Pole winner William Byron holds his trophy after qualifying for the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Winning the pole at the Daytona 500 is a highlight for almost every NASCAR driver. Last weekend, William Byron did so at just 21 years old.
Byron, about to start his second full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, and teammate Alex Bowman (age 25) make up the youngest front row in the race’s history, which continues Sunday.
In 2018, Byron took home Rookie of the Year honors after recording four top-10 finishes and ending the season 23rd in the series standings. And he is one of only two drivers to win Rookie of the Year in the Truck, Xfinity and Cup series in consecutive years.
Bryon is also unashamed about his faith, featuring a plate with Ephesians 3:20 on it in his No. 24 Chevrolet. The plate says, “God’s plan is exceedingly abundantly above anything we could imagine for ourselves.”
“I keep that somewhere where I can see it,” Byron told BillyGraham.org about the plaque. “It keeps me focused on the big picture, not getting caught up in little moments and things here and there.”
He sees racing as a way to share his faith and tell others about Christ.
“I feel like getting into racing was God’s plan for me, so I can spread my faith through the racing garage and with race fans — that’s why it’s been so special,” Byron said in a 2018 CNS News story.
On Sunday, Byron has a chance to become the first pole-sitter to win the Daytona 500 since 2000. The race is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
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William Byron celebrates winning the NASCAR Daytona 500, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
The drama that is the Daytona 500 once again did not disappoint. And emerging from the chaos for a second straight year was William Byron, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet to victory in the “Great American Race.”
The win Sunday in NASCAR’s famed, season-opening race makes Byron just the fifth driver to ever win back-to-back Daytona 500s, and the 27-year-old becomes the youngest driver to claim multiple Daytona 500 crowns.
“It’s obviously really special,” Byron said after the race. “It’s an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving.”
With one lap left in overtime, Byron sat in ninth place. But as he worked his way up near the wall, the leaders in front of him jockeyed for position — and crashed each other out of the race. Byron’s fortuitous position squeaked him just by a skidding Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 car, and a clear path to the finish line emerged.
The race was just four laps from completion in regulation when a wreck involving 10 cars forced it to overtime. An earlier crash on Lap 186 also took out some key contenders, and the drivers also endured two weather delays that totaled more than 3.5 hours.
“Yeah, obviously some good fortune, but just trusted my instincts on the last lap there,” Byron said afterward. “I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom, and I was honestly going to go third (top) lane regardless because I was probably sixth coming down the back.
“Just obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor. But just really proud of this team. … I can’t stress that enough. I’m just super thankful for this group and everything that they do in the offseason to get prepared. We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so we’re not going to stop here.”
As he’s developed into one of the top NASCAR drivers in the world, Byron has also leaned on his faith in Jesus. One of his longtime sponsors is Liberty University, a large private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the school’s logo is featured on Byron’s car and racing jacket. The school itself has impacted his life, as the Charlotte native is in the process of earning his degree in strategic communication through Liberty’s extensive online program. More importantly, he credits his racing partnership with the school for aiding him in his spiritual growth.
“I grew up Christian with my family being Christians and taking me to church. That was a big part of my childhood,” Byron said in a July 2019 episode of the Sports Spectrum Podcast. “But I would say really when I started racing, in my second year racing, Liberty became a sponsor of mine and that’s really when I was kind of thrust into something in the spotlight of racing.
“But I realized what was really important, and so I guess that connection (with Liberty) allowed me to further that and pursue that with people that were around me at the time. That was pretty special to me and kind of kept me grounded and helped me understand what’s really important in my life.”
In October, Byron — who describes himself as a “Follower of Christ” on social media — was a guest at one of Liberty’s convocation services and talked about discovering God’s purpose for him.
“Why do you wake up in the morning? What motivates you to do what you do?” Byron said. “How does your faith incorporate into that and what do you use from your faith to motivate you? I knew [racing] was my calling. I knew it was what I wanted to do and then there were a lot of things that lined up for me to do it. Nothing else in my life has had that effect, and I owe a lot of that to God and His purpose for me.
“… Our sport is very volatile with the way that you compete. You don’t win a lot, so there’s a lot of bad days and a lot of days that you really have to figure out what your purpose is besides just racing the car.”
He also shared that he raced with Ephesians 3:20 on his car’s dashboard for many years. The verse reads, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Byron said he has seen God fulfill that promise through racing.
“I grew up in Sunday School, going to a Presbyterian church almost every Sunday, but really my faith took off when I started racing,” he said. “I got out on my own and it was kind of my faith journey. God was always guiding my decisions and whether I was winning or losing races, I always had the grace of God be able to go through experiences and learn from it.”
One thing he learned after winning Daytona last year, Bryon said Sunday, was that he looked ahead to the rest of the season too quickly. NASCAR’s biggest race is also its first race, so there’s still a long season to come after this big win.
“I think this year, I’ll enjoy this race and then we’ll get down the road and get focused on the year,” Bryon said.
The next race on the NASCAR schedule is the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
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Crazy to reflect and see where God has brought me in my career. I made my first Xfinity series start at Richmond for @joegibbsracing in 2006. Now I get to go back 18 years later with @hegetsus on the car on Easter weekend to share about Jesus love for us. Amazing and humbling. pic.twitter.com/qhAeyDVGxw
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