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William Byron
William byron (52866408601) (cropped).jpg
Byron at Dover Motor Speedway in 2023
Born William McComas Byron Jr.
(1997-11-29) November 29, 1997 (age 26)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 154 lb (70 kg)
Achievements 2024 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)
2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Winner
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
217 races run over 7 years
Car no., team No. 24 (Hendrick Motorsports)
2023 position 3rd
Best finish 3rd (2023)
First race 2018 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race 2020 FanShield 500 (Phoenix)
First win 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Daytona)
Last win 2024 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
11 84 12
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
37 races run over 3 years
2023 position 78th
Best finish 1st (2017)
First race 2017 PowerShares QQQ 300 (Daytona)
Last race 2023 Pit Boss 250 (Austin)
First win 2017 American Ethanol E15 250 (Iowa)
Last win 2017 Ticket Galaxy 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
4 24 3
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
29 races run over 5 years
2023 position 88th
Best finish 5th (2016)
First race 2015 Lucas Oil 150 (Phoenix)
Last race 2023 Tyson 250 (North Wilkesboro)
First win 2016 Toyota Tundra 250 (Kansas)
Last win 2022 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
8 19 3
Statistics current as of November 5, 2023.

William McComas Byron Jr. (born November 29, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award in the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. The following season he won both the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship and 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year. Byron also won the 2018 MENCS Sunoco Rookie of the Year award. He is the 2024 Daytona 500 winner.

Racing career

Beginnings

Byron became interested in racing when he was six years old after seeing a stock car race on television, later attending a race at Martinsville Speedway in 2006. He began racing on the iRacing simulator as a teenager with over 100 wins and 298 top fives in online competition.

In 2012, he and his father explored how Byron could start racing offline, in real cars. He started racing Legends that year at the age of 15, relatively late for modern drivers. That year he won 33 races and became the Legend Car Young Lions Division champion.

For 2014, Byron signed with JR Motorsports late model program, in addition to continuing Legends competition. Byron competed in the No. 9 Liberty University Chevrolet at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina for JRM. Byron scored a single victory and 11 top-five finishes, finishing second in points to teammate Josh Berry at Hickory.

K&N Pro Series

Carneros 200 - William Byron - 2 - Sarah Stierch
Byron at the K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma in 2015

Byron was signed to drive in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East for 2015 by HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks, with sponsorship from Liberty University. Byron also continued racing late models for JR Motorsports. In his debut K&N East in February at New Smyrna Speedway, Byron finished 7th. Byron won the second race of the season at Greenville-Pickens Speedway after starting second and leading all 152 laps (two laps past the scheduled distance). Byron made his ARCA Racing Series debut at Lucas Oil Raceway in July, driving the No. 55 Liberty University Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. Byron finished second after leading 120 laps. He scored four K&N East wins en route to winning the series championship. Byron and his team also competed in the 2015 K&N Pro Series West races at Sonoma and Phoenix, finishing fifth and second respectively.

Craftsman Truck Series

On October 29, 2015, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that Byron would run a full-time schedule in the team's No. 9 Toyota Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series during the 2016 season. To prepare him for the run, KBM fielded the No. 9 for him in the 2015 Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. Byron started the 2016 season on a low note crashing on the final lap at Daytona to finish 13th, and finishing 32nd at Atlanta after blowing an engine. Later, Byron would get his first top 3 and 10 in the Truck Series after finishing a strong 3rd at Martinsville. Byron won his first Truck Series race at Kansas in May, after avoiding Ben Rhodes and Johnny Sauter's crash on the last lap of the race, and took his second race win in Texas in June. He won the next race at Iowa, finished 17th at Gateway due to a crash, and won yet again at Kentucky, propelling him to first in points. He followed that up with his fifth win of the season at Pocono Raceway, breaking the Camping World Truck Series record for most wins by a rookie. The previous mark was held by Kurt Busch during the 2000 season with four wins.

During the playoffs, Byron won the first race of the Round of 8 at New Hampshire but suffered an engine failure at the last race of the Round of 6 at Phoenix, which cost him the chance to join the Championship 4. With a win at the final race at Homestead, he placed fifth in the overall standings, with a total of seven wins, eleven top 5s, and 16 top 10s in 23 races. In addition to clinching the owners' championship for the No. 9 team, Byron was named Rookie of the Year.

Byron returned to the Truck Series in June 2021, driving the No. 27 for Rackley WAR at Nashville Superspeedway.

On April 7, 2022, Byron drove for Spire Motorsports, giving the team its first Truck Series win at Martinsville.

