William Byron’s NASCAR career accelerated again this week with the legendary Hendrick Motorsports team announcing Thursday it has secured a multi-year contract with the 18-year old driver, who will compete full-time in the XFINITY Series beginning with the 2017 season.
The arrangement is in partnership with JR Motorsports, which will field Byron as an XFINITY Series regular. It is similar to the situation for young driver Chase Elliott, who won the 2014 XFINITY Series championship driving for the JRM team before moving up to the Sprint Cup Series ranks with Hendrick this season.
“Being with Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports has always been a goal of mine,” Byron said Thursday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I grew up a Jimmie Johnson fan, so it’s really a dream come true to be part of the organization. It’s really neat also that I grew up in Charlotte (North Carolina) and they’re down the road in Concord. I’ve been to the shop a few times as a fan.”
Byron said he signed the deal on Tuesday, prior to Wednesday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hendrick called Byron “a few weeks ago,” according to the driver, to start the conversation.
This is a huge nod to Byron’s already head-turning NASCAR career. He has a series-best five wins in the Camping World Truck Series this season driving for reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch‘s team and he leads the championship standings by a healthy 37 points over Daniel Hemric after Wednesday night’s race at Bristol.
All this while Byron is currently enrolled as a freshman at Liberty University.
“William is a special person and a special talent,” Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick said. “It’s been impressive to watch him come up through the ranks and have success at every level. What he’s already accomplished this season has been remarkable.
“On top of all his ability, he’s a terrific young man from a great family, and we think he has a very bright future with our organization.”
Byron won the 2015 NASCAR K&N East championship earning four victories and three pole positions leading more than 40 percent of all laps run in the series’ 13 races.
And Byron does have experience competing for the Hendrick and Earnhardt ownership group. He won two races driving a JR Motorsports late model in the 2014 and 2015 seasons — his first times in a full-size stock car.
“I owe so much to Dale Jr. and everyone at JRM for taking a chance on me in 2014,” Byron said. “Looking back, I know none of this would’ve happened without that opportunity. I was there during Chase Elliott‘s championship season and got to learn a lot. I know what they’re capable of, and I’m going to work really hard for them.”
JR Motorsports currently fields cars for Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier in the XFINITY Series as well as a third car that is shared by multiple drivers and referred to as its “All-Star” car. There is no word yet whether the team will make the third car just for one driver or if Byron will take one of the other seats.
“We are a three-car team, and we want to be three cars,” JR Motorsports co-owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We’ve been holding hands with Elliott and looking at sponsorship opportunities for him and keeping that door open. He set the bar for our team this year, so we have a year to work it out and hopefully try to win the championship with him.”
Earnhardt Miller added that she hoped to have an announcement “toward the end of next week” on the team’s full plans for next year.
Both Hendrick and Byron will speak in a press conference Saturday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway to address this week’s announcement.
