William Byron’s relatively short but impressive career in the NASCAR Cup Series has been leading up to this moment. The 25-year-old driver is about to close his sixth — and, by far, most successful — season racing at the sport’s highest level Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, where he’ll be one of four drivers racing for the Cup championship.
Byron’s career-high six wins on the season so far and largely consistent speed throughout the first 35 races of the season helped propel him to his first Championship 4 round. For NASCAR’s crown, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver compete against Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell.
Of those six wins in 2023, one was at Phoenix in March, which could help give him a slight edge this weekend on the one-mile desert track.
“It helps just with confidence and knowing what the car needs to feel like and having to have a good memory of all those things in the spring,” Byron told For The Win. “So the track temperature and everything is different this time around. So I think it’ll be a little bit different, but I feel like we can adapt.”
For The Win spoke with Byron on Wednesday after he arrived in Phoenix about qualifying for his first championship race, his competitors and embracing an underdog mentality.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.