Xfinity Series

9 William Byron 2017 Johnsonville 180
Byron's No. 9 at Road America in 2017

On August 18, 2016, Byron and Hendrick Motorsports announced they had signed a multi-year driver contract, with Byron running full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro SS for JR Motorsports in 2017. Byron finished 2nd at Michigan, just losing out to Denny Hamlin. One week later, Byron won his first career race at Iowa after Christopher Bell wrecked late in the race, battling for a win with Ryan Sieg, who eventually placed second. He ended up winning again the week later in an overtime finish at Daytona. Byron also won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the third Xfinity victory of his career; he would add a fourth win when the series visited Phoenix for the penultimate race of the season. The Phoenix win also placed Byron among the four drivers eligible to race for the series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. At the final race in Homestead, Byron held off his Championship 4 teammate Elliott Sadler in the final laps to win the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.

In 2022, Byron returned to Xfinity series for the first time since 2017. He drove the JR Motorsports No. 88 to a second-place finish at Texas and 26th at New Hampshire. Driving the Hendrick Motorsports No. 17 at Watkins Glen, Byron fiercely battled Ty Gibbs for the lead throughout most of the race until they both spun off-course during the final restart, resulting in Byron finishing 25th.

Cup Series

William Byron 24 Sonoma 2018
Byron's No. 24 during the 2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350

2018: Rookie of the Year

On August 9, 2017, Hendrick Motorsports announced Byron would be the new replacement for Kasey Kahne in the No. 5 car in 2018, while continuing current sponsorship with Axalta Coating Systems and Liberty University. Twenty days later, however, HMS announced Byron would instead drive the No. 24, while Chase Elliott moved to the rebranded No. 9 car. Byron inherited Kahne's No. 5 team, including crew chief Darian Grubb. On October 10, 2018, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Grubb will move on to a technical director position while Chad Knaus takes over crew chief duties for Byron and the No. 24 in 2019. Byron clinched Rookie of the Year honors after the penultimate race of the year at ISM Raceway, becoming the second driver next to Erik Jones to win Rookie of the Year in consecutive seasons in each of the three national series

2019: Playoff debut

Byron started the 2019 season on a strong note as he won the Daytona 500 pole, heading a Hendrick lockout of the first two rows. His consistency in the regular season landed him in the playoffs for the first time in his career. Byron finished sixth at the Charlotte Roval to advance to the round of 12. He was eliminated in the Round of 12 after the Kansas race.

2020: First win

In Duel 2 of the 2020 Bluegreen Vacations Duels, Byron scored the win to start fourth in the Daytona 500, but ultimately he would finish 40th in the race. He scored his first career Cup victory at the track in August at the Coke Zero Sugar 400, avoiding various wrecks and winning in overtime to advance to the playoffs. Byron, however, was eliminated following the first round at Bristol after finishing 38th due to an accident. Earlier in 2020, Byron signed an extension to his contract with Hendrick Motorsports through the 2022 Season.

2021

Byron started the 2021 season by qualifying second at the 2021 Daytona 500 while teammate Alex Bowman took the pole. After a 26th-place finish at the Daytona 500 and a 33rd-place finish in Daytona International Speedway's infield road course, Byron won the third race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading 101 of the final 112 laps. Byron's victory started an eleven-race Top-10 streak, with Top 5 finishes at Martinsville, Talladega, Darlington and Dover. Byron's Top-10 streak would come at an end at the Circuit of the Americas road course, as he would finish 11th. Byron rebounded in the following race with a Top-5 finish at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600, finishing fourth. After finishing 35th at Sonoma Raceway following a wreck, Byron rebounded with back-to-back third-place finishes at Nashville Superspeedway and the first of a double-header at Pocono Raceway. Byron struggled the next four races finishing outside the Top 10, but would finish sixth at the 2021 Go Bowling at The Glen. During the playoffs, Byron made it to the Round of 12, but struggled with poor finishes at Las Vegas and Talladega. Following the Charlotte Roval race, he was eliminated from the Round of 8. He finished the season with a career-high 10th in the points standings.

2022

William Byron 24 Sonoma 2022
Byron’s No. 24 car at Sonoma Raceway in 2022

During the 2022 season, Byron started with two DNFs at the 2022 Daytona 500 and Fontana, but rebounded with wins at Atlanta and Martinsville. On May 5, 2022, Byron received a contract extension to remain at Hendrick Motorsports through 2025. At Darlington, Byron was close to scoring his third win when Joey Logano punted him to the wall with two laps to go. On July 28, 2022, three days prior to the Indianapolis road race, the generator of the No. 24's hauler caught fire. The car was not damaged by the blaze. At the Texas playoff race, Byron spun Denny Hamlin towards the infield grass during a late-caution period; he was subsequently fined US$50,000 and the No. 24 was docked 25 driver and owner points. On October 6, 2022, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel rescinded the points penalty and instead amended the fine to US$100,000, placing Byron back to seventh in the playoff standings. Byron was eliminated following the Round of 8 after finishing eighth at Martinsville. He finished the season in a career-best sixth in the points standings.

