Around this time of year, college students must strike a balance between finishing the current semester well and planning for next semester. Apparently, so do NASCAR drivers.
As the NASCAR season draws to a close, Monster Energy series rookie and Liberty Online student William Byron reflects on his performance and prepares for changes next season.
William Byron began the season new to the Monster Energy Series, NASCAR’s highest level of stock car racing, and new to his team.
“Being in the cup series has been a new challenge for me. I’ve learned a lot,”
Byron said.
Byron mentioned two people specifically that have helped him adjust and improve — his fellow Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliot.
“I’ve learned to be patient at the right times, how to communicate with them (his teammates) on a week-to-week basis and how to communicate with my team better,” Byron said. “I feel like they’ve helped me maximize my efforts with my team.”
Byron said he was thankful to work with Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time champion and someone Byron refers to as an idol, who helped Byron grow as a driver.
Elliott, who won his first three races this year and is only two years older than Byron, also helped by coaching Byron through his rookie year.
With all the newness, Byron gave himself a “B” on his performance this season.
“There’s some good things that have happened,” Byron said. “It has not been what I wanted but I feel like as a team we’re growing.”
Byron touched on several races where he thought he ran well. One of those was the July race at Pocono, where Byron finished sixth after starting in the back.
“It’s usually a hard track to pass (other drivers), and we were able to make our way through the field and have a really good day so that was a great finish for us and one that I’m proud of,” Byron said.
Byron discussed living a lifestyle of Christian integrity. Byron said there are people of many different views that work in and watch NASCAR, so he focuses on doing what he believes is right.
“I try to go about things with a Christian mindset — a way of doing things that I’m going to be proud of and God’s going to be proud of me for doing those things,” Byron said. “Racing is really just a way for me to live out my faith. It’s what I love to do, but I feel like I was led to do it.”
With NASCAR racing, as with many other sports, Byron works on Sundays, meaning he cannot go to a traditional church service. He has his own system during the week of reading Scripture and getting involved with the Motor Racing Outreach ministry that serves NASCAR drivers and their teams.
During the week, Byron also busies himself studying data from his races and his teammates’ races to learn how to improve.
“We have a lot of tools to use for looking at data nowadays, so there are so many things that I look at when I get back to wherever I’m staying, and I look at some of the things going on during the weekend,” Byron said. “It is kind of like watching film and preparing that way.”
This coming season, Byron will have a new crew chief to help him prepare and push him toward excellence. His new crew chief, Chad Knaus, has been Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief since Johnson was a rookie 17 years ago, according to a Henrick Motorsports article.
Byron spoke highly of his respect for Johnson and Knaus as a driver, crew chief team.
“It’s crazy because I looked up to that team and the way they did things. It was really professional and they just have that charisma about them,”
Byron said.
Next year, Byron will work with Knaus. Byron said he already has an established relationship with his new crew chief and that Knaus’ work ethic and desire to win make him an excellent crew chief.
“You can have the engineering background and all the tools and skills to be a good crew chief, but if you don’t know how to use those, it doesn’t really make a difference,” Byron said.
Byron said he related to Knaus most with their mutual desire to compete and win.
For the next NASCAR season, Byron’s biggest goal is winning, something he knows will set him up for a successful season. He also wants to qualify on the pole and build good team morale and communication.
For now, though, Byron looks to finish well in the last few races of the
current season.