William Byron was the center of attention this week as the new Daytona 500 champion, which meant plenty of media time.
Byron was sent to New York hours after his Monday night victory. Tuesday, the 26-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver, one of the sport’s most reserved, had stops scheduled at Fox and Friends, Live with Kelly and Mark, Forbes, Fox Sports, The Weather Channel, CNN World Sport, Barstool Sports, Jalopnik and Deadspin, the New York Post, NASDAQ and SiriusXM. The day started after 7 a.m. ET and ended after 5 p.m. ET.
“It’s been fun,” Byron said Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I enjoyed all of the stuff that I got to do this week, especially because it was something unique and different and I felt like it was really interesting. A lot of interesting questions and just different outlets trying to learn about the sport. I tried my best to do a good job, and honestly I was running on adrenaline for two, three days, and we’re back to the racetrack now and ready to get to work.
“I enjoyed it. As much as I am quiet, I feel like most of my quiet time is spent at the racetrack when I’m trying to do my work and focusing on my job.”
The biggest race of the season, the Daytona 500, is an attraction for new and die-hard race fans alike, making Byron the face of the sport for the week, giving it more exposure in the mainstream media.
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“I think the best way to go around New York is in a car service going place to place,” Byron said. “We didn’t have to walk anywhere, so it was a unique situation, but it’s very cool and I’m just thankful to NASCAR that they put that together. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go getting on the plane Monday night, and I was a little nervous about it all, but I thought they managed it really well.
“It was super smooth. The Empire State Building was probably one of the coolest aspects, just being able to go up there and see the views.”
There is still more to come. Byron has media scheduled for next week, as well. There is also going to be a visit from Daytona International Speedway at the Hendrick Motorsports shop to present additional spoils for winning the race.
Because the race was postponed until Monday and Byron had to be in New York for a full Tuesday slate, there was no traditional Champion’s Breakfast the next day, where Byron would have been presented with his Daytona 500 champion jacket and Rolex watch while Rudy Fugle is presented the crew chief trophy and Rick Hendrick the Harley J. Earl trophy. All of that will occur with a celebratory lunch at the shop Monday.
First, Byron is glad to be back to work. He qualified his No. 24 Chevrolet 11th at Atlanta, where he’s the most recent winner.
“There’s just a lot of different aspects to it,” Byron said of what being the Daytona 500 champion will mean moving forward. “I feel like the big thing for us is being able to start the year like that with a lot of momentum for a lot of different reasons…I feel like for me, personally, it’s a huge relief and something I’m really excited to carry down the road.”