Daytona 500 Winner William Byron Has Good Advice for Wannabe Racers

Daytona 500 winner William Bryon didn’t start racing until he was in high school and even then, it was on the E-platform. It’s a different career path than one taken by the majority of Byron’s constituents.

However, no matter the path one chooses, Bryon’s advice is to have fun with it.

“What I see from a lot of young kids going to the karting track or going racing on iRacing, it’s just people are taking it way too seriously, way too soon,” Byron says. “I feel like you just have to really enjoy what you do. Try to learn, try to get better as a driver. Learn more about the sport. I think not putting too much pressure on yourself at an early age to try to be the best. I think just try to get out there, experience things, enjoy driving the race car and see what you can do with it.

“By the time you get to this level, you’re going to feel a lot of pressure.”

Byron actually played football in the fifth grade. When he put on his helmet to play linebacker, he says he had “resilience and wanted to hit people.”

The Hendrick Motorsports driver now exhibits that same resilience in a race car.

“Once I put the helmet on, it’s pretty tough to get to me and affect me,” says Byron, who describes himself as “a pretty quiet guy and pretty reserved.”

“I feel like our whole race team is just gritty and hard-nosed.”

Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports team was the only one to acquire two victories in the season’s first six races.