Sports
With Daytona 500 win, William Byron has arrived as NASCAR's next superstar
Readers can now follow NASCAR, Formula One and other motorsports content separately. Customize your feed here.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Can’t-miss prospect. Prodigy. Future superstar. These are all labels that were placed on William Byron as he ascended NASCAR’s development ladder. Some drivers who have this heavy praise lavished on them don’t meet the expectations. Somewhere along the way, the rocket fizzles and the once-promising career doesn’t pan out as envisioned. They plateau. The opportunities don’t materialize.
It’s a story that has played out many times throughout NASCAR’s history. But Byron is quite the exception. Already, at age 26, he’s proven to be the can’t-miss prospect that didn’t miss.
He won big in his lone year in the Truck Series in 2016. He won the 2017 Xfinity Series championship as a rookie. Driving for Hendrick Motorsports since his Cup debut, he earned Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2018, then qualified for the playoffs the next season and every season since. And after his Daytona 500 triumph Monday night, he now boasts 11 victories at NASCAR’s top level. Maybe that figure seems low at first blush considering Byron is in his seventh year in Cup, but since 2020 — the season he won his first race — his 11 wins are more than former Cup champions Joey Logano (9), Martin Truex Jr. (8), Kyle Busch (7), and Brad Keselowski (5) have during that same span.
Whatever “it” is that separates great drivers from those merely good, Byron has it in abundance. And he’s only going to get better as he gains additional experience. His initial foray into racing came via iRacing, an online racing simulation, and he didn’t start driving actual race cars until he was a teenager, as opposed to most other Cup drivers who started much younger in Legends or go-karts.
“That talent is one thing, but then the race craft and the work ethic and all these other things that come along with it,” Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon said while celebrating in victory lane. “How you communicate what a race car is actually doing so your team can make it go faster and how you work together as a team. That’s the remarkable thing to me. And clearly, he’s unique and special in a way that …”
Before Gordon could finish his thought, the roar of the ongoing Xfinity Series race interrupted him. Nonetheless, his point was obvious: Byron is a unicorn. A generational talent who every step along the way has risen to meet the expectations before him, regardless of how high the bar is set.
“Everybody said he had natural talent,” Byron’s mother, Dana Byron, said about her son. “He caught on so quickly (when he first started racing) that by a couple of months in, he was beating everybody. At first, he wasn’t and then he just kept studying and studying and practicing.”
Byron maybe didn’t need a Daytona 500 win to cement his status as NASCAR’s next superstar. He already stamped his mark last year in a breakout 2023 season that included winning a series-best six races and ranking first in top-fives, top-10s and average finish, as well as second in laps led.
William Byron hugs his mother, Dana, after winning Monday’s Daytona 500. “Everybody said he had natural talent,” Dana Byron says of her son’s rise in NASCAR. (James Gilbert / Getty Images)
But one tremendous season does not define a career nor make a legacy. This comes over time, stacking one great season after another, filled with gaudy statistics like Byron racked up last year. If you only do this once, well, people tend to throw around the dreaded “F” word (fluke).
A student of the sport, Byron understands this reality. He’s seen drivers win big one year, stumble the next and never recapture their winning mojo. Those around him say this is part of what motivates him. Team owner Rick Hendrick described Byron as carrying a “chip” with him into the 2024 season, and Byron agreed.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get that chip off my shoulder,” Byron said. “It’s always been there. It’s just I’m very quiet about it. I don’t know. There’s always reasons to find. We didn’t win the championship (last year, when he finished third), and we don’t get talked about the most, and other people get more publicity, things like that, and I feel like I just — whatever I find, I use as motivation.
“It’s just the way I’ve always been internally. I don’t express that a lot. But it definitely burns inside. I feel like that’s what fuels your offseasons a lot of times is just what can I find, what little edge can I find to be the best. There’s still tons to learn. I can be a lot more complete in the car, and I feel like your race craft and things are always evolving, and just trying to be a better version inside the car with my team.”
Even within the Hendrick organization, Byron is often looked at as the “other guy,” something that he readily acknowledges — and that adds motivation. When your teammates include Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, each former Cup champions widely regarded as among NASCAR’s elite, it can be easy to get glossed over.
The only way to change this perception is to win, both races and championships.
“I use it all as fuel, so just keep it coming,” Byron said. “All the preseason predictions and everything.”
What Byron is, though, and what Larson and Elliott are not yet, is a Daytona 500 winner. Within Hendrick, only Byron carries this distinction. He also has more wins than Larson and Elliott since the start of last season.
“Today was a major step,” Gordon said. “I think the Championship Four last year and then following that up with the Daytona 500, he’s well on his way.”
This point Byron drove home Monday night before a national television audience, emphatically announcing his status as NASCAR’s next superstar. Not only has he arrived, it’s also clear that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
GO DEEPER
Anonymous NASCAR garage poll: Who wins the Cup crown? Biggest disappointment?
(Top photo: Jeff Robinson / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Kenny Omega blasted a social media user over a remark made about Will Ospreay and Charlie Kirk.
The X user made a critique about Ospreay’s mic skills on Thursday, writing, “Will Ospreay is as bad on the mic as charlie kirk, but can’t sell the neck as well as he did.”
COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL
Kenny Omega enters the ring during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Wrestle Dynasty event at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 5, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Omega, who is friends with Ospreay inside and outside the ring, slammed the poster.
“What the f— is wrong with you? It isn’t hard to try having some class,” he wrote in response.
“A dear friend battles back from a career threatening injury, is no doubt still fighting pain today, and is somehow mocked and compared to a dude that was murdered. I get that a joke is a joke but these things should really be kept separate in my opinion.”
