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William Byron is considered one of the top contenders for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship title. However, the driver of the #24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports had a rather unconventional start to his racing career.
Unlike budding racers who begin their journey by racing go-karts or similar lower-division cars, Byron started his career with the subscription-based online racing simulation game iRacing. Witnessing his progress in the video game, his father got Byron to race in the Legends Car series.
Over the years, the Charlotte-born has gone through the late model, the K&N Pro Series, and the ARCA Menards Series, winning several accolades. This caught the attention of Kyle Busch Motorsports, who offered Byron a ticket to NASCAR's big league with the Craftsman Truck Series in 2015.
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Two years after his Truck debut, Byron moved to the Xfinity Series with Hendrick Motorsports, driving the #17 car. With four wins and 18 Top 10 finishes, Byron clinched the championship title in his debut season. Impressed by his racecraft, HMS promoted Byron to the Cup Series in 2018, replacing Kasey Kahne.
Since his debut in the top division of stock racing, Byron has won 13 races and finished in the Top 10 on 101 occasions. He first competed in the Championship 4 in the 2023 season against Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell. Byron finished third in the 2023 driver's table.
As of now, Byron is placed third in the 2024 championship. He is 15 and 8 points behind Bell and Larson, respectively. With just two races remaining before the grand finale at Phoenix, he will likely be looking at maximizing results at both Miami and Martinsville.
“It’s just special to have so many fans that followed Jeff all of the years" - 2024 Daytona 500 winner William Byron claimed he felt privileged driving Jeff Gordon's #24 Hendrick Motorsports race car
William Byron sealed his 2024 Playoff berth early in the season by winning the Daytona 500 race on February 19th. The 27-year-old racer claimed he felt privileged driving Jeff Gordon's #24 Hendrick Motorsports race car.
"I just try to continue to come out of my shell and be myself around race fans. It’s tough. I never grew up envisioning that I was going to drive the 24 car," Byron said during a post-race media interaction at Daytona International Speedway.
"It definitely takes a while to get comfortable with that, but it’s just special to have so many fans that followed Jeff all of the years of his career, and you meet a lot of cool people that have followed him for years. And ultimately us now," he added.
Byron's victory at Daytona in the 2024 season ended HMS's decade-long drought of winning the iconic 'Great American Race.' The last person to win at the circuit for the team was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014.
