February 3, 2025 • 25 mins
William Byron spent the weekend driving his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the first time in 2025, and now he’s on the podcast. We start by seeing how Byron is physically feeling after the first race behind the wheel; the warm-up race leading into a season; ramping up training going into a season; the focus during the season on keeping the body strong and learning more about that over the years; having a week between the Clash and Daytona; returning to Daytona as the defending champion; what he remembers most about the 2024 victory; the change in confidence at superspeedways over the years; the feel of Next Gen drafting versus previous generation of race car; preparation for Daytona; going into his eighth year with Hendrick Motorsports; the difference from his first year to where he is now; how a driver builds confidence and comfort at the Cup Series level; the potential of the 24 team on a weekly basis; the attention and emphasis put on Phoenix as the finale; the change in team mindset after two Championship 4 appearances; quick thoughts on the change to the 2025 playoff schedule; being more accustomed to success; spending time in Japan during the offseason.
Original music created by Tony Monge.
Follow me here: https://linktr.ee/kellycrandall
Original music created by Tony Monge.
Follow me here: https://linktr.ee/kellycrandall
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey, everyone, Welcome to the Racing Writers Podcast. I'm your host,
Kelly Krandall. Our guest today is William Byron, driver of
the number twenty four Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports. It is Monday,
as we recorded and are posting this conversation, and that
means William is fresh off of a cookout clash at
Bowman Gray Stadium. And I say that because we're gonna
start our conversation talking about what it physically feels like
(00:27):
after the first race of the year being back inside
that race car. From there, we're gonna shift and talk
about the Daytona five hundred. Is William and the twenty
four team return to Daytona as the defending champions of
that race. William's confidence on super speedways is also a
topic of conversation, and then confidence overall is a Cup
Series driver. He's going into year eight at Hendrick Motorsports.
You'll hear me reference that in the conversation. Time does fly,
(00:50):
and he's having a lot of success in that twenty
four car with Rudy Feugels. So we're gonna have broad
picture conversations about being in the championship for the last
two years and just how far he has come and
what this team is doing on the racetrack. So we
had him for about twenty five minutes. We jam packed
I think a lot into this conversation and I hope
you enjoy it. So here he is. It's William Byron
on the Racing Writers Podcast. As promised, William Byron is here.
(01:20):
And this is pretty cool to talk to William on
a Monday, right after a race weekend, and the first
race weekend of the year, because this is what I'm
curious about, first race back.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
How do you.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Feel on a Monday right after a couple months off.
You go through the off season and I'm sure you
were training and getting ready to go, but what does
this Monday feel like? A physically out of body?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, I'm a little bit sore.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
It feels like a little bit of a bad hangover
for sure, especially not running well. But yeah, no, it's
been honestly a pretty easy day, you know, nothing major
going on and just a meeting here.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And there talking about the race. But yeah, great to
be back.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I mean it kind of it feels like it's been
a long time and honestly nice to get back in
the car and feel everything again and be able to compete.
So I enjoyed that and wish it would have gone
better for sure, But I think that, you know, definitely
some lessons to learn and had some issues with the
car that we unfortunately just came up in the race.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
But yeah, looking forward to getting to daytona.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Next good warm up, right, a good way to jump
back in. Didn't have to travel far. It was right here,
kind of in everybody's backyard, so it seemed like it
was a good weekend all around in that regard.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I mean I think, yeah, that kind of made it
made it really easy to get back in the rhythm
and routine. Just being able to go back, you know,
drive an al Holm was awesome, so definitely spoiled on that.
It was a very soft lead in the on the
travel aspect for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
So that helped.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
I like how you said that a soft lead in.
I want to talk a little bit more about the
training I mentioned, so William walk us through what an
off season looks like in that regard because I mentioned
it there, right. I mean, I'm sure everybody goes in
the off season, they try to relax a little bit,
but at some point you have to work your way
back in right, especially when it comes to that training
and get your body ready to be back in the
(03:16):
race car. What does that look like for you as
far as kind of how far out do you start
really ramping up your exercise or your gym workouts, whatever
that may be.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Yeah, I mean for me, I really took about a
week off after the season and just kind of got
my body fresh, and then I was back to training.
So I wanted to work on some things that had
some fitness goals that I had in mind, and just
kind of got started on those things pretty early on.
I honestly felt like I ended last year in pretty
(03:47):
good shape and felt my body felt good. There were
a few little lingering things, but overall, just wanted to
work on some things during the off season and felt
like I was able to do that stay on a
pretty good routine. I kind of I got off routine.
I travel a lot, so it's kind of going to
different gyms and hotels is not ideal. But yeah, I
(04:09):
think honestly, everyone approaches it differently. I've had seasons where
I didn't train at all in the off season and
then just kind of hit it running during the season.
But it's really hard during the season to make a
lot of games, you're really just trying to maintain and
get yourself ready for the next week. So I feel
like the off season is a great time to work
(04:30):
on that stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Well, that's where I wanted to go next. As you
look now in season, as you're in the car every weekend,
as it comes to that training and keeping your body going,
what do you focus on, for instance, what part of
the body or what do you really want to be
strong because of what it's going to go through in
the race car that you want to make sure that
you are as prepared and your body is as ready
(04:53):
to go each week so you don't feel bad on
a Monday.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It's really just staying flexible and being in a seated
position like that and really tense for hours is really
tough on your body and your joints and everything. So
it's just kind of staying nimble for the most part.
