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Editor’s note: This story originally ran July 12, prior to Byron’s fifth series win of 2016 at Pocono Raceway.

 

William Byron had one request for his father when he attended his first-ever NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway on April 2, 2006.

 

To see the ever-popular burnout.

 

“My first race I went to, actually, Tony Stewart won and he climbed the fence at Martinsville,” Byron told NASCAR.com at the Kyle Busch Motorsports shop in Mooresville, North Carolina earlier this month. “I told my dad when I went to my first race that we had to stay for the burnout, and now I get to do the burnouts, I get to do the cool celebrations, so that’s a neat part for me.”

 

Now with four 2016 wins in just 11 career starts and an official lock in the Chase, the Camping World Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender has left his own marks on the start/finish lines of Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and, most recently, Kentucky Speedway on July 7. For Byron — who confessed he didn’t even know how to do a burnout after his first win in Victory Lane — the initial wave of success has taken the 18-year-old on a strong current that has left the NASCAR community wondering: where did this kid come from?

 

Most recently, the hallways of Charlotte Country Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

• • •

 

It wasn’t long ago that young Byron was living the life of an ordinary high school student in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Balancing classes, homework and the everyday tasks of high schoolers, he earned his first Camping World Truck Series win at Kansas Speedway just three weeks before donning a cap and gown for high school graduation.

Diploma now in hand and atop the Camping World Truck Series point standings, he hasn’t let off the gas since.

 

“The first win was nerve-wracking and kind of got that out of the way so we could focus on the Chase,”  Byron said. “But then we kind of realized we had to get a second win to make sure we were locked into the Chase. When we got that second one at Texas, everything just started to roll after that.”

 

His success in a short period of time has surprised and impressed many. His mother, who was also at the race shop on Monday afternoon following a team win luncheon, showed off a picture of one of her son’s early wins in racing, much like any proud mother would of her star high school football player, talented musician or stellar student.

 

Several years ago, she wouldn’t have anticipated William would be racing like he is today.

 

Neither did William.

 

“When I was a fan, I was a big fan of Jimmie Johnson ,” Byron recalled. “… I just watched the races just like any young kid out there and aspired to be in racing. Not necessarily a driver, but now I’ve been able to drive and it’s a dream come true.”

 

Byron kick-started his career later than most budding racers, purchasing his first Legends car at the age of 14, just four years ago.

 

“When I was 12 or 13 … I started to understand racing and how I could drive a race car,” Byron said. “I started to do iRacing and I was pretty good at it, so then I said, well if I can do that, maybe I can get into a Legend car or a real car and succeed in that.

 

“Every step was kind of a new check off the list to see if I could do it.”

 

• • •

 

As the 2016 season rolls on, Byron continues to check boxes off his list. His win at Kentucky marked the 51st win for Kyle Busch Motorsports, the most for any Camping World Truck Series team in series history. He matched Kurt Busch‘s 2000 record in the Truck Series for the most wins in one season by a rookie with four trips to Victory Lane. Only difference between a young Busch and Byron? Busch recorded his final 2000 Truck Series win at the end of the season, while Byron has 13 more races to surpass that record and pencil his own name into the history books.

 

“That’s another incentive going down the road to try and get another win to break that record,” Byron said of the potential milestone. “That’s a personal incentive, but I like the team incentive that we set, just like getting the 51st win was really important to my guys and just really good for our team.”

With a humble and friendly demeanor, Byron gives credit to his team, both his own No. 9 crew as well as teammate and Gateway winner Christopher Bell, who he’ll lean on for dirt experience in the upcoming race at Eldora Speedway. Bell won the race at the dirt track last year.

 

And of course, there’s team owner Kyle Busch, who has served as a mentor for several young drivers, including reigning Camping World Truck Series champion Erik Jones . Busch often refers to his young pupils jokingly as students in the “Kyle Busch School of Charm” — but that charm dissipates slightly on the race track, as “Rowdy” transitions into often his students’ fiercest competitor.

 

“Kyle’s competitive, obviously; he wants to win every week,” Byron said of the boss man. “But at the same time, he doesn’t compromise the race team and helping us grow as young drivers to make sure we know what we need to do on the race track. So, he’s a coach, a mentor and also a competitor. But when we get out there on the race track, he’s definitely trying to win and that’s the cool part about it.”

Byron may be passing the School of Charm with flying colors but he’ll become a student in a different facet in the fall, when he attends Liberty University as a business major. He’s begun taking a couple courses now, but will start attending classes on campus when the new semester commences.

