NASCAR champion William Byron has ascended auto racing more rapidly than anyone in recent memory. Going into his sophomore season in the NASCAR Cup Series, the driver looks to build on his rookie of the year campaign with a new crew chief, an iconic No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 race car and support from Hendrick Motorsports. Byron has quickly amassed an impressive list of accomplishments – especially considering he first drove a race car just six years ago. Hendrick Motorsports signed Byron, then 18, in August 2016 when he was a record-breaking rookie in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. By the end of his season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, he had racked up an astounding seven victories, 3,248 laps led, and three pole positions en route to rookie of the year honors. It was the most successful debut season in series history.

In 2017, he won the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports. 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 elite NASCAR Cup Series, but it would be in the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet made famous by four-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and his storied Rainbow Warriors team. Last year in 2019 he won 5 poles including Daytona. I caught up with the 22-year-old Liberty Student right before this year's Daytona 500. Enjoy this conversation with one of the hottest drivers to come along in NASCAR.