William Byron 2017 season recap

William Byron's sole season competing in the Xfinity Series began with much promise and ended with a championship -- and a promotion to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Here's a look back at the 20-year-old's 2017 season.

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Through the first 12 races, Byron’s best finish was fourth at Phoenix in March. His potential to find Victory Lane showed in Michigan, though, with a breakthrough performance that had him finishing second to Denny Hamlin in a drag race to the finish line -- the closest Xfinity Series finish at Michigan International Speedway.

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One week later, Byron earned his first career Xfinity Series victory at Iowa Speedway. He led 78 of 250 laps and edged Ryan Sieg by 1.140 seconds.

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Continuing his hot streak, Byron's next Xfinity Series win came one week after Iowa when he topped Elliott Sadler in overtime at Daytona. Byron took the lead on Lap 98 of 104 to nab his first restrictor plate victory.

Byron earned a chance to kiss the bricks in Indianapolis when he claimed victory at the hallowed track in July. He led the final 16 laps, fighting a vibration in the closing circuits. At age 19, he was the youngest driver to win in Indy.

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Hendrick Motorsports ended much speculation on Aug. 9 when the organization announced Byron would replace Kasey Kahne on the team in 2018. Byron tweeted: 'This is a dream come true for me to race at the Cup level. Thank you to everyone @TeamHendrick for believing in me! Ready to make them proud.'

RELATED: Byron to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018

Not only will Byron drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018, but he will drive the No. 24 Chevrolet, the organization announced Aug. 29. Said Rick Hendrick: 'He reminds me a lot of Jeff (Gordon) at that age with regard to being a special talent and having a great head on his shoulders.'

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Byron's final win of the 2017 season was the one that pushed him into the Championship 4. He triumphed at Phoenix with a pieced-together pit crew when his regular JR Motorsports crew was held up with plane woes. He still took the lead 17 laps to go and edged Ryan Blaney by 0.562 of a second.

Byron earned JR Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Jr. their second Xfinity Series title in four years when he finished third at the Homestead-Miami Speedway season finale. Byron needed to pass teammate Elliott Sadler with nine laps remaining to finish highest among the Championship 4.

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