 

Tack on the start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase in September, and the 18-year-old is looking at quite a hectic autumn.

 

“The number one focus is the race team and that’s what we’re making sure to do, is that we stay focused on what I need to do around the shop or how I need to manage that,” Byron said. “But Liberty does a great job of managing my school around my racing. They know my schedule is busy, they see the races on T.V. and and they make sure that they’re following me, so they’re going to know in the fall that there’s a lot going on but I think they really support it and they’ll be able to work around it.”

 

As for the Chase? Byron & Co. have already started their homework.

 

“The Chase races are races that we’re, as a race team, are really good at,” Byron said. “The mile-and-a-half races, we’ve won three of those of the four this year, and a couple short tracks we’ve done well on too. I think we’re going to be really strong in Martinsville in the Chase and I’ve got a win at New Hampshire in the K&N car, so hopefully we can get a win there and solidify our spot in the next round and get to Martinsville to get to Homestead.

 

“It’s a tough challenge, but I’m just hoping that we have solid finishes and get a couple wins.”

 

Win by win, the column of checked boxes on Byron’s list seems to get longer and longer. While he focuses his target on the Camping World Truck Series championship for now, he aims higher later down the road.

 

“Hopefully I can get to the (Sprint) Cup Series in the next four, five years,” Byron said. “That’s ultimately the goal to race at the top level of NASCAR.

 

“I’m just trying to build those opportunities as they come and hopefully that’s what lies ahead.”

 

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RELATED: Race results

William Byron continued his record-setting ways Saturday afternoon at Pocono Raceway, but teammate Christopher Bell made his own bit of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history with an unconventional comeback.

A deluge of caution periods helped the 21-year-old Bell storm from five laps down after early misfortune to post an unlikely 10th-place finish in Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 150. Bell was the beneficiary in each of the final five yellow flags to snag a lead-lap finish and set a series record for free passes.

“I’ll take a record any way I can get ’em,” said Bell, who rallied for his fifth consecutive top-10 finish.

Bell was scheduled to start fifth but faced an early deficit before the drop of the green flag, pitting his Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota during the pace laps with what a team spokesperson called a low-voltage issue. He was forced to start at the rear of the 32-truck field after the unapproved pre-race adjustment.

He lost more ground with his involvement in the race’s third caution, crashing in Turn 2 with John Wes Townley on the 16th of 60 laps, setting off an unfortunate chain of events and repairs before his mammoth comeback.

“I had no idea. I was just kind of going through the motions and doing what I was told on the radio and just kind of along for the ride,” Bell said of his methodical rally. “The next thing you know, we get the truck back out there and the fenders aren’t clearanced right, then we cut a right-rear tire. That was under the green flag so then we just sat there on pit road and (crew chief) Jerry (Baxter) made the call to just sit there and make it right. By the time we got going, we were five laps down, just out there trying to log laps.”

The seemingly insurmountable gap was closed with the help of five caution periods in the final 31 laps. With each unfurling of the yellow flag, Bell was directed by race control to pass the field under caution to make up a lap.

“The next thing you know, there’s a yellow: ‘Hey we’re the lucky dog, come on around,’ ” Bell said. “Then hey, there’s another yellow, come on around. By the end of the day, the last yellow put us on the lead lap and we were able to capitalize on it. To come out of here with a top 10 was remarkable for us.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Final practice results | Sunday’s lineup


Martin Truex Jr. rose to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard in the final practice Saturday at Pocono Raceway.



Truex, who will start first in Monday’s Pennsylvania 400 (11 a.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) after his chart-topping performance in Friday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying, registered a lap of 176.377 mph in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota.



Brad Keselowski hustled the Team Penske No. 2 Ford to the second-fastest lap at 176.136 mph on the 2.5-mile triangular track. Keselowski, scheduled for double-duty in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Iowa Speedway on Saturday night, will start seventh in Sunday’s 400-miler.



Kevin Harvick, racing this weekend without suspended crew chief Rodney Childers, was third-fastest with a lap of 176.012 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Kurt Busch and rookie Chase Elliott completed the top five in the 80-minute session.



Truex Jr. also logged the fastest 10-lap average at 174.625 mph, with Austin Dillon (174.442 mph) second and Harvick (174.384 mph) third.

Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon was 24th-fastest in final prep for his second Sprint Cup start of the season as a replacement for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet. Earnhardt is sitting out for the third straight weekend with concussion-like symptoms.



