NASCAR driver and Liberty student William Byron enters playoffs as top seed

With the NASCAR Cup Series points resetting after last Sunday’s regular season finale, William Byron is ranked No. 1 for the first time at the top level of the sport. He opens the 10-race playoffs this Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway as the No. 1 seed out of 16 qualifiers, driving the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Byron made an impressive five trips to victory lane this year, in what has become the best season in his Cup Series career by far. Previously, he recorded four total wins over his first five seasons in the Cup Series.

The 25-year-old driver from Charlotte, N.C., is pursuing his B.S. in Strategic Communication through Liberty’s Online Programs. Liberty has sponsored Byron since 2014 and is the primary sponsor for the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for 13 of the 36 Cup Series races this season — including this Sunday’s and two other playoff races (Sept. 24 at Texas Motor Speedway and Oct. 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway) — and 12 more in each successive season through 2026.

Byron leads the Cup Series with 877 laps and eight stage wins. His first three wins in 2023 — at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, Phoenix Raceway on March 13, and at Darlington on May 14 — all came at tracks that the field will return to in the playoffs. Factor in his wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 9 and Watkins Glen International (N.Y.) on Aug. 20, and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team has won at every type of track on the circuit.

He credits his pit crew — which averaged a series-fastest 11.127 seconds for a four-tire pit stop during the regular season — for putting him in prime position to make a run for his first Cup Series championship.

“They give us a lot of confidence, especially when we are in contention for wins and in contention to run up front,” Byron said. “The guys seem to really elevate their game when those moments happen. They have been there all season to be consistent.”

Sunday will be Byron’s fifth consecutive playoff appearance since missing the cut but earning Cup Series rookie of the year honors in 2018. He is coming off his strongest playoff showing in 2022 when he made it to the Round of 8 for the first time in his Cup Series career before being eliminated in the second-to-last race of the season. He previously advanced to the Round of 12 in 2021 and 2019 and was scratched in the Round of 16 in 2020.

If he can reach the Round of 8 again in October, he will carry the confidence of previously winning at all three of its tracks (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway) during his career. The Cup Series Championship 4 race is set for Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway, where Byron has enjoyed the most success of any track featured in the playoffs, including the win in March, another top-five finish, and six top-10 showings in 11 career starts.

Byron and teammate Kyle Larson (No. 5) will be looking to earn the 15th NASCAR Cup Series driver championship for Hendrick Motorsports.

“The two of our teams work really well together. You’ll see a lot of times he and I being close together on pace because we drive similarly,” Byron said during Thursday’s media day for the NASCAR playoffs. “We have to work our way through the rounds and do the best job we can at all the opening tracks. You can’t get ahead of yourself. We have to do a good job in each round and take it one race at a time.”

In addition to Liberty being the primary sponsor for Sunday’s race, the name of Liberty employee Steven Manwarren, a project manager and cubicle system supervisor in the Design & Renovations department, will be painted above Byron’s right-side door.

As part of NASCAR’s Labor Day Honorary Team Crew member program, Manwarren and his son, Jason, will attend the race with VIP status, with a welcome lunch and meet-and-greet with Byron in the infield, and a red-carpet walk with Byron to the pre-race stage. They will also have the opportunity to have their photo taken with Byron in front of his car and ride in the pace car prior to the start.

Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway, where Byron won the 100th race for HMS drivers in the No. 24 car in May, will be broadcast live at 6 p.m. on USA Network, the NBC Sports App, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.