William Byron has gradually established himself as a top-level NASCAR Cup Series racer and his spot at Hendrick Motorsports.

Byron, who joined NASCAR’s most professional organization full-time in 2018 at the age of 20, had a great opportunity to learn, including how to surround himself with people who might bring out the best in him as a driver.

On Sunday, Byron won his third career triumph and his first of the 2022 season at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He dominated 111 of the 325 laps, which was no simple feat in a race with a race-record 46 lead changes between 20 different drivers.

Byron, who is now in his fifth season at Hendrick Motorsports, says he has never been more at ease as a Cup driver or in his role at Hendrick.

“I think that comfort has come in the last few years. I would say even back to working with Chad (Knaus) I felt more and more comfortable in the debriefs, more comfortable at the shop, and it was kind of one thing after another,” he said.

“I would say the first thing I felt comfortable was walking into the shop and feeling like I could speak my mind and say what the car did, be critical. Then I think it slowly trickled to Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) coming on board (last season), somebody that I’ve worked with in the past, and then Branden (Lines, his spotter) was a nice addition (this year) to somebody I’ve worked with in the past as well.

“Then ultimately, just having that good group around you and people that you trust and can work with. It’s been a great start to the year. We’ve had a ton of speed. Obviously had some wrecks and things, but I felt like (the win) was due.”

Byron, 24, is the third new Hendrick race winner in the first 5 races of the season, which is fairly surprising given that everyone in the championship is still learning the nuances of the Next Gen chassis.

Byron sits fourth in the overall standings as the series moves to its first road course race of the season this weekend at Circuit of the Americas.

Despite the fact that Byron seemed to have a superior car on Sunday, Atlanta’s offseason reconfiguration resulted in racing that was considerably more akin to the close-quarters pack racing seen at Daytona and Talladega.

For Byron, the triumph was especially greater because the outcome was still up in the air until the closing laps.

“Cup races are so hard to win, and I feel like anytime you win one it’s just such an exciting feeling,” he said. “It’s a little bit different, though, when you have a nice lead or you’ve got a dominant car all day.

“But when you come to a speedway, you really don’t know you’re going to win until you come on to the frontstretch and if you are by yourself.

“It’s just a crazy, exhilarating feeling when you win at a kind of superspeedway-style race because you’re constantly working – it’s never really guaranteed.”

A capable superspeedway contender

Two of Byron’s three Cup victories have occurred on superspeedway-style circuits, according to Fugle, who has been Byron’s crew chief since the beginning of last season.

“He has become a great restrictor-plate racer,” Fugle said of Byron. “He is really aggressive and knows how to use the runs and take the pushes and give pushes. I mean, it’s hard to say what makes somebody great.

“You know, everybody talks about Denny (Hamlin) when we come to these places, but you have to have good cars, you have to have good engines, and then he has just done an awesome job of learning what makes the car stay up front at these places.

“When we’re not wrecked, he is usually up front.”

Below are some of the most well-known NASCAR drivers’ uniforms, all of which are available at reasonable costs. Visit our link now if you are interested in the racing clothing collection:

Daytona 500, Grand Prix, IndyCar, Nascar, NASCAR Cup Series, William Byron, Xfinity, Hendrick Motorsports