NASCAR’s 2024 and 2025 Daytona 500 winner William Byron joins us for this week’s Gametime with Boomer Esiason.
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William Byron, born November 29, 1997, in Charlotte, North Carolina, began his racing interest at age six after watching a stock car race on television. With no early access to real cars, he gained experience through iRacing, where he won over 100 virtual races. At age 15, he transitioned to Legends car racing after convincing his father with a written proposal. In his first full season, he won 33 races and a national title in the Young Lions division.
Byron joined JR Motorsports’ late model program in 2014 and won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship in 2015 with HScott Motorsports. In 2016, he competed in the NASCAR Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports, earning a rookie-record seven wins and the Rookie of the Year title.
He advanced to the Xfinity Series in 2017, driving for JR Motorsports, and won four races including the season finale to secure the series championship. Hendrick Motorsports announced he would join its Cup Series team in 2018, taking over the No. 24 Chevrolet.
In 2020, Byron earned his first Cup Series win at Daytona. He followed that with a career-high six wins in 2023, leading the series in victories, top-10 finishes, and stage wins. He reached the Championship 4 that season and finished third in the final standings. In 2024, Byron won the Daytona 500, becoming the sixth Hendrick driver to do so. In 2025, he won the event again, making him the fifth driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back Daytona 500s. His career Cup Series win total stands at 14.
Byron is an online student at Liberty University and earned Eagle Scout honors in 2015. He supports Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas and has hosted charity events. He also has an interest in Lego building, iRacing, fitness, and professional sports teams based in Charlotte.