But there are some muscles that you use more in
the car, and honestly, in the car, there's some really
(05:18):
weird muscles that you use a lot, you know, like
your neck. There's really not a lot of the exercises
you can do for your neck. It's really a very
specific way to work that out, and then honestly, just
your back and your lower body just gets a lot
of a lot of work on it. It's really hard
to explain to people that have never raced, like they
(05:41):
asked me.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
A lot of times, I'll have friends ask me.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
What it is like physically, and all I can really
do is show them my heart rate and show them
what my body.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Is doing for output.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And you know, it's a lot like being in the
race car is a very intense workout, so you know,
you burn a lot of you know, I don't know
why that is. I mean, you're in such an intense environment.
I'm not really sure what muscles you're using. It'd be
great to have a somebody like attached some things and
be able to pick that up. But it is pretty
(06:13):
fascinating to see sort of what it does to your body.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
How much have you learned about that over the years,
because is it different from what you were experiencing when
you started out racing in different cars and going through
different series. I would imagine it's probably more intense at
the cup level because the cars are different, competitions different
the races are longer, so how much have you learned
about what it takes to kind of be I guess,
(06:38):
quote unquote in shape behind the wheel and things that
you have to do as we're talking about to be
prepared for that.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like it's it's really taken
a different shape for me since I started. Like when
I started, I wasn't I wasn't very into fitness or anything,
and really just tried to race the car.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And I was really young.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
And pretty thin, so for me, I get pretty worn
out easily. And then honestly, I think it took shape
as I got older. I was like, I need to
focus on this to be able to race longer races
like three four hours in the Cup level, and it
just started to take shape and I had to focus
on different things to make it through the race. So
(07:23):
I think that when I got off to a start
in racing, I was playing other sports and I didn't
really realize how physical driving a car would be.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
So the clashes in the rearview mirror. The attention turns
to Daytona. I heard from Rudy this morning on Sirius
XM talking about finishing up getting prepared for that race.
But we have this weekend in between, and we've had
this now, I think for a couple of years we've
run the clash and then there's been Super Bowl weekend
and then we go to Daytona. Do you like this
schedule here at the beginning of the year kind of
how it's worked out. Where As I said, you go
(07:55):
back racing, you kind of ease into it, but then
you have a week to recover and do do last
minute preparing for a long season ahead as we get
to Daytona.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yeah, it's honestly really nice.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I feel like the first year so I didn't really
take I didn't really take it seriously, and I didn't
have really planned out what I was going to do
throughout this week. But it is sort of an off week,
so it's nice to I have quite a few things planning,
going to golf event tomorrow and then I think a
concert on Thursday as.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Well, So it's gonna be fun.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
I enjoy having that sort of time to be able
to do other things before the season, but also there's
a lot of preparation going on for Daytona, so making
sure that oli our ducks are in a row for
that race, making sure that we're organized on that we
have our meetings and planning for that.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
So it's a little bit of both.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
But I think it's really nice to have that weekend
off to reset and be able to get to Daytona
the next week and start speed weeks because I'll be
down there from Monday on, so it's a full week
for sure, and I like it that way. I enjoy
I really enjoy getting down at Daytona. And how that
full week to do stuff.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Well, you say you enjoy going to Daytona. Now you're
going as the defending Daytona five hundred champion. How does
that sound to go back there as the guy that
won the most recent one and you're trying to make
it too in a row.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, it's awesome. I mean it's a great feeling. I
feel like I feel lighter because of it. I feel
like there's less pressure. That race is really difficult to
win and let alone finish, really, so it's yeah, I'm
excited to get down there. I feel like it's a
different feeling than years past for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
What do you remember most or what stays with you
the most when you think about the experience of winning
at Daytona last year, The celebration afterwards, of course you
had the New York media tour, but winning the Daytona
five hundred what still stays with you a year later
as you look back on that experience.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
I think what's sticks with me is just the celebration
after with my team and all the things that we
got to do as a group and enjoy that way.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I think that it really.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Means a lot to a lot of different people that
whether they've raced for a long time and never won
that race or.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Whatever it may be.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
So I feel like there's a lot of special meetings
behind that, and I think it really carried a lot
of weight within our team, which was cool to see
that and enjoy that with them.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Did you keep anything in particular from that win? I mean,
the car goes in the museum and your team will
get that back, But did you keep anything maybe confetti
or is there something that you really wanted to make
sure that you held on to personally after that?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
I think, honestly, just the I'd say, the trophy and
just some of the things that they The ring that
they give you is definitely pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So yeah, just holding.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Onto those things, and then yeah, I don't know, I
don't really have, Like I do have the at somewhere.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
It's stored somewhere, so I need to find that for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
What did you end up doing, or I should say
where did the trophy end up? Right, because that's a
special one and I know drivers through the years they've
talked about how that can't just go anywhere. That one
goes somewhere in particular.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Did you do that?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Not really at first, I just kind of put it
on the coffee table for a little while and to
try to figure out where to put it. But I
feel like it's found to get home and just in
my center now, so it's kind of in a nice spot.
So yeah, I'm not really dig into like collecting like trophies.
