NASCAR Cup Phoenix
Byron: 'Still some work to do' on short track aero package
William Byron believes NASCAR’s Next Gen car was clearly more difficult to drive Sunday at Phoenix but whether the racing was better remains a question mark.
Jim Utter
Published: Mar 13, 2023, 10:46 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Sunday’s race served as the debut of NASCAR’s new aero rules this season for road courses and a majority of tracks measuring 1.058-mile or less in distance, including Phoenix.
The rules package, which was tested in the offseason at Phoenix, consists of a 2-inch spoiler and the removal of three diffuser strakes and engine panel strakes. The changes led to approximately 30-percent reduction in downforce.
It was visibly clear in the race the cars appeared more difficult to handle and slid around the track to a much greater degree than last season.
However, when it came cars’ ability to pass – especially in the front of the field – there was little noticeable change.
“I thought (the car) was really difficult to drive. Like from an objective standpoint, I know we were competitive, but I didn’t think we could pass any better,” said Byron, who rallied in overtime to win Sunday’s race, his second consecutive win.
“There’s still some work to do there with something going on with how tight they get in traffic. They were certainly hard to drive and I think that’s a good test to see who is the best out there (on the track).
“I think it just shows, like, guys were having to drive their cars and manage that. It made for a really difficult challenge inside the race car. How many times I slipped, how much slip was too much, how much was enough to keep going fast. That was a good challenge.”
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro and Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro
Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
The statistics pretty much backed up Byron’s observations.
Last spring at Phoenix, there were 14 official lead changes (counted at the start/finish line) among six different drivers. There were also eight cautions in the race.
On Sunday, there were 10 official lead changes among six drivers with five cautions in the event.
Last spring, NASCAR’s loop data registered 2,058 total green-flag passes throughout the field in the race, including 13 for the lead.
On Sunday, that same data registered 2,584 total green-flag passes throughout the field, including 14 for the lead.
Statistically, there was more passing in Sunday’s race but there was little to no change when it came to the number of drivers competing for the win.
Generally, one race isn’t an accurate measure of how the package could play out the remainder of the season.
But in this instance, the Cup Series’ championship race is held at Phoenix, so it can serve as a predictor of how the package could play out in November.
Byron noted, though, there is a lot of time between now and the end of the season and Cup teams will do a lot of work on the cars during that time.
Read Also:
“The cars are going to change a tremendous amount. I kind of keep that in the back of my mind,” he said. “As far as the balance goes, I thought we had the balance really good to start the race. I was sliding around a lot. Seemed to be sliding less than everybody else.
“Just when I got back in second, the dirty air is so significant, I just started to get tight. As soon as I was hung up in second, I just focused on trying to be consistent and maybe we get to lap traffic and something would happen.”
Asked how NASCAR should evaluate the success of the aero rules, Byron said, “I definitely think we need to kind of objectively look at was this a better race or not. That’s really what it comes down to.
“From my standpoint, yeah, it tests me a lot more, but there’s still some element we have to figure out with how tight the cars are. I think we’ll keep working through that.
“I’m open to anything. I just want us to have options as drivers. I want it to be hard to drive, but I also want to be able to pass.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Josh Berry was "mixing it up" on way to career-best finish
Next article Hamlin admits NASCAR contact with Chastain "wasn’t a mistake"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jim Utter
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
Latest news
Official race results: 2026 NASCAR Cup Phoenix II
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
5 min
Official race results: 2026 NASCAR Cup Phoenix II
Tyler Reddick wins Phoenix NASCAR Cup thriller as Kyle Larson crashes
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
10 min
Tyler Reddick wins Phoenix NASCAR Cup thriller as Kyle Larson crashes
WEC Barcelona: Toyota scores dominant 1-2 to seal manufacturers’ title
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
6 h
WEC Barcelona: Toyota scores dominant 1-2 to seal manufacturers’ title
Hailie Deegan eying NASCAR Truck return but future plans remain uncertain
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Phoenix
6 h
Hailie Deegan eying NASCAR Truck return but future plans remain uncertain
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe