William Byron (racing driver) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids

William Byron

Byron at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2025

Born

William McComas Byron Jr.
November 29, 1997 (age 27)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.

Height

5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)

Weight

154 lb (70 kg)

Achievements

2024, 2025 Daytona 500 Winner
2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion
2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion
Most wins by a rookie in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (7 in 2016)
2022 Slinger Nationals Winner
2022, 2023 Clyde Hart Memorial Winner
2022 Money in the Bank 150 Winner
2022 North-South Super Late Model Challenge Winner
2022 Orange Blossom 100 Winner
2019 Daytona 500 Pole Winner
2020 Bluegreen Vacations Duel Winner

Awards

2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year
2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year
2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year
2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Rookie of the Year

NASCAR Cup Series career

272 races run over 8 years

Car no., team

No. 24 (Hendrick Motorsports)

2024 position

3rd

Best finish

3rd (2023, 2024)

First race

2018 Daytona 500 (Daytona)

Last race

2020 FanShield 500 (Phoenix)

First win

2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Daytona)

Last win

2025 Daytona 500 (Daytona)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
14	115	15

NASCAR Xfinity Series career

43 races run over 5 years

Car no., team

No. 17 (Hendrick Motorsports)

2024 position

84th

Best finish

1st (2017)

First race

2017 PowerShares QQQ 300 (Daytona)

Last race

2025 BetMGM 300 (Charlotte)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
5	27	3

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career

31 races run over 6 years

Truck no., team

No. 07 (Spire Motorsports)

2023 position

88th

Best finish

5th (2016)

First race

2015 Lucas Oil 150 (Phoenix)

Last race

2025 Heart of Health Care 200 (Kansas)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
8	20	3

Statistics current as of May 24, 2025.

William Byron (born November 29, 1997) is a professional stock car racing driver from the United States. He races full-time in the top NASCAR series, called the NASCAR Cup Series. He drives the No. 24 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He also races part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

William Byron has won several championships and awards. He was the champion of the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series. He also earned the Rookie of the Year award in three different NASCAR series: the Truck Series (2016), Xfinity Series (2017), and Cup Series (2018). He is famous for winning the Daytona 500 in both 2024 and 2025.

William Byron's Racing Journey
Personal Life
Images for kids
See also

William Byron's Racing Journey

How William Started Racing

William Byron became interested in racing when he was six years old. He watched a stock car race on TV and later went to a race at Martinsville Speedway in 2006. As a teenager, he started racing on a computer simulator called iRacing. He won over 100 online races!

In 2012, when he was 15, William and his father looked into how he could start racing real cars. He began racing Legends cars that year. This was a bit late compared to many other drivers who start very young. Still, he won 33 races and became the Legend Car Young Lions Division champion.

In 2014, Byron joined the JR Motorsports team for late model racing. He raced the No. 9 Liberty University Chevrolet. He won one race and had 11 top-five finishes, ending the season second in points.

Racing in the K&N Pro Series

Byron racing at Sonoma in 2015

In 2015, Byron signed with HScott Motorsports to race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He also continued racing late models for JR Motorsports. In his first K&N East race, he finished seventh. He won his second race of the season at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, leading every lap.

Byron also made his ARCA Racing Series debut in July, finishing second after leading 120 laps. He won four K&N East races and became the series champion. He also raced in two K&N Pro Series West races, finishing fifth and second.

Success in the Craftsman Truck Series

On October 29, 2015, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that Byron would race full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2016. He drove the No. 9 Toyota Tundra. He started the 2016 season with some tough luck but soon found his stride.

Byron won his first Truck Series race in May at Kansas. He then won again in Texas and Iowa. He also won at Kentucky and Pocono Raceway. His win at Pocono broke the record for most wins by a rookie in the Truck Series, with five wins. The previous record was held by Kurt Busch with four wins.

During the playoffs, Byron won at New Hampshire. However, an engine problem at Phoenix stopped him from competing for the championship. He finished fifth overall, with seven wins, eleven top-five finishes, and 16 top-ten finishes. He was also named the Rookie of the Year.

Byron returned to the Truck Series in June 2021, driving for Rackley W.A.R. at Nashville Superspeedway. On April 7, 2022, he drove the No. 7 for Spire Motorsports and won at Martinsville, giving the team its first Truck Series win. In March 2023, he returned to Kyle Busch Motorsports for three races.

Winning in the Xfinity Series

Byron's No. 9 car at Road America in 2017

On August 18, 2016, Byron signed a contract with Hendrick Motorsports. He then raced full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2017, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro SS for JR Motorsports. He finished second at Michigan.

One week later, Byron won his first Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway. He won again the next week at Daytona International Speedway in an overtime finish. He also won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Phoenix. The Phoenix win put him in the final four drivers to race for the championship. At the final race in Homestead, Byron won the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.

Byron returned to the Xfinity series in 2022, finishing second at Texas. In 2023, he raced once at COTA, finishing second. In 2024, he drove in four Xfinity races. In 2025, Byron won a race at Charlotte in the No. 17 car.

Cup Series Highlights

Byron’s No. 24 car at Sonoma in 2018

2018: Rookie of the Year

In 2018, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Byron would drive the No. 24 car. He took over the team from Kasey Kahne. Byron earned the Rookie of the Year award after the second-to-last race of the year. This made him the second driver to win Rookie of the Year in three different NASCAR series in a row.

2019: First Playoff Appearance

Byron started the 2019 season strong by winning the pole position for the Daytona 500. His consistent performance during the regular season helped him make it into the playoffs for the first time. He advanced to the Round of 12 but was eliminated after the Kansas race.

2020: First Cup Series Win

In 2020, Byron won Duel 2 of the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, which helped him start fourth in the Daytona 500. He later earned his first career Cup Series victory at Daytona International Speedway in August. He won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in overtime, which secured his spot in the playoffs. However, he was eliminated after the first round.

2021: A Strong Season

Byron started the 2021 season by qualifying second for the Daytona 500. He won the third race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading most of the final laps. This win began an impressive streak of eleven top-ten finishes. He also had top-five finishes at Martinsville, Talladega, Darlington, and Dover.

His top-ten streak ended at the Circuit of the Americas, where he finished eleventh. He bounced back with a fourth-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After a tough race at Sonoma, he had two third-place finishes at Nashville and Pocono. He made it to the Round of 12 in the playoffs but was eliminated after the Charlotte Roval race. He finished the season tenth in the points standings, a career best at the time.

2022: More Wins and Challenges

Byron’s No. 24 car at Sonoma in 2022

In 2022, Byron had some early challenges but quickly bounced back with wins at Atlanta and Martinsville. In May 2022, he signed a contract to stay with Hendrick Motorsports until 2025. At Darlington, he was close to winning his third race but was passed near the end.

During the Texas playoff race, Byron had an incident with another driver. He was initially penalized, but the penalty was later changed to a fine, and his points were restored. He was eliminated from the playoffs after the Round of 8, finishing sixth in the points standings, which was a new career best.

2023: A Dominant Year

Byron celebrating his win at Las Vegas in 2023

Byron started the 2023 season with a tough race at the Daytona 500. However, he quickly won back-to-back races at Las Vegas and Phoenix. His team faced some penalties for car adjustments, but many of these were later changed.

At Darlington, Byron earned his seventh career win, which was also the 100th win for the No. 24 car. He won his fourth race of the season at Atlanta, in a race shortened by rain. He then claimed his fifth victory at Watkins Glen. His sixth win of the season came at Texas, marking Hendrick Motorsports' 300th Cup Series victory. Byron finished the 2023 season third in the points standings.

2024: Daytona 500 Champion

Byron’s 2024 Daytona 500 winning car

Byron started the 2024 season by winning the Daytona 500. This was the first Daytona 500 win for the No. 24 car since 2005 and for Hendrick Motorsports since 2014. It was also special because it happened exactly 40 years after Hendrick Motorsports ran its first race.

A month later, he won his second race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas. On April 7, Byron won his third race of the season at Martinsville. This was a big day for Hendrick Motorsports, as Byron and his teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott finished in the top three spots on the team's 40th anniversary. Even though he didn't win a playoff race, Byron made it to the Championship 4. He finished the 2024 season third in the standings.

2025: Another Daytona 500 Win

Byron started the 2025 season by winning his second Daytona 500 in a row. This made him only the fifth driver in history to win the race in back-to-back seasons. On May 23, he signed a contract extension to stay with Hendrick Motorsports until 2029.

Personal Life

William Byron was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. His parents are Bill and Dana Byron, and he has a sister named Kathryn. He attended Charlotte Country Day School and also took online classes through his sponsor, Liberty University. He graduated in May 2016 and is currently studying business communication at Liberty University. Byron is also an Eagle Scout.

Byron is a Christian. He has said that he believes racing is part of God's plan for him to share his faith with others in the racing world and with fans.

On May 4, 2021, Byron shared on Twitter that his mother, Dana, was being treated for a type of tumor in her brain. On July 27, he announced that she had recovered from the illness.