William Byron 2020 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
William Byron 2019 Stats: Points Finish 11th, 0 Wins, 5 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens, 14.9 Average Finish, 13.0 Average Running Position, 233 Laps Led, 85.01 Driver Rating
Strengths:
William Byron had a great 2019, and in 2020 he should be even better. He’ll have another year under his belt, and I think Hendrick Motorsports will field more competitive cars. Last year, Byron had a dramatic improvement from his 2018 rookie campaign. He made the Playoffs, and improved his average finish by 7.2 positions (22.1 to 14.9).
In 2020, I would look for William Byron to be at his best at intermediate tracks, big flat tracks, plate tracks and road courses.
One notable attribute that needs to be noted about Byron’s 2019 season is that he did a good job avoiding really bad results and only twice did he finish outside the top 25 (Engine failure at Homestead and a crash at Talladega).
Weaknesses:
William Byron has a lot to prove at short tracks. He had a great performance at Martinsville last fall (finished 2nd), but that’s also his only career top ten on this track type. Hopefully in 2020 he’ll show improvement at these venues.
Intermediate Track Fantasy Value – A-
William Byron is a solid performer at intermediate tracks who should be high on your radar in 2020. This upcoming season I think he’ll be a top ten contender on a weekly basis, and he’ll come home with a couple top fives.
Last season at intermediate tracks, Byron was quietly one of the better performers. He only finished in the top five once, but over the combined events minus Homestead (top ten contender but had an engine failure) he had a 12.9 average finish and an 11.8 average running position. Those numbers aren’t that far out of the ball park of some of the best drivers in the series. When you add in another year under his belt, and another year of meshing with crew chief Chad Knaus, I think it’s clear big things could be in store for him on this track type in 2020.
One variable I really like about Byron is how strong he closed out the 2019 season at intermediate tracks. From the Charlotte Coca Cola 600 to the conclusion of the season minus Homestead (10 races in total) he finished in the top ten 50% percent of the time, had a 10.4 average running position and a 12.4 average finish.
Flat Track Fantasy Value – B+
Don’t sleep on William Byron at flat tracks in 2020. I think he has potential to have a big season on this track type at both the bigger and the shorter-flat tracks.
In 2019 at the big flat tracks, William Byron ranked as one of the best. Over the three combined races he had a 5.7 average finish and was one of six drivers who swept the top ten. Pocono has been a great track for Byron and currently he has three straight top tens there. Last year he had results of 4th and 9th. Last year at Indy, Byron was fast and finished 4th.
At shorter-flat tracks, I would typically view Byron as a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who has a good chance to finish marginally better.
Short Track Fantasy Value – B
William Byron is a driver who has upside heading into 2020 at short tracks. Last year on this track type outside of Martinsville #2 he didn’t have a great season, but I think he’ll show improvement during his second year with Chad Knaus.
At Martinsville, Byron was very impressive last fall and legitimately finished 2nd. That result was surprising because in the three races prior to that he finished 20th or worse. Last spring he finished 22nd.
At Richmond, I think he’s a low double-digit driver who has a good chance to compete for a top ten. At RR, Byron has finished in the low double-digits the last two spring races and in the last two fall races he’s finished in the 20’s. Last year he finished 24th in the fall and 13th in the spring.
At Bristol, Byron has yet to crack the top fifteen. I will note one finishing trend is that he’s finished in the teens in the last two spring races and in the last two summer races he’s finished in the low-twenties. In 2019 he finished 16th in the spring and 21st in the summer.
Plate Track Fantasy Value – B
William Byron will be a driver to watch at superspeedways in 2020. He has a lot of upside this next season and you should definitely not overlook him.
At Talladega, Byron has never finished better than 20th and his average finish is 25.8. Last fall, Byron led 13 laps and ran well but wrecked and finished 33rd. In spring 2019 he ran well, but finished a misleading 21st. In the race he finished 7th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2 and was running in 9th with 4 laps to go until he wrecked on the last lap.
At Daytona, Byron had a good 2019 season. In the summer he finished 2nd and in the season opening Daytona 500 he started on the pole, led 44 laps, earned the best driver rating, had an 8th place average running position, led 44 laps, finished 2nd in Stage #2 but finished an asterisk mark 21st. With 4 laps to go he was running in 7th, but then with two laps to go he was caught up in a multi-car wreck. In summer 2018, Byron showed potential but while he was leading (led 12 laps) he crashed which led to his 32nd place finish. In Stage #1 prior to his demise he finished 4th.
Road Course Fantasy Value – B+
William Byron was a great driver at road courses last year, but on paper he didn’t look that great because he had two clunker results.
Last year at the Charlotte Roval, Byron started on the pole, led 23 laps and finished 6th. It was a great afternoon for him. In 2018, he wrecked.
At Watkins Glen, Byron looked strong last year but had “Kyle Busch” problems and finished 21st. If he didn’t try to exact revenge which backfired he was likely a top ten contender. In 2018 at Watkins Glen he had a great race and finished 8th.
Sonoma hasn’t been a bright spot on the schedule for Byron. Last year, Byron started 2nd, led 21 laps and was likely top ten good but poor pit strategy hampered his afternoon and led to a 19th place finish. In 2018 he finished 25th.
