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ick Hendrick first met William Byron as a local Charlotte teenager, fan of Hendrick Motorsports and budding NASCAR driver.
Something about the 15-year-old struck Hendrick, who recognized a young talent with a potentially bright future in NASCAR. Hendrick snagged Byron away from the Toyota camp in 2016, promoted him to the Cup Series in 2018 when he was 20 years old and fresh off an Xfinity Series championship and gave him the tools to become a star.
It’s paid off as Byron heads to Phoenix Raceway this week with a shot at winning his first Cup title. With a Cup Series-high six wins this season, Byron seemed a lock to make the championship finale but had to squeeze out every position Sunday at Martinsville Speedway to edge Denny Hamlin for the fourth spot in the winner-take-all title race.
It’s the kind of performance Hendrick expected out of Byron, who he likens to the late David Pearson, a three-time Cup champion and Hall of Famer. In a heavyweight Hendrick lineup that includes Cup champions Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, as well as Alex Bowman, Hendrick believes Byron is his hardest worker and has proved all his early doubters wrong.
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Byron in September won the 300th race for the Hendrick organization.
“When I moved him into the No. 24, I had a lot of doubters. Not in our company, but I read all the stuff that people said he wasn’t ready,” Hendrick said. “To see him blossom and turn into the driver he has, it’s been phenomenal. William has always been pretty calculating, and he doesn’t drive over his head and he’s won races this year by making some aggressive moves.
“He’s the guy you want your daughter to marry. He’s smart. He studies, he’s in the simulator, he’s planning and he really thinks he’s the best driver out there.”
Should Byron win the title on Sunday, he’d be the first North Carolina-born and raised Cup champion since Dale Jarrett in 1999.