Usually for me, they just kind of go somewhere and
(11:38):
I just never really look at them.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
But yeah, this one just I've kept more kind of
out in about in the house. So that was cool
for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
I know, I'm trying to think of the visual of
the Daytona five hundred, the Harley j Earl sitting on
a coffee table that I'd get a kick out of that.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yeah, it's like, yeah, it's a unique spot for it,
for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, I want to talk a little bit William about
how your confidence at super speedways has changed over the years,
because I think back to early in your career where
right or wrong, you faced a little bit of criticism.
I think you went through a little spat was I
think it was with Kiselowski right where drafting at Daytona
and there were some RECs. How has as I said there,
(12:19):
how has your your confidence changed and you knowing what
your ability is at these super speedways and feeling comfortable
with the moves you make and going into these races. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I mean I feel like, for whatever reason, I've always
been up towards the front of those speedway races, and
I think that I made some maybe some questionable decisions
at times where I was just trying to figure it out,
but I was always in a good chance to capitalize,
and I feel.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Like that's it's really hard to get towards the front.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
So just trying to learn from those maybe things that
happened where I could do something a little bit different
and make maybe a different decision. And over time I've
just tried to work on those things. So it's still
a really difficult style of racing and takes a lot
of adaptation, and with this new aero package, like it's
(13:18):
very tough to get to the lead, so being in
the front couple of rows is difficult, and just trying
to maintain your place up there is really tough.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
I was going to ask about that because I've heard
other drivers say the same thing. How has the feeling
behind the wheel changed from the previous generation of cars
to the next gen car, particularly at these super speedways
in terms of what you can and can't do, because,
for instance, you talk to Denny Hamlin and he just says, man,
I don't have the same power, I don't have the
same kind of ability of what made me so good
(13:51):
in years past. I can't do that with the next
gen car. So is it kind of a different almost
skill set with what you have to do in next
gen at Daytona AND's Talladay versus the previous cars.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Yeah, I think it's definitely different. I feel like the
blocks are different and it's really hard to get through
the field. So it's like maintaining that track position is
so important now and the pit cycles are more important
than they've ever been, so being able to get on
and off road effectively, being able to get in your
(14:23):
pit stall, having all that stuff time out well to
where you come back out on the track and you're
in a good spot.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
That's really the name of the game now. So it's
it's changed a lot. You can't have those little.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Mistakes and just drive your way back through the field
like you used to be able to.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
So yeah, it's it's very different than what it used
to be.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
And I feel like that's that's created a different style,
you know, And I don't know if it's better or worse,
but it's just created something that's unique and indifferent. It
still takes a lot of patients and skill, but it's
just how you get there's a lot more unique they.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Used to be, right, it's an adjustment. What does your
preparation for Daytona look like? Now we talked about it.
You have this week in between the clash and before
you go to Daytona next Monday. What do you do
as a driver to prepare? Do you watch film? We
talked about You had your team meeting this morning after
the clash, and there will be meetings for Daytona. But
(15:18):
what does a driver do as you get ready for
what's ahead?
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, I mean it's really once you get down there
for me personally, I think that there's a little bit
of film that I can watch and study, but the
racing really starts on Thursday night, and then once you
race that duel, you get a chance to figure out
how your car handles and what you need to do differently,
and then it just kind of progresses from there. So
(15:47):
it really starts Thursday night and then figuring out what
you need to do in practice on Friday to get
your car driving better, and then Sunday's it's own beasts,
Like you have to really kind of get into the
rhythm and the flow of the race to figure out
what you need to do from there. So it's yeah, honestly,
right now, there's not a lot you can prepare for
other than just making sure that all the procedures and
(16:09):
everything are correct.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Is it hard to believe you're going into year eight
already with Hendrick Motorsports.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, it's pretty amazing.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
I mean it goes by fast for sure, Like the
last I think the last four or five years have
gone by really fast, So it's yeah, it's crazy to
think about. I mean, I've been doing it for a
while now, so it's it's great.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I think, you know, I like to keep racing for
a while longer.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
So yeah, I've been been enjoying it and trying to
find the new goals to strive for.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
What's the biggest difference from William Byron at twenty who
came into the Cup Series to now you're twenty seven
going into as we talked about year eight.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
Yeah, I mean just I mean really totally different. I
feel like I was really young and still trying to
figure out racing in general, so still always trying.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
To strive for new things.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
But yeah, I feel like, honestly just have learned a
lot and then through a lot of different experiences at
the Cup level that have helped me.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
We talked earlier about confidence at super speedways. How about
overall confidence when it comes to being a Cup Series driver?
How does a driver build that over the years. What
goes into a driver getting more confident and more comfortable
being a Cup Series driver?