Defending race winner Matt Kenseth notched the 18th-fastest lap in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota. Kyle Busch, the defending Sprint Cup champ and last weekend’s winner at Indianapolis, was sixth-fastest in another Gibbs entry, the No. 18 Toyota.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Gordon will sub longer if needed | Junior injury timeline


Dale Earnhardt Jr. provided a health update Saturday morning from his Twitter account, saying the concussion-like symptoms that have forced him to miss three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races “have plateaued over the last week.”


Earnhardt has been sidelined since the team’s announcement July 14 about his condition. Alex Bowman and Jeff Gordon have split time driving his Hendrick Motorsport No. 88 Chevrolet in the interim.



Earnhardt said in Tuesday’s edition of the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast on Dirty Mo Radio that he was heeding the advice of doctors in taking a slow course of recovery, saying that concussion-related ailments were not conditions that he could “race through” on the track. He reiterated that Saturday, tweeting that his physicians were “preaching patience.”


Four-time series champ Gordon, who raced his entire career with Hendrick Motorsports, emerged from retirement last weekend at Indianapolis as a substitute. Gordon is back in the No. 88 Chevy at least through this weekend at Pocono Raceway for Monday’s Pennsylvania 400 (11 a.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).


Earnhardt said in his podcast that he would have an update on his condition after a Monday visit with doctors. He indicated that would help the Hendrick organization determine its plans for next weekend’s Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International.


The team has said that there is no firm timetable for Earnhardt’s return to competition. Gordon said Friday at Pocono that he would serve as an interim driver for as long as the team needed him.


Should Gordon return next weekend at Watkins Glen, it would mark his 800th Sprint Cup start.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Live radar, forecast updates for Pocono

Overnight rain soaked the track at Pocono Raceway, and Saturday’s schedule has been adjusted as drying efforts continue.



NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying was set for 9:05 a.m. ET on FS1 before wet weather canceled the event. The lineup for the Pocono Mountains 150 will be set by practice speeds; William Byron will start on the pole.


RELATED: Full lineup for Trucks race at Pocono


The lone NASCAR Sprint Cup Series activity of the day comes at 11 a.m. with an 80-minute practice session on NBCSN. The Camping World Truck Series’ Pocono Mountains 150 is scheduled for Saturday (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Water seeping upward through breaks in the 2.5-mile track’s pavement briefly delayed the start of Friday morning’s opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice. This was the only delay in Friday’s on-track schedule. 


The Sprint Cup Series’ Pennsylvania 400 is set for Monday (11 a.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings
MORE: New name in Chase Grid


LONG POND, Pa. – Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Pocono Raceway featured no Sprint Cup drivers in the field.



Then again, the race didn’t need any representation from NASCAR’s top division, as dominant as William Byron was.



The 18-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, led 44 of 60 laps in the No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota in a caution-filled event and pulled away to beat runner-up Cameron Hayley to the finish line by a comfortable 1.407 seconds. The victory was the fifth in 12th starts this year for the first-year driver, who broke Kurt Busch’s rookie record of four wins in 2000.



“That 9 is so fast,” commented Hayley. “We need to really go back and look at things, because he’s definitely a step above us. But we worked hard all day, and we were able to come out at least for a second-place finish.



“We would have liked to win, but that 9 is pretty fast, so we’ll keep trying.”



Byron had his sights set on the rookie record from the outset.



“It means a lot,” said Byron, who pitted for fuel for the last time on Lap 25 and spent the rest of the race saving gas. “It was definitely a goal—I can’t lie about that. I knew that was something to beat, and we just show up with so much focus.



“We never get off track, I feel like. It’s just a credit to where we are as a race team, the work we’re doing, the work they’re doing in the shop on the trucks, and we’re putting it all together when we get to the race track.”



Byron’s wasn’t the only mark set on Saturday. The race produced a record nine cautions for 27 laps, and the spate of yellow flags allowed both Byron and Hayley to get 35 laps out of their last tanks of fuel.



Christopher Bell, the victim of an early wreck when John Wes Townley knocked his No. 4 Tundra into the outside wall, lost five laps under repairs, but Bell received a series-record five free passes under caution as the highest-scored lapped truck and returned to the lead lap in time for the final restart on Lap 57.



Bell rescued an unexpected 10th-place finish.



