Hendrick Motorsports took a gamble on William Byron; Now he'll try to win his 1st Cup title

Rick Hendrick first met William Byron as a local Charlotte teenr, fan of Hendrick Motorsports and budding NASCAR driver.

Something about 15-year-old struck Hendrick, who recognized a young talent with a potentially bright future in NASCAR. Hendrick snagged Byron away from Toyota camp in 2016, promoted him to Cup Series in 2018 when he was 20 years old and fresh off an Xfinity Series championship and gave him tools to become a star.

It's paid off as Byron hes 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 championship finale but h to squeeze out every position Sunday at Martinsville Speedway to edge Denny Hamlin for fourth spot in winner-take-all title race.

It's kind of performance Hendrick expected out of Byron, who he likens to 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.

Byron in September won 300th race for Hendrick organization.

“When I moved him into . 24, I h a lot of doubters. t in our company, but I re all stuff that people said he wasn't rey," Hendrick said. "To see him blossom and turn into driver he has, it’s been phemenal. William has always been pretty calculating, and he doesn’t drive over his he and he’s won races this year by making some aggressive moves.

“He’s guy you want your daughter to marry. He’s smart. He studies, he's in simulator, he's planning and he really thinks he’s best driver out re."

Should Byron win title on Sunday, he'd be first rth Carolina-born and raised Cup champion since Dale Jarrett in 1999.

A LOOK AT NASCAR'S FINAL FOUR

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. 12 Ford, Team Penske

DRIVER: Ryan Blaney

BORN: Dec. 31, 1993

HOMETOWN: High Point, rth Carolina

CREW CHIEF: Jonathan Hassler

RECORD AT PHOENIX: 0 for 15, but Blaney has back-to-back runner-up finishes at Phoenix, including last year when he finished second to champion teammate Joey Loga.

TEWORTHY: Blaney became championship favorite after a stellar third round of playoffs with finishes of sixth, second and n a win last Sunday at Martinsville. He's t finished lower than fourth at Phoenix in four consecutive races re.

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. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

DRIVER: Christopher Bell

Born: Dec. 16, 1994

HOMETOWN: rman, Oklahoma

CREW CHIEF: am Stevens

RECORD AT PHOENIX: 0 for 7 with four top-10 finishes.

TEWORTHY: Bell won at Homeste-Miami Speedway two weeks ago to lock into finale for second consecutive year. He finished 10th a year ago as he raced for title and finished third in final standings. This is Bell's fourth full year in Cup Series.

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. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER: Kyle Larson

BORN: July 31, 1992

HOMETOWN: Elk Grove, California

CREW CHIEF: Cliff Daniels

RECORD AT PHOENIX: 1 for 18 with 11 top-10 finishes. Won at Phoenix in 2021 to win his first Cup title.

TEWORTHY: Larson has four wins this season, two in playoffs. He won playoff opener at Darlington and n was first driver locked into championship round with a win at Las Vegas three races ago. That Las Vegas victory gave Larson and his crew ditional time over ir competitors to prepare for Phoenix.

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. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

DRIVER: William Byron

BORN: v. 29, 1996

HOMETOWN: Charlotte, rth Carolina

CREW CHIEF: Rudy Fugle

RECORD AT PHOENIX: 1 for 11 with a victory in spring race earlier this year.

TEWORTHY: This has been Byron's breakout year with a career-best six wins. Should he win championship, it would be first title for . 24 Chevrolet since Jeff Gordon's fourth title in 2001.