William Byron

William Byron was born in 1997 in the USA and took one of the most unusual paths into American motorsports imaginable: instead of starting in classic kart racing, his career began at the virtual steering wheel, in the simulator at iRacing. Only then did he move into real race cars and competed in US Legend Cars, where he immediately stood out. In 2013, he secured the national title of the Young Lions Championship with 33 wins, laying the foundation for his further ascent in stock car racing.

From there, Byron progressed at a remarkable pace through the NASCAR developmental series. In 2015, he won the K&N Pro Series East as a rookie with HScott Motorsports, the predecessor to today’s ARCA Menards Series East. In 2016 came a record-breaking season with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series: seven wins meant the most victories ever achieved by a rookie in the history of the series. In 2017, he crowned himself champion of the Xfinity Series with four wins at JR Motorsports before advancing to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, where he was immediately named Rookie of the Year—a rare distinction across four consecutive years and four different series.

Byron recently celebrated the greatest successes of his Cup career at the wheel of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. In 2024 and 2025, he won the Daytona 500 back-to-back, the most prestigious race in the series. In 2025, he also secured the Regular Season Championship and has already made it to the Championship 4 three years in a row—in 2023, 2024, and 2025—the finale for the championship. With now more than 16 Cup wins, including victories at Daytona, Martinsville, Darlington, and Phoenix, he is among the most consistent drivers in the field.

In the 2026 season, William Byron remains a full-time driver at Hendrick Motorsports, continuing in the cockpit of the No. 24 Chevrolet. Following the strong results of recent years and the 2025 Regular Season Championship, his focus is clearly set on the Cup title he still lacks. With one of the strongest teams in the league behind him, he ranks among the most promising contenders for this year’s championship.