Speaker 3 (17:30):
I think it just comes down to results, Like I
don't think there's anything in the Cup level that can
strengthen your confidence other than results, and honestly just having
a method, like having a method of how you do
things and how you prepare, how you get to the racetrack, all.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Those little things.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
When you start to dial those things in and put
that with success on the track, that's really the only
recipe for confidence.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
So yeah, it's really tough series, very.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Easy to get beat down, you know if you don't
run well, and you know, it's it's the toughest I
feel like in the world, just having forty cars out
there and forty competitive cars.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
It's it's difficult.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
There's nowhere lied for sure on the topic of results
when it comes to this twenty fourteen William, You and
Rudy Fugel and everybody over there. Do you feel like
you guys have hit the spot where you can get
the job done anywhere? Or is there still certain places
or certain things that you guys really need to kind
of hone in on.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
There's always kind of a strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
I feel like we've kind of bounced around between what
our strongest tracks are.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
You know, when we started out.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
It was a mile and a halfs and then the
you know, last couple of years, it was road courses
and short tracks for a little bit, and then sometimes
short tracks are our biggest weakness, and then you know,
mile half seemed to always be pretty good, but sometimes
not the strength of like going out and dominating.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
So it's it's it would kind.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Of evolved over the years, Like I feel like we've
we've kind of been all over with what our good
tracks are. So I think this year definitely the goals
to try to get really strong at short tracks because
there's a lot of those in the playoffs, so trying
to be good at those is really important for us.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Along those same lines, has how much has the emphasis
and attention to Phoenix changed over the last couple of years,
because that's been the place where the championship is and
it seems like you guys have been so strong leading
into that race and then it's like, man, Phoenix, we
just need a little bit more at Phoenix.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Right, Yeah, honestly, I mean I think we need just
a little bit more at the last two tracks. I
feel like Martinsville and Phoenix we've been just okay. And
Martinsville we haven't been like dominant, we haven't led a
bunch of laps in that race.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
So this past fall was probably.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
The closest we were at Martinsville, and honestly the closest
we were at Phoenix too, and we just got to
keep inching up on those two places is and I
think that's you know, with this format, that's those are
the two most important races of the year.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
So there's really you know, maybe Homesteady in the third.
Now it'll be different this.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Year, but yeah, those are those are the ones that
we definitely circle.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
How is the mindset the last two years changed? Considering
that you guys did make it to the championship for
two years.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
In a row.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
You all know what that experience is like, You've gone
through the nine rounds of the playoffs to make it
to that final race. So given that you've done that,
as I said, how does that change the mindset now
of where this team is.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Well, I think it just makes the goal more clear
and obvious, Like we know what it takes to get
to that point, and we know what tracks it takes
to be good at to get to that point. So
I think it just kind of makes the goals more
clear and obvious and makes us know what we need
to work on. So, but there's a whole season, you know,
(20:56):
to get to that point, and there's a lot of
key tracks to get to that spots, so you definitely
can't take a week off in this deal, like you
have to be you have to be good everywhere, and
you just have to.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Emphasize a few places a little more than others.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
When NASCAR announced the twenty twenty five schedule and you
saw that there was some track changes to the playoffs,
did you kind of look at it and say, man,
I made the championship for the last two years. We
know how to do it. I know they're changing the
tracks up on us.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Yeah, it's definitely this year is unique. I mean having
Talenting in the round of eight and then having like
New Hampshire in there and Gateway.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
It's definitely really different than what it's been.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So yeah, I think it's different but also the same,
Like you have the same staple tracks in there. Putting
Darlington back in there is great for us.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
So yeah, I think I'm still still really excited about
all the places that are in the playoffs. Just know
that we have to, like I said, you get at
the shorter tracks for sure.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Two more things for you. One more on talking about
this championship hunt. So the last couple of years we
said it, you guys made the championship for You're now
in this rhythm where you and the twenty four team
are having multiple win seasons, William, are you getting more
this I don't know if this makes sense, but are
you getting more accustomed to success? I don't know if
(22:18):
that's the right way to say it, but you guys
are now at a point where, again it's consistently happening
for the twenty four team. That has to feel good,
and it also has to be a little bit of
a different feeling after as we talked about early on
in your career.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Yeah, I mean, I.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Think at the same time, it's like there's still so
much more to go get and do, and like anytime
you have a batteries you're like, man, there's just so
much more. We need to still work on it, you know.
I think that it just builds and kind of builds
on itself and it never stops.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
So I think, yeah, there's still a lot for us
to go out there and do for sure.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
All right, last thing, non racing question. I know it
was posted on social media, so I want to ask,
how was the pan trip that seemed to be a
little out of your wheelhouse going over International?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Yeah, it was awesome. It was really a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
I enjoyed it a lot and just got a chance
to do something very different and see something really different.
So it was great anytime you have an opportunity in
the off season to have some time away and like
you want to do something valuable with it. So I
felt like that was this was the year to do
that and it was great. I honestly didn't part of
(23:30):
me didn't want to come back right away. I was like,
this is this is great. I want to enjoy a
little bit longer.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Well, I'm glad you didn't come back, and I'm glad
we got to chat today the day after the first
race of the season, because that was a unique perspective.
And as I said, now we shift to Daytona, you
get to go as the defending champion. So appreciate the
time today as always, and I'll see you soon. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Thanks Kelly, I appreciate.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
It and enjoy the conversation. Thank you William for stopping by.
He had jumped on right after his team meeting as
a twenty four team debriefed from Bowman Gray And as
I said, now they shift their attention to Daytona, so
appreciate the time on this Monday. My thanks also to
(24:13):
Ashley nis f Hendrick Motorsports for coordinating the conversation and
getting it on our schedules. If you enjoy the conversation,
let me know you can do that through social media.
