William Byron makes feelings known on Denny Hamlin’s failure to clinch maiden NASCAR Cup championship

William Byron addressed Denny Hamlin's failed bid for the title at Phoenix Raceway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver paid his respects to Hamlin and explained how his late-race wreck caught him off guard.

Hamlin put up a dominant 208-lap lead during Sunday's Cup Series championship race. Notably, he led the event on seven occasions and posted the fastest lap time by race's end.

However, his race unravelled after Byron's tire failure with three laps left. When Hamlin had rolled into the pits for four sets of fresh rubber, Kyle Larson had already left his stall with two right side tires. This left Hamlin in the fifth row and on the bottom lane.

The overtime restart didn't favour the No.11 driver, as Larson finished ahead of the final four contenders and secured his first Cup Series title in the Next Gen Era. In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, Byron relayed his sympathies for Hamlin.

"Yeah, it stinks, right?....Denny was on his way to it. I hate that. There’s a lot of respect there. I obviously do not want to cause a caution. If I had known what tire it was, known that a tire was going down before I got to the corner, I would have done something different. Yeah, you just feel like a passenger. It sucks,” he said.

William Byron later apologised to Hamlin for bringing out the caution. He was ultimately marked 33rd on the running order, while Team Penske's Ryan Blaney won the 319-lap event. Notably, the race marked Byron's second consecutive front row start.

---

William Byron details his tire failure

William Byron went over his tire failure and shared his regret for wrecking out at Phoenix. The No.24 driver noted that he sensed something was off during the final stages, but hoped to make it to the end without incident.

"I don’t know, three laps to go, I’m thinking, Let me get to the end. I felt something funny off of two, thought it might be a flat. I thought at the time if it’s left rear, you can kind of get back. It just went straight into three. Laid down on the right rear, went straight. I hate that," he said via aforementioned source.

Notably, all four title contenders encountered a flat tire during Sunday's race. The reason being, most teams opted for air pressures well below the recommended levels of Goodyear. Hamlin, on his side, was also troubled by clutch issues, the latest in a string of mechanical setbacks that have plagued the No.11 team this season.

William Byron capped his season with a fourth place in the driver's standings. With three wins, 11 top-5s, and 16 top-10s, the HMS driver records an average finish of 14.5.