The results don’t necessarily show it, but William Byron overachieved in his first real test in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Byron started 23rd and quickly fell a lap down near the end of the first stage. At that point, he was running outside of the top 30 and just too loose to make any progress. Much of that was his inexperience with the driver-adjustable track bar. Once the reigning Xfinity Series driver got a better feel for the tools at his disposal, he began picking off drivers inside the top 20.

It's worth noting that the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is the only division that features a driver-controlled track bar.

"We started the race so loose and I just had to work on dropping the trackbar quicker," Byron said. "I just didn’t do it quickly enough. I’m not used to having that, so, we gained on it a lot. I felt like by probably the seventh or eighth pit stop we were at our best potential.

"And then from there we just kind of leveled off. I just couldn’t find rear grip, but overall it was fun out there. I felt like the top of (turns) 1 and 2 was my strongest point, but I would wear out the right-front tire quicker, just had to manage that."

Byron will be working with veteran crew chief Darian Grubb this season. Grubb won the 2011 Cup Series championship with Tony Stewart and has been tasked with mentoring Byron as he navigates his first full-time season.

The driver and crew chief had a pretty lengthy conversation after the race, and Grubb said he is still trying to establish chemistry with the 20-year-old.

"Yeah, we're still trying to learn each other and get him used to how these races run," Grubb told Autoweek after the race. "We lost a lap, got loose and had to get him to drop the track bar an inch and even tell him to drop it 4 or 5 inches if he needs to, because this is his first time using it.

"So we’re learning what he’s comfortable with, how he communicates and how to get the kind of feedback we need to get him up to speed."

Byron eventually found decent speed and finished 18th. One thing Grubb says he’s preaching is patience, both for his driver and anyone who is watching their early progress.

"I feel like we overachieved this weekend, with a top-20 and having (fallen) two laps down," Grubb said. "We played some strategy cards at the end and got some track position back. I feel good about finishing 18th because we were about a 23rd- to 25th-place car and we were able to exceed that at the end. Daytona and Atlanta are so unique that it’s hard to draw any conclusions."

Grubb says it’s way too early to compare Byron to Stewart, Denny Hamlin or Jimmie Johnson -- drivers whom Grubb has taken to 23 career victories as a crew chief. However, Grubb is encouraged by the little things that Byron has done since they first met last year.

"He's a student of the game," Grubb said. "He's always watching video and asking the right questions. He's incredibly committed."

Grubb said he and Byron had an extremely productive winter test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and believes next weekend could be the first time the rookie pushes towards the top 10.

True to form, Byron is taking mental notes each time he gets in the car.

"I learned a lot this weekend," Byron said. "A couple of things that I will keep in mind, especially for worn-out race tracks. I had a good time out there."

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