“I was just out there trying to log laps,” Bell said. “And the next thing you know, there was a yellow. Then there was another yellow, and they said, ‘You’re the lucky dog, come on around.’ The last yellow put us on the lead lap, and we were able to capitalize on it.



“To come out of here with a top 10 was remarkable for us.”



Brett Moffitt ran third in a substitute role for Matt Tifft, who is undergoing treatment after surgery to remove a brain tumor. Timothy Peters came home fourth, followed by Cole Custer.



Byron increased his lead in the series standings to 25 points over second-place Matt Crafton, who finished 12th on Saturday. Daniel Hemric, who spun and collected Brad Keselowski Racing teammate Tyler Reddick to cause the fifth caution, is tied with Peters for third in the standings, 37 points behind Byron.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

RELATED: Full race results 

LONG POND, Pa. — Brett Moffitt finished the 2015 season as the Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year.



He started the 2016 season without a ride — in any national series.



After completing his rookie campaign behind the wheel of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports ride currently inhabited by reigning XFINITY Series champion Chris Buescher, Moffitt found himself seatless heading into this season with more questions than answers regarding his career trajectory.



Fill-in duty came calling earlier this month as Red Horse Racing needed a driver for its No. 11 Toyota at Kentucky, with Matt Tifft sidelined following surgery to remove a low-grade brain tumor. After starting second, an engine failure while running in the top five relegated Moffitt to a 31st-place finish.



RELATED: Tifft tweets upbeat video post-surgery



The 23-year-old was again behind the wheel at Pocono Raceway for Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 150, carving his way through the field — and a wreck-heavy, race-record nine cautions — to finish third after starting 15th.



Despite the lack of seat time this season, it appears Moffitt hasn’t forgotten what to do when his team gives him a machine capable of competing.



“We didn’t make a single adjustment on it during the race; we really had a good truck. (Crew chief) Scott (Zipadelli) called a great race; great strategy. Got us up front when it mattered,” Moffitt said. ” … We were actually really lucky (to stay out of the wrecks). It seemed like when it happened, it would happen right in front of us, so we were able to duck to the bottom and avoid before cars get stacked up three and four-wide trying to avoid it and you get forced into a lane.



“It worked out alright for us, we just saw a lot of attrition right in front of us. Part of qualifying getting rained out was that we started mid-pack and we had to do what the leaders didn’t. So that’s why we went with that strategy and it ended up working out, but it was a little bit nerve-wracking through the middle section of the race there.”



With the finish — his best across all NASCAR national series in 43 starts — Moffitt is hoping it results in keeping his name fresh in people’s minds, as he has no other opportunities lined up at the current moment.



Regardless, he’ll be ready at the drop of a hat should any team, Red Horse Racing included, call him up for a spot start or more.



“(Red Horse) like to keep it last minute, so I found out about a week ago Friday,” he said. “It’s a little stressful during that week to get everything ready and it’s hard on the guys at the shop, but they do a great job adjusting to multiple drivers this year and they continue to prove that.



“I don’t think I’ve had a clear path my whole career. I’ve kind of been riding each opportunity I get, you know? Last year it was in the 55 car when Brian (Vickers) was out and this year it’s in the 11 truck with Matt Tifft being out. Not the way I want to get opportunities, by someone else’s hard fortune, but it’s good to make the most of them.



“Hopefully this opens the door for some more races.”

Posted on by Nascar

LONG POND, Pa. — Brad Keselowski’s bone-jarring crash at Watkins Glen International earlier this week was the result of an improperly installed brake line on his No. 2 Penske Racing Ford.
 
“There was an installation error with the brakes,” Keselowski said Friday at Pocono Raceway, site of Monday’s Pennsylvania 400 (11 a.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR). “The brake line wasn’t installed in the proper way and it broke.”
 
Keselowski’s accident occurred July 26 during the first day of a two-day organizational test for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams at WGI. The series is scheduled to compete there Aug. 5-7.
 
Moments after completing a session-leading lap of 124.572 mph on the 2.45-mile road course, Keselowski’s Ford went off track and nose-first into the tire barrier located at the end of the frontstretch.
 
He was not injured in the high-speed impact, and was back on track the following day in a backup entry.
 
“I understand the whole tire barrier concept,” Keselowski, said. “In general, I’m not comfortable with tracks that have runoffs that lead to very harsh angles, and that’s certainly the situation that (WGI) has, and always has had it.
 
“Road courses remain the most dangerous tracks in motorsports for a good reason because of that, but we know that going in. Some place has to be the safest and some place has to be the most dangerous.”
 
