William Byron

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 ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, and part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for JR Motorsports.

Byron won the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship and the 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 the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year. He also won the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year award. He is the 2024 and 2025 Daytona 500 winner, and the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion.

Racing career

Beginnings Byron became interested in racing when he was six years old after seeing a stock car race on television, and later attended a race at Martinsville Speedway in 2006. He began racing on the iRacing simulator as a teenager with over one hundred 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 fifteen, 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 eleven top-five finishes, finishing second in points to teammate Josh Berry at Hickory. Byron also continued racing late models for JR Motorsports. 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 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 thirteenth, and finishing 32nd at Atlanta after blowing an engine. Later, Byron would get his first top-three and top-ten in the Truck Series after finishing a strong third 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 seventeenth 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-fives, and sixteen top tens 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 W.A.R. at Nashville Superspeedway.

On April 7, 2022, Byron drove the No. 7 for Spire Motorsports, giving the team its first Truck Series win at Martinsville.

On March 9, 2023, it was announced that Byron would return to Kyle Busch Motorsports for the first time in six years, driving the No. 51 at Bristol Dirt, Darlington, and North Wilkesboro.

Xfinity Series

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 second 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 the 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.

In 2023, Byron returned to the No. 17 for a single race at COTA, finishing runner-up to A. J. Allmendinger.

Byron drove the No. 17 in four races throughout 2024, with those races being at Phoenix, Darlington, Pocono, and Watkins Glen.

In 2025, Byron drove the No. 17 to victory lane at Charlotte.

Cup Series

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. 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-ten streak, with top-five finishes at Martinsville, Talladega, Darlington, and Dover. Byron's top-ten streak would come to an end at the Circuit of the Americas road course, as he would finish eleventh. Byron rebounded in the following race with a top-five 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 in the next four races, finishing outside the top-ten, 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 tenth in the points standings. 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 rattled his cage 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 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 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; dominant season

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 one-hundred driver and owner points and ten playoff points. In addition, crew chief Rudy Fugle was suspended for four races and fined 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 sixty driver and owner points and five playoff points. In addition, interim crew chief Brian Campe was suspended for two races and fined 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 and late-season controversy

Byron started the 2024 season by winning the 2024 Daytona 500. The win was the first Daytona 500 win for the No. 24 since 2005 by Jeff Gordon and the first Daytona 500 win for Hendrick Motorsports since 2014 by Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was also a special win because the win occurred forty years to the date Hendrick Motorsports ran its first ever race as a team in the 1984 Daytona 500. A month later, he scored his second win of the season at the Circuit of the Americas. On April 7, Byron won his third race of the season, as he and his teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott took the top three spots at Martinsville on Hendrick Motorsports' fortieth anniversary. Despite not winning a race during the playoffs, Byron made the Championship 4 following Martinsville after Christopher Bell was penalized for using the "Hail Melon" maneuver, which was banned by NASCAR after 2022. His entry to Championship 4 was also marred by controversies involving intra-manufacturer team orders where Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain appeared to block other cars in Byron's favor, for which both (and Bubba Wallace, which was deemed to have done similar to help Bell's championship chances) received penalties. Byron ultimately came up short in the championship race and finished third in the standings.

2025: Second Daytona 500 victory and Regular Season Champion Byron started the 2025 season with his second consecutive Daytona 500 win, becoming the fifth driver in history to win the race in back-to-back seasons. On May 23, Byron received a contract extension to remain at Hendrick Motorsports through 2029. After staying consistent, he picked up his second win of the season at Iowa. During the playoffs, Byron won at Martinsville to make the Championship 4.

Personal life Byron was born the younger of two children in Charlotte, North Carolina. majoring in business communication. Byron is an Eagle Scout.

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."

