style of track has been tough on us and we've made a lot of strides this year, but still more to go.
"If we can just kind of inch up on this style of track, I know we're so good at all the other ones, and we can put it all together."
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He gave his fans plenty to celebrate this season. @WilliamByron comes home third in the championship after a hard-fought Sunday in Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/rpfffeThhA
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 11, 2024
Reflecting on the race more generally, Byron revealed that he just did not have the pace to keep up with the Team Penske cars.
"We just needed a little bit more," he said.
"I felt like we gave it all we had, and that's something to be proud of.
"We just didn't have enough to fight with the Penske guys."
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