Safety advances made by NASCAR as well as many of the teams competing today have lessened the likelihood of serious injury, but the threat remains.
 
In 2011, Keselowski won at Pocono less than a week after chipping a bone in his ankle during a hard crash during testing at Road Atlanta. That incident led to a complete evaluation by the organization of its safety protocols.
 
The result was a redesign of the pedals, floorboard and seat, he said, and the evolution of steering wheels and other interior pieces have lessened the threat of serious injury as well.
 
“From what I can tell at this moment, all of the pieces that we were able to redesign performed very well,” Keselowski said of the WGI incident. “The one piece that we weren’t able to redesign was the steering column. That’s probably the weakest link in those type of impacts at the moment.”
 
What else needs to be done? Keselowski admitted he doesn’t have the answer.
 
“The answers I do have,” he said, “is that there’s only so many of those hits you are going to take before someone gets killed. It’s just the way it is.
 
“It’s not something I’m comfortable with, but I think as a sport there are a lot of different ways to look at it. At the end of the day I’m still standing here.
 
“That’s something that the smart guys that work on that stuff are going to have to figure out some time.”

Posted on by Nascar

RELATED: Weekend schedule for Pocono, Iowa


LONG POND, Pa. — Jeff Gordon maintains that he is looking at his stint in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports “as a very temporary thing,” but adds he’s willing to remain in the role “as long as they need me.”



“I say that very loosely,” Gordon quickly added Friday at Pocono Raceway, site of Monday’s Pennsylvania 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, where he will line up 24th on the grid (11 a.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).



Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is said to be making progress in his recovery from concussion-like symptoms that sidelined him following the July 9 race at Kentucky Speedway. Alex Bowman drove for the team the following weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway before Gordon took over last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.



“It was great last Friday to see him say ‘hey I feel good today and made some progress,'” Gordon said of Earnhardt. “We want to just keep going with how he is feeling. The doctors are evaluating. I’m not speculating anything at this time.



“I wouldn’t be here in Pocono if I wasn’t committed to be there for Hendrick Motorsports and this team in any way that they need me. I think there is a balance between trying to make this transition. First of all you want Dale to have the comfort of knowing that somebody is there for him. He doesn’t have to worry about that aspect of it through this process. 

“… Then there is the side of who is the best person to be in the car to get the most points. And then there is the sponsorship side of it as well. So far from what Rick (Hendrick, team owner) is telling me that seems to be me. That is why I was at Indy and that is why I’m here.”



The series travels to Watkins Glen International next weekend, with an off-weekend before heading to Bristol, Tennessee. HMS officials have not indicated who would be in the car if Earnhardt Jr. is unable to return for next week’s event.



Gordon, a four-time series champion who moved from the driver’s seat to the television booth after the 2015 season, finished 13th at Indy; Bowman was 26th at New Hampshire.



There have been “a couple” of conversations between Gordon and Earnhardt Jr., Gordon said, noting that his former teammate “likes to FaceTime.”



“It seems like he is always on the treadmill every time I see him or talk to him,” Gordon said. “He is just real interested in what we are up to and how it’s going and things we are working on. I think also a lot of it is … evaluating where they are at as a team and some of the set-ups and whether I’m going to be making the same comments as he was making when he was in the car.



“So far, I feel like it’s been very similar. Definitely, any amount of information that I can get to help me prepare for every time I’m on the track is great information. I’m asking everybody questions just trying to get up to speed everywhere we go including Dale.”


RELATED: Latest updates on Dale Jr.


Prior to competing at Indy, Gordon was able to reacquaint himself with the track through simulation programs; he also pulled information from teammate Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team, which tested at the 2.5-mile track the previous week.



That hasn’t been the case this week.



“Get fitted in the car, debrief with the team from Indianapolis and then preparation for Pocono,” he said. “Didn’t have test video from some of our teammates for here like we did last week at Indianapolis and I didn’t have time to get in the driving simulator either. 



“The first few laps today were definitely again a steep learning curve. This is a very challenging race track so it’s going to be a tough, challenging weekend, but I do like this track and (there is) a little bit to learn with this new package.”



Earnhardt’s absence has resulted in a fall from 13th to 17th in the points standings. He will need to either a race win or be 15th or higher (based on the current list of winners and their respectively point standing) in points to potentially earn a position in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. 



He would also need a waiver from NASCAR, something that would not be determined until he has officially been cleared to return to competition.