William Byron has ascended the professional ranks of auto racing more rapidly than anyone in recent memory. Going into his seventh season in the NASCAR Cup Series, the 26-year-old driver will once again join crew chief Ryan "Rudy" Fugle to double down on the success they found last year after being reunited from their NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series days. In 2024, Byron is poised to continue to build on his already impressive racing résumé when he climbs back behind the wheel of the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports.
Byron has quickly amassed an impressive list of accomplishments including a NASCAR national series championship. His body of work is especially impressive considering he first drove a race car just 10 years ago. In 2018, he collected his fourth consecutive rookie of the year award, and in 2019, he finally competed on the track without a yellow rookie stripe adorning his back bumper – securing his first-ever Cup Series playoff berth. Byron continued his success in 2020, capturing his first Cup Series win at the historic Daytona International Speedway in August, locking himself into the Cup Series playoffs again. He didn’t stop there, capturing his second Cup Series win in 2021 and his third consecutive playoff berth. With the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022, Byron got off to a hot start winning two races in the spring, locking himself into his fourth consecutive playoff appearance. Byron progressed his way to the Round of 8 for the first time in his Cup Series career, finishing a career-best sixth in the driver point standings. In 2023, Byron elevated his performance to another level, collecting a season-best six wins and progressing his way to the Championship 4 for the first time at the Cup level, ending the season a career-best third in points.
Hendrick Motorsports signed Byron, then 18, in August 2016 when he was a record-breaking rookie in the Truck Series. By the end of his season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, he had racked up an astounding seven victories, 727 laps led out of 3,248 laps completed and three pole positions en route to rookie of the year honors with Fugle calling the shots along the way. Although Byron narrowly missed winning the championship due to an engine failure, it was the most successful debut season in series history.
In 2017, Byron moved up to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports, where in addition to winning the series championship, he earned four wins, two pole positions, 12 top-five finishes, 22 top-10s and rookie of the year. His title-winning campaign included victories at Iowa Speedway, Phoenix Raceway and the historic venues of Daytona and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he became the youngest winner of a major race in the track’s 108-year history.
As Byron competed for a championship in the Xfinity Series, Hendrick Motorsports announced his next – and biggest – career move in August 2017. Not only would he take the next step to the elite Cup Series, but it would be in the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet made famous by four-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and his storied Rainbow Warriors team. Like Gordon, Byron went on to claim the rookie of the year title, becoming only the second driver to win the honor in each of NASCAR’s three national series in back-to-back-to-back seasons.
Heading into 2019 with veteran crew chief, seven-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Chad Knaus on top of the pit box for Byron’s sophomore season, the duo got off to a quick start by capturing the pole for the season-opening DAYTONA 500, the driver’s first in the Cup Series. From there the No. 24 team continued to bring speed to the track week-in and week-out, collecting four additional pole awards, leading 233 laps and collecting five top-five finishes and 13 top-10s. Continuing to check off boxes of first-time accomplishments, Byron made his first appearance in the playoffs at NASCAR’s highest level and progressed his way to the Round of 12 before ultimately ending the season just shy of the top 10 in points in 11th.
Making his way into his third season in the Cup Series, Byron and Knaus continued their success together kicking off the 2020 season with a win in the qualifying race at Daytona before going on to capture the checkered flag again at the 2.5-mile superspeedway – this time in August for the final race of the regular season. That win locked Byron into his second consecutive playoff appearance in the premier series, finishing the year 14th in points with 140 laps led, nine top-five finishes and 14 top-10s.
Reuniting with Truck Series crew chief Fugle for the 2021 season, Byron’s fourth season at the Cup Series level was a breakout year for him. He started the season off capturing his second Cup Series win – this time in just the third event of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The dynamic duo continued to find success together during the year going on a streak of 11 consecutive top-10 finishes, making Byron the youngest driver to hold a top-10 streak of 10 races or more. The early success locked Byron into his third consecutive playoff appearance where the driver of the No. 24 went on to finish a Cup Series career-best 10th in the point standings.
Kicking off his second Cup season with Fugle on the box, Byron and the rest of the field had to adapt to the newly introduced Next Gen car. Byron wasted no time though getting acclimated, scoring two wins within the first eight races of the season – his first multi-win season at the Cup level. His wins at the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway and then at Martinsville Speedway locked him into his fourth consecutive playoff showing. In May, Byron inked a three-year contract extension to keep with Hendrick Motorsports through the 2025 season. Continuing his momentum in the playoffs, Byron raced his way to the Round of 8 for the first time in his Cup Series career, ultimately finishing a career-best sixth in the point standings.
Entering into his sixth Cup Series season, and third with Fugle, the dynamic duo doubled down and made 2023 their best season yet. Kicking off the year with back-to-back wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix, Byron not only locked himself into his fifth consecutive playoff appearance but continued his winning ways collecting three more wins before the final 10-race stretch. The success didn’t stop there though when Byron picked up his first playoff victory, coming at Texas Motor Speedway, which also was the 300th win for Hendrick Motorsports. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native then went on to lock himself into his first Championship 4 appearance at the Cup level, ultimately ending the season a career-best third in the points standings.
As a child, Byron began following NASCAR and begged his father to take him to his first race at Martinsville in 2006. He soon became a regular on iRacing, an online racing simulator used by many professional drivers, and developed into a student of the sport. Realizing it had become more than just a hobby, his father took Byron to visit the U.S. Legend Cars International headquarters in Harrisburg, North Carolina, in the summer of 2012 to learn about an affordable and accessible way to begin real-world racing. They attended an event at Concord Speedway, which confirmed what Byron’s father already knew: His son, then 14, was all in.
No one could have predicted what would follow. Byron began competing in the U.S. Legend Young Lion Division in 2013, a year in which he won nearly half of the 69 legend car events he raced across the United States. All totaled, he earned 33 victories en route to the 2013 U.S. Legend Young Lions National Championship and the 2013 Thursday Thunder Young Lions championship at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was his first year driving race cars.
At the end of 2013, Byron moved up from the Legends Young Lion Division to the Legends Pro Division, winning races and championships in two winter series – the Winter Nationals at Auburndale Speedway and the Winter Heat Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway. For 2014, he signed to compete regionally in full-size stock cars for JR Motorsports, the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Byron acclimated quickly to late model stock cars, earning one win, seven poles and 15 top-five finishes in 30 starts for JRM. Success at Hickory Motor Speedway and Caraway Speedway earned him the North Carolina rookie of the year title in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Late Model Series.
Byron’s rapid progression continued in 2015 when he competed in 36 races across four different series – ARCA Menards Series, CARS Super Late Model Tour and NASCAR Whelen All-American – and scored six wins, five poles and 19 top-five finishes in addition to the ARCA Menards Series East championship and rookie of the year honors.
Outside of racing, Byron is passionate about his education, his faith and giving back to his community. He is currently enrolled in online classes at Liberty University, which has supported his racing career since 2014 and continues as one of the primary sponsors of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. Byron, who is studying strategic communication, experienced college life in the fall of 2016 when he lived on campus for his first semester while competing in the Truck Series.
In 2015, Byron became an Eagle Scout, the highest achievement rank of the Boy Scouts of America, which he earned while racing full-time and attending high school. On Dec. 5, 2017, Byron received the Good Scout Award from the Mecklenburg County Boy Scouts of America. The award celebrates members in the Charlotte community who exemplify what it means to represent and serve the Boy Scouts organization at a high level.
When he’s away from school and the racetrack, Byron’s hobbies include watching and attending sporting events, keeping up with his fitness regimen, iRacing and golfing. He is an avid fan of his hometown Carolina Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes.
