William Byron 1-on-1: On being a championship favorite, his path from iRacing

William Byron leads the NASCAR Cup Series with five victories and is tied with Martin Truex Jr. atop the standings heading into the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.

Byron typically enters the playoffs as an underdog and just getting out of this Round of 12 would have been considered a solid season. But with five victories and more than 200 Cup starts for the Hendrick Motorsports driver, Byron is now considered someone who should make his first appearance at Phoenix among the four drivers with a shot at the championship.

Last week at Bristol, Byron talked with FOX Sports about now being a championship favorite with the victories and Rudy Fugle as his crew chief, being the driver everyone knows was the first to really use iRacing to learn the sport before actually racing a car, and being the driver of the No. 24 — a number made famous by now-Hendrick Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon — while growing up a fan of Jimmie Johnson, a teammate but somewhat rival of Gordon's. 

What's it like going in knowing some people are looking at you as a favorite rather than one of the guys people aren't sure about? 

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Listening [to commentators] and just getting the general pulse, I feel like we're in the top three or four, but I don't know if we're exactly the favorite. The 19 [of Truex] was really strong through the summer and they still have a lot of speed. I think we're right there. But I feel like our team operates well being in contention, but we're not necessarily a clear favorite. I don't think there's a way to categorize that with the Next Gen car because there is really no huge advantage between teams. 

How do you feel about this weekend at Texas? And the fact that you haven't been there this year, how different is that race, compared to maybe a year ago? 

I'm definitely intrigued to see how the track has evolved and changed. I look at the IndyCar race there, they had a really racy racetrack to drive on — you could use both grooves. We haven't seen that track widen out more than two grooves. And I don't think it will. But it is really nice to see that there are two grooves to race on. So I feel like we just have to improve what we did at Kansas a little bit. We've had a good foundation for the mile-and-a-half tracks. But recently, I feel like we've just needed to fine-tune our balance. We've been a little bit too loose on those tracks. So hopefully we fine-tune that and have something really fast for Texas. We have a lot of good notes to look at and we were fast there last year, too.

If you get to Phoenix, you've won there. But you've also never been in the final race running for the championship. Which is a bigger deal: the fact that you won there and have confidence or not knowing what it's like in that scenario?

We definitely don't have the experience at this level in that kind of race. But Rudy and I collectively have had experience in those kind of situations, so I feel like we're poised in those positions. I feel like we're very capable. Phoenix has been a hit-or-miss track for us, but we've always seemed to hang around the top-10 there. We just need a couple of small improvements to be a little bit better. But obviously the win there in the spring shows that we're capable, and I feel like we can show up there with good speed going into that race. So just a matter of getting there first. I won't really think about Phoenix until the week of because that's just how I process races. And I feel like that's how I perform is just putting all my emphasis on each race weekend.

Do you still feel like you are kind of carrying the banner for iRacing and that being the development tool to get into the sport?

I do. I think that I'm always the computer kid that everyone looks at, which I embrace. I feel like that's my nature — I'm very data driven, facts driven, and I like to look at things in black and white. So I think data and simulation has always been that for me. And it's nice that the sport is working in that direction. I feel like I have an advantage in that sense. I've noticed the sport really evolve and how much we use simulation. And I'm always going to have roots there. But I feel like personally, over the last three, four years of my career, I've really raced a lot across the country — a lot of short tracks. I feel really weathered. I feel like I've been in a lot of different situations. I think I've gotten both sides of the sim world and racing around short tracks around the country. 

You almost did it a little backward. You did some late model stuff before you did a lot of NASCAR national, but you almost have done more late model stuff the past three or four years.

When Rudy and I got together, he really pushed me to go run some more late model events. And I probably have run 20-to-25 of those across the country the last three years, so it's been great. I've learned a lot. I've raced the truck series, Xfinity. I didn't need a lot of growth in those series, I don't think, for how quickly I came through. But definitely the late model ranks, going back and racing against the best of the best has been fun.