In the show description of this episode, there is a
link tree link and it will show you everywhere on
social media that I am, so, whether that's x, Facebook, Instagram,
blue Sky, linked in, very easy to find me. Appreciate
(24:34):
all the feedback I saw. We had a new review
on Apple Podcasts, so I appreciate that. And hopefully you
are subscribed and following the podcast and this will appear
in your feed every Monday, so you should be doing
that and also letting me know what you think of
the podcast, because I'm having a lot of fun and
I hope you all are as well. So with that,
we're going to wrap up another week. We'll be back
(24:56):
on Monday. We're gonna go into the Craftsman Truck series.
Lane Riggs is going to be our guest. We're going
to review his second season in that series and with
front Row Motorsports, So that will be available for you
next week right here on The Racing Writers Podcast.
Hey, everyone, Welcome to the Racing Writers Podcast. I'm your host,
Kelly Krandall. Our guest today is William Byron, driver of
the number twenty four Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports. It is Monday,
as we recorded and are posting this conversation, and that
means William is fresh off of a cookout clash at
Bowman Gray Stadium. And I say that because we're gonna
start our conversation talking about what it physically feels like
(00:27):
after the first race of the year being back inside
that race car. From there, we're gonna shift and talk
about the Daytona five hundred. Is William and the twenty
four team return to Daytona as the defending champions of
that race. William's confidence on super speedways is also a
topic of conversation, and then confidence overall is a Cup
Series driver. He's going into year eight at Hendrick Motorsports.
You'll hear me reference that in the conversation. Time does fly,
(00:50):
and he's having a lot of success in that twenty
four car with Rudy Feugels. So we're gonna have broad
picture conversations about being in the championship for the last
two years and just how far he has come and
what this team is doing on the racetrack. So we
had him for about twenty five minutes. We jam packed
I think a lot into this conversation and I hope
you enjoy it. So here he is. It's William Byron
on the Racing Writers Podcast. As promised, William Byron is here.
(01:20):
And this is pretty cool to talk to William on
a Monday, right after a race weekend, and the first
race weekend of the year, because this is what I'm
curious about, first race back.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
How do you.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Feel on a Monday right after a couple months off.
You go through the off season and I'm sure you
were training and getting ready to go, but what does
this Monday feel like? A physically out of body?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, I'm a little bit sore.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
It feels like a little bit of a bad hangover
for sure, especially not running well. But yeah, no, it's
been honestly a pretty easy day, you know, nothing major
going on and just a meeting here.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And there talking about the race. But yeah, great to
be back.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I mean it kind of it feels like it's been
a long time and honestly nice to get back in
the car and feel everything again and be able to compete.
So I enjoyed that and wish it would have gone
better for sure, But I think that, you know, definitely
some lessons to learn and had some issues with the
car that we unfortunately just came up in the race.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
But yeah, looking forward to getting to daytona.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Next good warm up, right, a good way to jump
back in. Didn't have to travel far. It was right here,
kind of in everybody's backyard, so it seemed like it
was a good weekend all around in that regard.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I mean I think, yeah, that kind of made it
made it really easy to get back in the rhythm
and routine. Just being able to go back, you know,
drive an al Holm was awesome, so definitely spoiled on that.
It was a very soft lead in the on the
travel aspect for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
So that helped.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
I like how you said that a soft lead in.
I want to talk a little bit more about the
training I mentioned, so William walk us through what an
off season looks like in that regard because I mentioned
it there, right. I mean, I'm sure everybody goes in
the off season, they try to relax a little bit,
but at some point you have to work your way
back in right, especially when it comes to that training
and get your body ready to be back in the
(03:16):
race car. What does that look like for you as
far as kind of how far out do you start
really ramping up your exercise or your gym workouts, whatever
that may be.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Yeah, I mean for me, I really took about a
week off after the season and just kind of got
my body fresh, and then I was back to training.
So I wanted to work on some things that had
some fitness goals that I had in mind, and just
kind of got started on those things pretty early on.
I honestly felt like I ended last year in pretty
(03:47):
good shape and felt my body felt good. There were
a few little lingering things, but overall, just wanted to
work on some things during the off season and felt
like I was able to do that stay on a
pretty good routine. I kind of I got off routine.
I travel a lot, so it's kind of going to
different gyms and hotels is not ideal. But yeah, I
(04:09):
think honestly, everyone approaches it differently. I've had seasons where
I didn't train at all in the off season and
then just kind of hit it running during the season.
But it's really hard during the season to make a
lot of games, you're really just trying to maintain and
get yourself ready for the next week. So I feel
like the off season is a great time to work
(04:30):
on that stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Well, that's where I wanted to go next. As you
look now in season, as you're in the car every weekend,
as it comes to that training and keeping your body going,
what do you focus on, for instance, what part of
the body or what do you really want to be
strong because of what it's going to go through in
the race car that you want to make sure that
you are as prepared and your body is as ready
(04:53):
to go each week so you don't feel bad on
a Monday.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It's really just staying flexible and being in a seated
position like that and really tense for hours is really
tough on your body and your joints and everything. So
it's just kind of staying nimble for the most part.
But there are some muscles that you use more in
the car, and honestly, in the car, there's some really
(05:18):
weird muscles that you use a lot, you know, like
your neck. There's really not a lot of the exercises
you can do for your neck. It's really a very
specific way to work that out, and then honestly, just
your back and your lower body just gets a lot
of a lot of work on it. It's really hard
to explain to people that have never raced, like they
(05:41):
asked me.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
A lot of times, I'll have friends ask me.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
What it is like physically, and all I can really
do is show them my heart rate and show them
what my body.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Is doing for output.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And you know, it's a lot like being in the
race car is a very intense workout, so you know,
you burn a lot of you know, I don't know
why that is. I mean, you're in such an intense environment.