Kenny Omega looks on after the tag match during the Power Struggle – Super Jr. Tag League 2018 at Edion Arena Osaka on November 03, 2018 in Osaka, Japan. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
When one X user came to the defense of the commenter, Omega responded once more.
“Please extend my apologies, genuinely. Perhaps I’ve become too sensitive after my own brush with death. I also know of Will’s efforts behind the scenes more than most so it was sad to see such a harsh comparison,” the current AEW champion added.
Kirk, a conservative commentator and the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in September. Tyler Robinson was arrested in Kirk’s murder.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk spoke during his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Kirk was fatally shot while appearing at the event. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Robinson’s trial is currently ongoing.
The final weekend of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is here, with France and England playing for third place on Saturday before defending champion Argentina takes on 2010 winner Spain for the title on Sunday.
Here’s everything you need to know about the last two matches of the 39-day, 48-team tournament in North America (all times Pacific).
Saturday’s third-place game
France vs. England
France star Kylian Mbappé smiles during a World Cup semifinal match against Spain on Tuesday.
(David Ramos / Getty Images)
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
Time: 2 p.m.
TV: Fox, Telemundo | Streaming: Fox One, Peacock
The buzz: This is a game neither team really wants to play. The disappointment of missing the final is fresh and the weather report calls for temperatures in the high 80s with 68% humidity and a chance of thundershowers — a brutal South Florida summer day. The $2-million difference in prize money between third and fourth place isn’t likely to make any of that more palatable. Still, the game will have meaning for France since it will be the final match for coach Didier Deschamps, the winningest World Cup manager in history. And captain Kylian Mbappé, tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi for most goals in the tournament (8), has a chance to become the first player to win consecutive Golden Boots. England is playing in the consolation final for the second time in three World Cups; it lost to Belgium 2-1 in 2018. But this one will probably sting even more since the Three Lions were five minutes away from their first final in six decades before collapsing against Argentina. This could be the last World Cup game for England’s Golden Generation of Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford, John Stones and Jordan Henderson.
Sunday’s championship game
Spain vs. Argentina
Argentina star Lionel Messi celebrates after a win over England in the World Cup semifinals on Wednesday.
(Buda Mendes / Getty Images)
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Time: Noon
TV: Fox, Telemundo | Streaming: Fox One, Peacock
The buzz: Argentina has a chance to become the first repeat World Cup champion since Brazil in 1962, which would give Messi another grand achievement in his sixth and likely final World Cup. Messi enters the weekend as the all-time leader in goals, assists and games played in tournament history. But unbeaten Argentina hasn’t made things easy, with its winning goals in the four knockout-round games coming in the 92nd minute or later. Spain, the reigning European champion, will be playing to put a second star on its jersey to match the one it won in 2010. La Roja, with the sixth-youngest roster in the World Cup, got to the final on the strength of spectacular defense led by Unai Simón, who has six clean sheets in seven games. Mikel Oyarzabal is the team’s leading scorer with five World Cup goals. The teams had one common opponent in this tournament, tiny Cape Verde, a World Cup debutante. It played Spain to a scoreless draw in its opener, then held Argentina to a 1-1 standoff into extra time before falling.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
One of the most memorable moments of the 2026 Winter Olympics came early, when skier Lindsey Vonn delivered a gutsy performance for the ages by competing at 41 just a week after injuring her knee in a crash.
Unfortunately, as admirable as her perseverance was, she injured herself badly in another crash just 13 seconds into her run in the women’s downhill final.
Five months later, Vonn is still very much dealing with her injuries.
MARCELLO HERNÁNDEZ ROASTS JAKE PAUL, TIGER WOODS AND BILL BELICHICK IN ESPYS MONOLOGUE
Lindsey Vonn speaks on stage during the 2026 ESPYs. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
“It’s been a very slow process,” Vonn told People while attending the ESPYs Wednesday in New York City. “It’s been five months since I’ve been able to actually go to the gym in a somewhat meaningful way. And walking is actually still really hard for me. My ankle is still broken.”
Regardless of the outcome, her decision to attempt that run remains one of the most courageous moments of the Games.
Lindsey Vonn was involved in a serious crash during the women’s downhill event at the 2026 Winter Olympics. (Screengrab by IOC via Getty Images)
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Remember when I mentioned that injury before the Olympics? That wasn’t just a minor bump in the road; it was a completely ruptured ACL.
There was no questioning her courage, but the aftermath has been difficult.
Lindsey Vonn walks through pit lane ahead of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto)
“I was in a wheelchair for so long. I was on crutches for so long,” Vonn said. “It was honestly almost 3½ months that I was unable to walk unassisted. I got very emotional when I was able to walk on my own.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
This week, Vonn posted an update on her recovery and said she has “a very long road ahead.”
-
Los Angeles, Ca12 minutes ago‘Moana’ is a triumph for Pacific Islander representation on the big screen
-
Detroit, MI36 minutes agoFive shot during funeral at Detroit church
-
San Francisco, CA48 minutes agoSan Francisco Giants Announce Intriguing Roster Move Ahead of Mariners Series
-
Dallas, TX54 minutes agoDallas seafood wholesaler fined $250K for false salmon labeling
-
Miami, FL60 minutes agoAbsolutely Not: Florida woman’s “suggestive” license plate goes viral
-
Boston, MA1 hour agoAriana Grande fan gets better tickets to TD Garden concert in Boston after resolving StubHub issue
-
Denver, CO1 hour agoMitchell Fraboni will be the Bronco long snapper in 2026
-
Seattle, WA1 hour agoSeattle real estate owner sentenced to prison for $4.7 million tax evasion scheme – MyNorthwest.com
