William Byron has rapidly ascended the ranks of professional auto racing, establishing himself as one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ top competitors. Now 27 and entering his eighth season at the sport’s highest level, he continues to pilot the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, once again paired with crew chief Ryan “Rudy” Fugle. Their reunion over the past four years has yielded impressive success, and Byron is poised to build on his already remarkable résumé in 2025.

 

His journey to NASCAR stardom has been anything but conventional. Unlike most drivers who start racing in their early childhood, Byron didn’t step into a real race car until he was 16. Before that, he honed his skills as a sim racer, winning over 100 virtual races while studying the sport. His transition to real-world racing was nothing short of extraordinary. At 18, he delivered a record-breaking rookie season in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, winning seven races under Fugle’s guidance. The following year, he captured the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at 19, then secured NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors at 20.

 

Since then, Byron has steadily built an impressive list of achievements. His breakout moment in the Cup Series came in 2019 when he earned his first playoff berth. A year later, he clinched his first Cup Series victory at Daytona International Speedway, securing another playoff appearance. The wins kept coming—Homestead-Miami in 2021, followed by multiple victories in 2023 as he thrived with the introduction of the Next Gen car. That season, he dominated with a career-best six wins, reached the Championship 4 for the first time, and finished third in the final standings.

 

Byron carried that momentum into 2024, delivering another standout season. His Daytona 500 victory headlined a two-year stretch in which he led the series with 42 top-10 finishes, posted a best-in-class 11.9 average finish, won nine races, and advanced to the Championship 4 in back-to-back seasons. With his rapid rise and continued success, Byron has firmly established himself among NASCAR’s elite, and as he takes on the 2025 season, the best may be yet to come.