I'm not really sure what muscles you're using. It'd be
great to have a somebody like attached some things and
be able to pick that up. But it is pretty
(06:13):
fascinating to see sort of what it does to your body.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
How much have you learned about that over the years,
because is it different from what you were experiencing when
you started out racing in different cars and going through
different series. I would imagine it's probably more intense at
the cup level because the cars are different, competitions different
the races are longer, so how much have you learned
about what it takes to kind of be I guess,
(06:38):
quote unquote in shape behind the wheel and things that
you have to do as we're talking about to be
prepared for that.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like it's it's really taken
a different shape for me since I started. Like when
I started, I wasn't I wasn't very into fitness or anything,
and really just tried to race the car.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And I was really young.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
And pretty thin, so for me, I get pretty worn
out easily. And then honestly, I think it took shape
as I got older. I was like, I need to
focus on this to be able to race longer races
like three four hours in the Cup level, and it
just started to take shape and I had to focus
on different things to make it through the race. So
(07:23):
I think that when I got off to a start
in racing, I was playing other sports and I didn't
really realize how physical driving a car would be.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
So the clashes in the rearview mirror. The attention turns
to Daytona. I heard from Rudy this morning on Sirius
XM talking about finishing up getting prepared for that race.
But we have this weekend in between, and we've had
this now, I think for a couple of years we've
run the clash and then there's been Super Bowl weekend
and then we go to Daytona. Do you like this
schedule here at the beginning of the year kind of
how it's worked out. Where As I said, you go
(07:55):
back racing, you kind of ease into it, but then
you have a week to recover and do do last
minute preparing for a long season ahead as we get
to Daytona.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yeah, it's honestly really nice.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I feel like the first year so I didn't really
take I didn't really take it seriously, and I didn't
have really planned out what I was going to do
throughout this week. But it is sort of an off week,
so it's nice to I have quite a few things planning,
going to golf event tomorrow and then I think a
concert on Thursday as.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Well, So it's gonna be fun.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
I enjoy having that sort of time to be able
to do other things before the season, but also there's
a lot of preparation going on for Daytona, so making
sure that oli our ducks are in a row for
that race, making sure that we're organized on that we
have our meetings and planning for that.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
So it's a little bit of both.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
But I think it's really nice to have that weekend
off to reset and be able to get to Daytona
the next week and start speed weeks because I'll be
down there from Monday on, so it's a full week
for sure, and I like it that way. I enjoy
I really enjoy getting down at Daytona. And how that
full week to do stuff.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Well, you say you enjoy going to Daytona. Now you're
going as the defending Daytona five hundred champion. How does
that sound to go back there as the guy that
won the most recent one and you're trying to make
it too in a row.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, it's awesome. I mean it's a great feeling. I
feel like I feel lighter because of it. I feel
like there's less pressure. That race is really difficult to
win and let alone finish, really, so it's yeah, I'm
excited to get down there. I feel like it's a
different feeling than years past for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
What do you remember most or what stays with you
the most when you think about the experience of winning
at Daytona last year, The celebration afterwards, of course you
had the New York media tour, but winning the Daytona
five hundred what still stays with you a year later
as you look back on that experience.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
I think what's sticks with me is just the celebration
after with my team and all the things that we
got to do as a group and enjoy that way.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I think that it really.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Means a lot to a lot of different people that
whether they've raced for a long time and never won
that race or.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Whatever it may be.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
So I feel like there's a lot of special meetings
behind that, and I think it really carried a lot
of weight within our team, which was cool to see
that and enjoy that with them.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Did you keep anything in particular from that win? I mean,
the car goes in the museum and your team will
get that back, But did you keep anything maybe confetti
or is there something that you really wanted to make
sure that you held on to personally after that?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
I think, honestly, just the I'd say, the trophy and
just some of the things that they The ring that
they give you is definitely pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So yeah, just holding.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Onto those things, and then yeah, I don't know, I
don't really have, Like I do have the at somewhere.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
It's stored somewhere, so I need to find that for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
What did you end up doing, or I should say
where did the trophy end up? Right, because that's a
special one and I know drivers through the years they've
talked about how that can't just go anywhere. That one
goes somewhere in particular.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Did you do that?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Not really at first, I just kind of put it
on the coffee table for a little while and to
try to figure out where to put it. But I
feel like it's found to get home and just in
my center now, so it's kind of in a nice spot.
So yeah, I'm not really dig into like collecting like trophies.
Usually for me, they just kind of go somewhere and
(11:38):
I just never really look at them.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
But yeah, this one just I've kept more kind of
out in about in the house. So that was cool
for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
I know, I'm trying to think of the visual of
the Daytona five hundred, the Harley j Earl sitting on
a coffee table that I'd get a kick out of that.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yeah, it's like, yeah, it's a unique spot for it,
for sure.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, I want to talk a little bit William about
how your confidence at super speedways has changed over the years,
because I think back to early in your career where
right or wrong, you faced a little bit of criticism.
