Byron, who experienced a breakout season in Cup last year with his first appearance in the Championship 4, added another surprising chapter with his first Daytona 500 victory on Monday.
Unlike most of his fellow Cup competitors, Byron began his racing career on the computer screen rather than on the track, not racing actual cars until he was 14 years old.
Now 26, Byron has established himself a regular contender for wins and championships and kicked off the 40th anniversary celebration of Hendrick Motorsports in grand style with the organization’s ninth Daytona 500 victory and first since 2014.
While teammates like Chase Elliott – NASCAR’s most popular driver – and Kyle Larson – who excels at virtually every type of racing he attempts – have both won championships, Byron has been left somewhat of an afterthought at HMS.
That’s not likely to be the case any longer.
“I use it all as fuel, so just keep it coming. All the preseason predictions and everything,” Byron said. “I think it just for me, I just try to stay quietly focused. I feel like for me, I do well with having my own space and being able to work through the things with my race team.
“I have to kind of balance that kind of calm demeanor with working with my team and being vocal enough to do the things we need to do to get the car better and things like that. I don’t read too much into it.
“I’m never going to be the most vocal guy. I just enjoy getting in the race car and putting the helmet on and going to work. That’s what I've always lived for.”
Aiming for the biggest prize
Byron’s crew chief, Rudy Fugle, said he believes Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet team are ready for the next step.
“I think we proved year after year that we’re winners now, but now it’s time to be champions, so Daytona 500 champions, and like I said, the Coca-Cola 600 champions, those big races,” he said.
“We’re setting our eyes on those and winning the championship at the end of the year.”
Byron may not be the most vocal, but his on-track success since joining NASCAR national series competition has been nothing short of impressive.
He won the ARCA East championship in 2015, has eight wins in 29 starts in Trucks and competed just one full-time season in Xfinity, where he won the championship and won four times, before moving to Cup in 2018.
After a slow start, Byron has exploded of late with nine victories since the start of the 2023 season. While he may not be a vocal or controversial driver, his performance has spoken volumes.
“I’ve spent half my racing career in the Cup Series, which is crazy, but it’s just the way that my career trajectory kind of went,” Byrons said. “I think Mr. H (team owner Rick Hendrick) always knew that putting me in the Cup Series would allow me to learn the things I needed to learn, and we’ve been able to see kind of the evolution of that with my team over the last year and a half.
“It’s pretty crazy. I just think back to the desire I had to compete and race, and that was unmatched I feel like from anyone else. I wanted it so badly because I never grew up around it, but it was something that I always loved.
“I think that desire has kind of always fueled me more than anything. I want it for no other reason than it’s just my passion.
“If you find something that you love, you spend every minute of the day thinking about it.”