Did anybody ever tell you growing up that you're spending too much time racing on the computer?

My dad. My mom and dad, they definitely were wondering what I was doing all the time. But it worked out. So that's advice for any kid out there. 

To defy their parents?

Follow your dreams more so.

Does the 24 still carry the significance in the sport for Jeff Gordon fans? Do you find that you still have a lot of them because you drive that number? 

I do. I think we get a lot of support from a lot of traditional Hendrick fans, 24 fans. So I feel like that's always been there for me, even my rookie year when I struggled a little bit. Looking back, I didn't struggle as bad as I thought I was compared to the modern-day rookie. It definitely was tougher than I expected. And I think the fans stuck by us, and they continued to support us. And then when we started to win races and win multiple [races], it seems like they've always been there for us.

You were a Jimmie Johnson fan growing up. Jimmie didn't always love Jeff Gordon. What was it like driving the 24 and were you a Gordon fan, too? 

I was. I was obviously a Jimmie fan, but being a Hendrick fan, I loved both of them. And I've grown really fond of Jeff just getting to know him personally. So I think, honestly, I still obviously have a great relationship with Jimmie. But Jeff and I have gotten really close over the last few years. And I think it's been kind of an acquired relationship. When I watched him race, I was like, ‘Man, I wanted the 48 to win,' but now I love talking to Jeff. 

He probably was thinking about who is going to learn racing on a computer and do the job. So he probably needed some convincing, too?

Definitely. That was one of the things that we talked about coming into the Cup Series. He was like, "OK, you've been through all this sim racing and a little bit of real racing, but what's it going to be like in the real world of the Cup Series?" He's helped me prepare for that a lot. 

What To Watch For

It will be hot in Texas but a bit of likely good news — the race is 400 miles instead of 500 miles.

Goodyear also is bringing a new tire after durability issues last year. 

Last year, teams had the all-star race at Texas about four months prior to the playoff race. With the all-star race moving to North Wilkesboro, the Cup teams haven't competed at Texas for a full year.

There also will be no traction compound put on the track.

So what does it mean? Hopefully, fewer cars having an issue but also a bit of an unknown.

What is known? There are certain drivers who are quite solid at Texas. But only seven previous Texas winners are in the field: Kyle Busch (four), Denny Hamlin (three), Kevin Harvick (three), Austin Dillon (one), Tyler Reddick (one), Kyle Larson (one) and Joey Logano (one).

Reddick won last year despite a long green-flag pit stop during the second stage because of a vibration and then a jack issue. He was one lap down.

Busch, Hamlin, Reddick and Larson are still alive in the playoffs. Expect all of them to be in the mix Sunday.

Thinking Out Loud

The Cup race at Texas will be 400 miles. Texas has traditionally had 500-mile Cup points races.

It's always a balance when deciding whether to shorten races. Fans travel from hundreds of miles and many of them camp. Track promoters want to give them an event worth that effort to get to the track, and some feel like that shortening event actually cheapens it, from either a quality or monetary value.

If it's a shorter race, should the track charge less for a ticket? If it's a shorter race, do track concession prices need to increase to match sales from having an event longer in previous years?

But look at the weather forecast for this weekend — it will be in the 90s. It will be hot. For all those who might be upset it is a shorter race, there might be just as many, if not more, who feel a 400-mile event is long enough.

Competitors and the industry probably like it. At 400 miles, it's enough to determine who has the best car and make for a compelling race. They will use fewer sets of tires and the race doesn't potentially drag as long.

But it should be more up to the fans who go to the track as well as viewers at home to determine the best length of the race for a track. NASCAR should monitor that closely this weekend to make sure that a 400-mile race — a change from 500 miles that has occurred at other tracks with primarily positive reviews — at Texas is best for that facility.

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They Said It

"Battled hard and executed. That's what you've got to do." —Bubba Wallace after advancing to the Round of 12

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.