I think you went through a little spat was I
think it was with Kiselowski right where drafting at Daytona
and there were some RECs. How has as I said there,
(12:19):
how has your your confidence changed and you knowing what
your ability is at these super speedways and feeling comfortable
with the moves you make and going into these races. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I mean I feel like, for whatever reason, I've always
been up towards the front of those speedway races, and
I think that I made some maybe some questionable decisions
at times where I was just trying to figure it out,
but I was always in a good chance to capitalize,
and I feel.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Like that's it's really hard to get towards the front.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
So just trying to learn from those maybe things that
happened where I could do something a little bit different
and make maybe a different decision. And over time I've
just tried to work on those things. So it's still
a really difficult style of racing and takes a lot
of adaptation, and with this new aero package, like it's
(13:18):
very tough to get to the lead, so being in
the front couple of rows is difficult, and just trying
to maintain your place up there is really tough.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
I was going to ask about that because I've heard
other drivers say the same thing. How has the feeling
behind the wheel changed from the previous generation of cars
to the next gen car, particularly at these super speedways
in terms of what you can and can't do, because,
for instance, you talk to Denny Hamlin and he just says, man,
I don't have the same power, I don't have the
same kind of ability of what made me so good
(13:51):
in years past. I can't do that with the next
gen car. So is it kind of a different almost
skill set with what you have to do in next
gen at Daytona AND's Talladay versus the previous cars.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Yeah, I think it's definitely different. I feel like the
blocks are different and it's really hard to get through
the field. So it's like maintaining that track position is
so important now and the pit cycles are more important
than they've ever been, so being able to get on
and off road effectively, being able to get in your
(14:23):
pit stall, having all that stuff time out well to
where you come back out on the track and you're
in a good spot.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
That's really the name of the game now. So it's
it's changed a lot. You can't have those little.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Mistakes and just drive your way back through the field
like you used to be able to.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
So yeah, it's it's very different than what it used
to be.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
And I feel like that's that's created a different style,
you know, And I don't know if it's better or worse,
but it's just created something that's unique and indifferent. It
still takes a lot of patients and skill, but it's
just how you get there's a lot more unique they.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Used to be, right, it's an adjustment. What does your
preparation for Daytona look like? Now we talked about it.
You have this week in between the clash and before
you go to Daytona next Monday. What do you do
as a driver to prepare? Do you watch film? We
talked about You had your team meeting this morning after
the clash, and there will be meetings for Daytona. But
(15:18):
what does a driver do as you get ready for
what's ahead?
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, I mean it's really once you get down there
for me personally, I think that there's a little bit
of film that I can watch and study, but the
racing really starts on Thursday night, and then once you
race that duel, you get a chance to figure out
how your car handles and what you need to do differently,
and then it just kind of progresses from there. So
(15:47):
it really starts Thursday night and then figuring out what
you need to do in practice on Friday to get
your car driving better, and then Sunday's it's own beasts,
Like you have to really kind of get into the
rhythm and the flow of the race to figure out
what you need to do from there. So it's yeah, honestly,
right now, there's not a lot you can prepare for
other than just making sure that all the procedures and
(16:09):
everything are correct.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Is it hard to believe you're going into year eight
already with Hendrick Motorsports.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, it's pretty amazing.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
I mean it goes by fast for sure, Like the
last I think the last four or five years have
gone by really fast, So it's yeah, it's crazy to
think about. I mean, I've been doing it for a
while now, so it's it's great.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I think, you know, I like to keep racing for
a while longer.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
So yeah, I've been been enjoying it and trying to
find the new goals to strive for.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
What's the biggest difference from William Byron at twenty who
came into the Cup Series to now you're twenty seven
going into as we talked about year eight.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
Yeah, I mean just I mean really totally different. I
feel like I was really young and still trying to
figure out racing in general, so still always trying.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
To strive for new things.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
But yeah, I feel like, honestly just have learned a
lot and then through a lot of different experiences at
the Cup level that have helped me.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
We talked earlier about confidence at super speedways. How about
overall confidence when it comes to being a Cup Series driver?
How does a driver build that over the years. What
goes into a driver getting more confident and more comfortable
being a Cup Series driver?
Speaker 3 (17:30):
I think it just comes down to results, Like I
don't think there's anything in the Cup level that can
strengthen your confidence other than results, and honestly just having
a method, like having a method of how you do
things and how you prepare, how you get to the racetrack, all.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Those little things.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
When you start to dial those things in and put
that with success on the track, that's really the only
recipe for confidence.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
So yeah, it's really tough series, very.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Easy to get beat down, you know if you don't
run well, and you know, it's it's the toughest I
feel like in the world, just having forty cars out
there and forty competitive cars.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
It's it's difficult.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
There's nowhere lied for sure on the topic of results
when it comes to this twenty fourteen William, You and
Rudy Fugel and everybody over there. Do you feel like
you guys have hit the spot where you can get
the job done anywhere? Or is there still certain places
or certain things that you guys really need to kind
of hone in on.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
There's always kind of a strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
I feel like we've kind of bounced around between what
our strongest tracks are.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
You know, when we started out.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
It was a mile and a halfs and then the
you know, last couple of years, it was road courses
and short tracks for a little bit, and then sometimes
short tracks are our biggest weakness, and then you know,
mile half seemed to always be pretty good, but sometimes
not the strength of like going out and dominating.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
So it's it's it would kind.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Of evolved over the years, Like I feel like we've
we've kind of been all over with what our good
tracks are. So I think this year definitely the goals
to try to get really strong at short tracks because
there's a lot of those in the playoffs, so trying
to be good at those is really important for us.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Along those same lines, has how much has the emphasis
and attention to Phoenix changed over the last couple of years,
because that's been the place where the championship is and
it seems like you guys have been so strong leading
into that race and then it's like, man, Phoenix, we
just need a little bit more at Phoenix.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Right, Yeah, honestly, I mean I think we need just
a little bit more at the last two tracks. I
feel like Martinsville and Phoenix we've been just okay. And
Martinsville we haven't been like dominant, we haven't led a
bunch of laps in that race.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
So this past fall was probably.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
The closest we were at Martinsville, and honestly the closest
we were at Phoenix too, and we just got to
keep inching up on those two places is and I
think that's you know, with this format, that's those are
the two most important races of the year.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
So there's really you know, maybe Homesteady in the third.