2023: Breakout season

William Byron Burnout Las Vegas 2023
Byron celebrating after winning the 2023 Pennzoil 400

Byron started the 2023 season with a 34th place DNF at the 2023 Daytona 500. He later scored back-to-back wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix. On March 15, 2023, the No. 24 was served an L2 penalty after unapproved hood louvers were found installed on the car during pre-race inspection at Phoenix; as a result, the team was docked 100 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points. In addition, crew chief Rudy Fugle was suspended for four races and fined US$100,000. On March 29, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the penalty, upholding the fine and Fugle's suspension but restoring the owner, driver, and playoff points. On April 6, the No. 24 was served an L1 penalty after alterations to the car's greenhouse were discovered during post-race inspection following the Richmond race; as a result, the team was docked 60 driver and owner points and five playoff points. In addition, interim crew chief Brian Campe was suspended for two races and fined US$75,000. At Darlington, Byron scored his seventh career win and the overall 100th win for the No. 24. He scored his fourth win of the season at Atlanta after the race was shortened by rain. Byron claimed his fifth victory at Watkins Glen. Byron's sixth win of the season came in the Round of 12 opener at Texas. The win also marked Hendrick Motorsports' 300th victory in the Cup Series. Following the season finale at Phoenix, Byron finished the 2023 season third in the points standings.

2024: Daytona 500 champion

Byron started the 2024 season by winning the 2024 Daytona 500.

Personal life

Byron was born the younger of two children in Charlotte, North Carolina. His parents are Bill and Dana Byron and his sister is Kathryn. He attended Charlotte Country Day School while taking online classes through sponsor Liberty University, graduating in May 2016. Byron is also currently a student at Liberty University earning his college degree, majoring in business communication. Byron is an Eagle Scout.

Byron is not related to 1949 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Red Byron.

Byron is a Christian, saying “I feel like getting into racing was God’s plan for me, so I can spread my faith through the racing garage and with race fans — that’s why it’s been so special."

He is in a relationship with Erin Blaney, the sister of fellow Cup Series driver and friend Ryan Blaney.

On May 4, 2021, Byron announced on Twitter that his mother Dana was being treated for a MALT lymphoma tumor in the left side of her brain. He revealed on July 27 that Dana was able to heal from the disease.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NCSC Pts Ref
2018 Hendrick Motorsports 24 Chevy DAY
23
ATL
18
LVS
27
PHO
12
CAL
15
MAR
20
TEX
10
BRI
18
RCH
12
TAL
29
DOV
14
KAN
33
CLT
39
POC
18
MCH
13
SON
25
CHI
20
DAY
32
KEN
20
NHA
14
POC
6
GLN
8
MCH
36
BRI
23
DAR
35
IND
19
LVS
37
RCH
20
ROV
34
DOV
19
TAL
20
KAN
38
MAR
39
TEX
16
PHO
9
HOM
24
23rd 587
2019 DAY
21
ATL
17
LVS
16
PHO
24
CAL
15
MAR
22
TEX
6
BRI
16
RCH
13
TAL
21
DOV
8
KAN
20
CLT
9
POC
9
MCH
18
SON
19
CHI
8
DAY
2
KEN
18
NHA
12
POC
4
GLN
21
MCH
8
BRI
21
DAR
21
IND
4
LVS
7
RCH
24
ROV
6
DOV
13
TAL
33
KAN
5
MAR
2
TEX
17
PHO
17
HOM
39
11th 2275
2020 DAY
40
LVS
22
CAL
15
PHO
10
DAR
35
DAR
12
CLT
20
CLT
12
BRI
8
ATL
33
MAR
8
HOM
9
TAL
11
POC
14
POC
7
IND
27
KEN
11
TEX
37
KAN
10
NHA
11
MCH
14
MCH
12
DRC
8
DOV
28
DOV
4
DAY
1
DAR
5
RCH
21
BRI
38
LVS
25
TAL
4
ROV
6*
KAN
8
TEX
13
MAR
35
PHO
9
14th 2247
2021 DAY
26
DRC
33
HOM
1*
LVS
8
PHO
8
ATL
8
BRD
6
MAR
4
RCH
7
TAL
2
KAN
9
DAR
4
DOV
4
COA
11
CLT
4
SON
35
NSH
3
POC
3
POC
12
ROA
33
ATL
20
NHA
21
GLN
6
IRC
33
MCH
2
DAY
37
DAR
34
RCH
19
BRI
3
LVS
18
TAL
36
ROV
11*
TEX
2
KAN
6
MAR
5
PHO
17
10th 2306
2022 DAY
38
CAL
34
LVS
5
PHO
18
ATL
1*
COA
12
RCH
3
MAR
1*
BRD
18
TAL
15*
DOV
22
DAR
13
KAN
16
CLT
32
GTW
19
SON
9
NSH
35
ROA
16
ATL
30
NHA
11
POC
12
IRC
31
MCH
12
RCH
11
GLN
22
DAY
34
DAR
8
KAN
6
BRI
3
TEX
7
TAL
12
ROV
16
LVS
13
HOM
12
MAR
7
PHO
6
6th 2378
2023 DAY
34
CAL
25
LVS
1*
PHO
1
ATL
32
COA
5
RCH
24*
BRD
13
MAR
23
TAL
7
DOV
4*
KAN
3
DAR
1
CLT
2
GTW
8
SON
14
NSH
6
CSC
13
ATL
1
NHA
24
POC
14*
RCH
21
MCH
35
IRC
14
GLN
1*
DAY
8
DAR
4
KAN
15
BRI
9
TEX
1
TAL
2
ROV
2
LVS
7
HOM
4
MAR
13
PHO
4
3rd 5033
2024 DAY
1
ATL
LVS PHO BRI COA RCH MAR TEX TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON IOW NHA NSH CSC POC IND RCH MCH DAY DAR ATL GLN BRI KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO -* -*
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2018 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 33 23
2019 1 21
2020 4 40
2021 2 26
2022 23 38
2023 21 34
2024 18 1