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

Racing career summary

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 Pts Ref 2018 Hendrick Motorsports 24 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH ROV DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 23rd 587 2019 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH ROV DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 11th 2275 2020 DAY LVS CAL PHO DAR DAR CLT CLT BRI ATL MAR HOM TAL POC POC IND KEN TEX KAN NHA MCH MCH DRC DOV DOV DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV KAN TEX MAR PHO 14th 2247 2021 DAY DRC HOM LVS PHO ATL BRD MAR RCH TAL KAN DAR DOV COA CLT SON NSH POC POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IRC MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN MAR PHO 10th 2306 2022 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR BRD TAL DOV DAR KAN CLT GTW SON NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IRC MCH RCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 6th 2378 2023 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH BRD MAR TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON NSH CSC ATL NHA POC RCH MCH IRC GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 3rd 5040 2024 DAY 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 3rd 5034 2025 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS HOM MAR DAR BRI TAL TEX KAN CLT NSH MCH MXC POC ATL CSC SON DOV IND IOW GLN RCH DAY DAR GTW BRI NHA KAN ROV LVS TAL MAR PHO 4th 5004 2026 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS DAR MAR BRI KAN TAL TEX GLN CLT NSH MCH POC COR SON CHI ATL NWS IND IOW RCH NHA DAY DAR GTW BRI KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

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 2025 5 1 2026 39 12

O'Reilly Auto Parts Series NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts 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 Pts Ref 2017 JR Motorsports 9 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL CLT DOV POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 1st 4034 2022 JR Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR TAL DOV DAR TEX CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IRC MCH 79th 01 Hendrick Motorsports 17 Chevy GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 2023 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA 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 2024 DAY ATL LVS PHO COA RCH MAR TEX TAL DOV DAR CLT PIR SON IOW NHA NSH CSC POC IND MCH DAY DAR ATL GLN BRI KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 84th 01 2025 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS HOM MAR DAR BRI CAR TAL TEX CLT NSH MXC POC ATL CSC SON DOV IND IOW GLN DAY PIR GTW BRI KAN ROV LVS TAL MAR PHO 77th 01 2026 JR Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY ATL COA PHO LVS DAR MAR CAR BRI KAN TAL TEX GLN DOV CLT NSH POC COR SON CHI ATL IND IOW DAY DAR GTW BRI LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

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 24 25 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 HOM 78th 13 2016 DAY ATL MAR KAN DOV CLT TEX IOW GTW KEN ELD POC BRI MCH MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 5th 2199 2021 Rackley W.A.R. 27 Chevy DAY DRC LVS ATL BRD RCH KAN DAR COA CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN GTW DAR BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO 116th 01 2022 Spire Motorsports 7 Chevy DAY LVS ATL COA MAR 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 MAR KAN DAR NWS CLT GTW NSH MOH POC RCH IRP MLW KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO 88th 01 2025 Spire Motorsports 07 Chevy DAY ATL LVS HOM MAR BRI CAR TEX KAN NWS CLT NSH MCH POC LRP IRP GLN RCH DAR BRI NHA ROV TAL MAR PHO 79th 01

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

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 Pts Ref 2015 Venturini Motorsports 55 Toyota DAY MOB NSH SLM TAL TOL NJE POC MCH CHI WIN IOW IRP POC BLN ISF DSF SLM KEN KAN 76th 305 2016 DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL NJE 58th 415 15 POC MCH MAD WIN IOW IRP POC BLN ISF DSF SLM CHI KEN KAN

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 Pts Ref 2015 HScott Motorsportswith Justin Marks 9 Chevy NSM GRE BRI IOW BGS LGY COL NHA IOW GLN MOT VIR RCH DOV 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 Pts Ref 2015 HScott Motorsportswith Justin Marks 91 Chevy KCR IRW TUS IOW SHA SON SLS IOW EVG CNS MER AAS PHO 35th 70 2018 Jefferson Pitts Racing 27 Chevy KCR TUS TUS OSS CNS SON DCS IOW EVG GTW LVS MER AAS KCR 32nd 41

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.) CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pts Ref 2024 JR Motorsports 24B Chevy SNM HCY AAS OCS ACE TCM LGY DOM CRW HCY NWS ACE WCS FLC SBO TCM NWS N/A 0

CARS Super Late Model Tour (key) CARS Super Late Model Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts Ref 2015 Jeff Fultz 9 Chevy SNM ROU HCY SNM TCM MMS ROU CON MYB HCY 22nd 97

ASA STARS National Tour (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.) ASA STARS National Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts Ref 2023 Anthony Campi Racing 24 Chevy FIF MAD NWS HCY MLW AND WIR TOL WIN NSV 19th 173