Now it'll be different this.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Year, but yeah, those are those are the ones that
we definitely circle.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
How is the mindset the last two years changed? Considering
that you guys did make it to the championship for
two years.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
In a row.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
You all know what that experience is like, You've gone
through the nine rounds of the playoffs to make it
to that final race. So given that you've done that,
as I said, how does that change the mindset now
of where this team is.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Well, I think it just makes the goal more clear
and obvious, Like we know what it takes to get
to that point, and we know what tracks it takes
to be good at to get to that point. So
I think it just kind of makes the goals more
clear and obvious and makes us know what we need
to work on. So, but there's a whole season, you know,
(20:56):
to get to that point, and there's a lot of
key tracks to get to that spots, so you definitely
can't take a week off in this deal, like you
have to be you have to be good everywhere, and
you just have to.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Emphasize a few places a little more than others.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
When NASCAR announced the twenty twenty five schedule and you
saw that there was some track changes to the playoffs,
did you kind of look at it and say, man,
I made the championship for the last two years. We
know how to do it. I know they're changing the
tracks up on us.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Yeah, it's definitely this year is unique. I mean having
Talenting in the round of eight and then having like
New Hampshire in there and Gateway.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
It's definitely really different than what it's been.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So yeah, I think it's different but also the same,
Like you have the same staple tracks in there. Putting
Darlington back in there is great for us.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
So yeah, I think I'm still still really excited about
all the places that are in the playoffs. Just know
that we have to, like I said, you get at
the shorter tracks for sure.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Two more things for you. One more on talking about
this championship hunt. So the last couple of years we
said it, you guys made the championship for You're now
in this rhythm where you and the twenty four team
are having multiple win seasons, William, are you getting more
this I don't know if this makes sense, but are
you getting more accustomed to success? I don't know if
(22:18):
that's the right way to say it, but you guys
are now at a point where, again it's consistently happening
for the twenty four team. That has to feel good,
and it also has to be a little bit of
a different feeling after as we talked about early on
in your career.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Yeah, I mean, I.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Think at the same time, it's like there's still so
much more to go get and do, and like anytime
you have a batteries you're like, man, there's just so
much more. We need to still work on it, you know.
I think that it just builds and kind of builds
on itself and it never stops.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
So I think, yeah, there's still a lot for us
to go out there and do for sure.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
All right, last thing, non racing question. I know it
was posted on social media, so I want to ask,
how was the pan trip that seemed to be a
little out of your wheelhouse going over International?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Yeah, it was awesome. It was really a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
I enjoyed it a lot and just got a chance
to do something very different and see something really different.
So it was great anytime you have an opportunity in
the off season to have some time away and like
you want to do something valuable with it. So I
felt like that was this was the year to do
that and it was great. I honestly didn't part of
(23:30):
me didn't want to come back right away. I was like,
this is this is great. I want to enjoy a
little bit longer.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Well, I'm glad you didn't come back, and I'm glad
we got to chat today the day after the first
race of the season, because that was a unique perspective.
And as I said, now we shift to Daytona, you
get to go as the defending champion. So appreciate the
time today as always, and I'll see you soon. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Thanks Kelly, I appreciate.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
It and enjoy the conversation. Thank you William for stopping by.
He had jumped on right after his team meeting as
a twenty four team debriefed from Bowman Gray And as
I said, now they shift their attention to Daytona, so
appreciate the time on this Monday. My thanks also to
(24:13):
Ashley nis f Hendrick Motorsports for coordinating the conversation and
getting it on our schedules. If you enjoy the conversation,
let me know you can do that through social media.
In the show description of this episode, there is a
link tree link and it will show you everywhere on
social media that I am, so, whether that's x, Facebook, Instagram,
blue Sky, linked in, very easy to find me. Appreciate
(24:34):
all the feedback I saw. We had a new review
on Apple Podcasts, so I appreciate that. And hopefully you
are subscribed and following the podcast and this will appear
in your feed every Monday, so you should be doing
that and also letting me know what you think of
the podcast, because I'm having a lot of fun and
I hope you all are as well. So with that,
we're going to wrap up another week. We'll be back
(24:56):
on Monday. We're gonna go into the Craftsman Truck series.
Lane Riggs is going to be our guest. We're going
to review his second season in that series and with
front Row Motorsports, So that will be available for you
next week right here on The Racing Writers Podcast.
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