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2017 JR Motorsports 9 Chevy DAY
9
ATL
7
LVS
14
PHO
4
CAL
5
TEX
7
BRI
12
RCH
30
TAL
36
CLT
14
DOV
6
POC
12
MCH
2
IOW
1
DAY
1*
KEN
7
NHA
3
IND
1
IOW
9
GLN
10
MOH
25
BRI
22
ROA
6
DAR
5
RCH
7
CHI
33
KEN
18
DOV
3
CLT
16
KAN
4
TEX
9
PHO
1
HOM
3
1st 4034
2022 JR Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR TAL DOV DAR TEX
2
CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA
26
POC IRC MCH 79th 01
Hendrick Motorsports 17 Chevy GLN
25*
DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO
2023 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA
2
RCH MAR TAL DOV DAR CLT PIR SON NSH CSC ATL NHA POC ROA MCH IRC GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 78th 01

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCTC Pts Ref
2015 Kyle Busch Motorsports 9 Toyota DAY ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW IOW KEN ELD POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO
31
HOM 78th 13
2016 DAY
13
ATL
32
MAR
3
KAN
1
DOV
11*
CLT
10
TEX
1
IOW
1*
GTW
17*
KEN
1*
ELD
14
POC
1*
BRI
4
MCH
4
MSP
10
CHI
30
NHA
1*
LVS
5
TAL
10
MAR
8
TEX
6
PHO
27*
HOM
1
5th 2199
2021 Rackley WAR 27 Chevy DAY DRC LVS ATL BRD RCH KAN DAR COA CLT TEX NSH
36
POC KNX GLN GTW DAR BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO 116th 01
2022 Spire Motorsports 7 Chevy DAY LVS ATL COA MAR
1*
BRD DAR KAN TEX CLT GTW SON KNX NSH MOH POC IRP RCH KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO 88th 01
2023 Kyle Busch Motorsports 51 Chevy DAY LVS ATL COA TEX BRD
3
MAR KAN DAR
4
NWS
11
CLT GTW NSH MOH POC RCH IRP MLW KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO 88th 01

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NKNPSEC Pts Ref
2015 HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks 9 Chevy NSM
7
GRE
1*
BRI
2
IOW
1*
BGS
15
LGY
1*
COL
14
NHA
1
IOW
13
GLN
7
MOT
8*
VIR
10
RCH
6
DOV
9
1st 546

K&N Pro Series West

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NKNPSWC Pts Ref
2015 HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks 91 Chevy KCR IRW TUS IOW SHA SON
5
SLS IOW EVG CNS MER AAS PHO
2
35th 70
2018 Jefferson Pitts Racing 27 Chevy KCR TUS TUS OSS CNS SON
3
DCS IOW EVG GTW LVS MER AAS KCR 32nd 41

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ARSC Pts Ref
2015 Venturini Motorsports 55 Toyota DAY MOB NSH SLM TAL TOL NJE POC MCH CHI WIN IOW IRP
2*
POC BLN ISF DSF SLM KEN
32
KAN 76th 305
2016 DAY
2
NSH SLM TAL TOL NJE 58th 415
15 POC
8
MCH MAD WIN IOW IRP POC BLN ISF DSF SLM CHI KEN KAN

See also

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