Byron visits campus for production day, building anticipation for fifth season in NASCAR Cup Series

As he gears up for the start of the 2022 season next month, fifth-year NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron spent most of Friday in the Vines Center partaking in a photo and video shoot with Liberty University’s Marketing team.

“It’s nice to get back on campus,” said Byron, 24, a junior strategic communication major from Charlotte, N.C., studying through Liberty University’s Online Programs. “We came for the Army (football) game back in November. That was a lot of fun to take the team to, so hopefully, we’ll get the chance to come up here more often.”

In October, Byron and Hendrick Motorsports (HMS), which won its 14th Cup Series title as an organization in 2021, extended their sponsorship with Liberty through the 2026 NASCAR season. Byron is excited for what the future holds with his school as a primary sponsor of his No. 24 team.

“It’s been a great few years with Liberty,” said Byron, who is as much of a fan of Flames Football as Head Coach Hugh Freeze is of NASCAR. “It’s cool to have a lot of things on campus to pull for and be a fan of, especially as (Freeze) continues to keep the program moving forward. Hopefully, we can get him out to a race (in 2022).”

Freeze joined Byron for Friday’s photoshoot.

Byron has also befriended Liberty President Jerry Prevo over the past year and a half.

“Dr. Prevo has been so welcoming and just getting to know him over the last couple years has been great,” Byron said. “He’s been to a few races this past year, and we’re just excited to continue to get to know him and, hopefully, we can get him out to another race soon.”

In 2021, Byron finished a career-best 10th in the points standings after securing his third consecutive Cup Series playoff berth as well as his second career points-earning win. He set personal bests in top-five and top-10 finishes as well as total laps led.

Testing at Daytona International Speedway and Phoenix Raceway over the next few weeks, Byron and his No. 24 team expect to be ready to roll into the 2022 season, which kicks off Feb. 7 with the Clash exhibition race at the newly created Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum course before heading to Daytona for the Duel qualifying races on Feb. 17 and the DAYTONA 500 on Feb. 20, NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl.

“Hopefully, by the start of February, we’re ready to go,” Byron said. “There are always new challenges each year, but I feel like we’re prepared for it this year. The goal is to win multiple races and try to make the championship four in Phoenix. Last year, we definitely had the speed … we just didn’t quite have the execution, but I think this year will be a lot better.”

Races with Liberty as the primary sponsor of Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 include March 20 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, April 3 at Richmond Raceway, April 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway for its dirt track event, April 24 at Talladega Superspeedway, May 22 at Texas Motor Speedway for the All-Star race, May 29 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Aug. 7 at Michigan International Speedway, Aug. 14 at Richmond Raceway, Sept. 11 at Kansas Speedway, Oct. 23 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Oct. 30 at Martinsville Speedway.

>> Visit Liberty.edu/24 and follow Byron’s progress at WilliamByron.com.