William Byron has ascended the professional ranks of auto racing rapidly. Going into his ninth season in the NASCAR Cup Series, the 28-year-old driver will once again join crew chief Ryan “Rudy” Fugle to add to the success they’ve found together the last five years after being reunited from their NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series days. In 2026, Byron is poised to continue to build on his already impressive racing résumé when he climbs back behind the wheel of the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
As a child, Byron began following NASCAR and begged his father to take him to his first race at Martinsville Speedway in 2006. He became a regular on iRacing, an online simulator used by many professional drivers, and developed into a student of the sport.
No one could have predicted what would follow.
Byron began competing in the U.S. Legend Young Lion Division in 2013, a year in which he won nearly half of the 69 legend car events he raced across the United States en route to the 2013 U.S. Legend Young Lions National Championship and the 2013 Thursday Thunder Young Lions championship at Atlanta Motor Speedway. For 2014, he signed to compete regionally in full-size stock cars for JR Motorsports, the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Byron acclimated quickly to late model stock cars, earning one win, seven poles and 15 top-five finishes in 30 starts for JRM. His rapid progression continued in 2015 when he competed in 36 races across the NASCAR ARCA Menards Series, CARS Super Late Model Tour and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, scoring six wins, five poles and 19 top-five finishes in addition to the ARCA Menards Series East championship and rookie of the year honors.
Hendrick Motorsports signed Byron, then 18, in August 2016 when he was a record-breaking rookie in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. By the end of his season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, he had racked up seven victories and led 727 of 3,248 laps completed with three poles en route to rookie of the year honors Fugle calling the shots. Although Byron narrowly missed winning the championship due to an engine failure, it was the most successful debut season in series history.
In 2017, Byron moved up to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports. In addition to winning the series championship, he earned four wins and two poles with 12 top-five finishes, 22 top-10s and the rookie of the year award. His title-winning campaign included victories at Iowa Speedway, Phoenix Raceway and the historic venues of Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he became the youngest winner of a major race in the track’s 108-year history.
As Byron competed for a championship in the Xfinity Series, Hendrick Motorsports announced his next – and biggest – career move in August 2017. Not only would he take the next step to the NASCAR Cup Series, but it would be in the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet with seven-time champion and Hall of Fame crew chief Chad Knaus. Byron went on to claim the rookie of the year title in 2018, becoming only the second driver to win the honor in each of NASCAR’s three national series in back-to-back-to-back seasons. He made the Cup Series playoffs for the first time in 2019 and got his first win at the highest level in August of 2020 at Daytona.
With Knaus heading for an executive role at Hendrick Motorsports, Byron was reunited with Fugle for the 2021 season. This pairing once again found success with each year proving to be better than the last. The duo doubled their wins in 2022 and then rocketed to a season-high six victories in 2023. Progression remained steady with three wins in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, including back-to-back victories in the DAYTONA 500. In all five seasons together, Byron and Fugle have made the playoffs including Byron locking into the final four for the last three consecutive seasons with a best points finish of third in 2023 and 2024.
Outside of racing, Byron is passionate about his education, his faith and giving back to his community. In 2015, Byron became an Eagle Scout, the highest achievement rank of the Boy Scouts of America, which he earned while racing full time and attending high school. When he’s away from schoolwork and the racetrack, Byron’s hobbies include watching and attending sporting events, keeping up with his fitness regimen, iRacing, and golfing. He is an avid fan of his hometown Carolina Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes.
