RICHMOND, Va. – Just days after Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he would retire from full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing at the end of the season, rumors have swirled as who would replace NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver.
While many industry experts believe the nod should go to Alex Bowman, the Hendrick Motorsports employee and substitute driver, speculation has also swarmed around William Byron, the current NASCAR XFINITY Series rookie at JR Motorsports.
Byron, a Truck Series standout who signed last summer as a Hendrick Motorsports development driver is amongst the early candidates to possibly drive the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in 2018.
When asked about the possibility of stepping up to the Cup Series next season, the Charlotte, N.C. native says he’s just focused on this season.
“I think we’re just seven races into the XFINITY schedule,” Byron said. “Just hopefully have a good run at Richmond and keep the hard work going and see what we can do the rest of the year.
“Everyone one of us wants to race in the Cup Series. That’s the ultimate goal. I’d be ready for anything, I think. But, right now, I’m just focusing on what I can do at JRM (and) see what we can do the rest of the year and hopefully, compete for a championship.”
Byron’s interest comes on the heels of a breakout season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports. At age 18, Byron, who honed his racing skills utilizing the online racing program, iRacing scored a record seven wins and three poles before finishing fifth in the series standings.
If not for a blown engine while dominating the penultimate race at Phoenix Raceway, Byron easily would have made the championship round at Homestead-Miami Speedway and contended for the title in his rookie season.
Stepping up to the plate as the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports this year, the Liberty University college student has one pole, two top-five and five top-10 finishes in seven races. Entering Saturday afternoon’s ToyotaCare 250, his best finish is fourth at Phoenix in March.
Outside his inner circle of his No. 9 JR Motorsports team, the rising phenom doesn’t have to convince his veteran teammate Elliott Sadler that he’s ready to make the leap to race at the sport’s pinnacle level.
“He’s got it,” said Sadler who leads the XFINITY Series point standings. “He’s one of these kids that’s got it. I think once he just learns these tracks and these races and setting them up for the longevity of them, making adjustments and all that, once he gets all that nailed, he’s going to win a bunch of races, not only in XFINITY but in Cup race.”
He added, “I’m not sure what his future holds, but my job as a teammate with experience is to ty and help him as much as I can, because the better he runs, the better it is for the entire company.”
Slightly older than his close friend Earnhardt, Sadler who turns 42 on Sunday says he has talked retirement with his wife but says as long as he remains competitive and has the sponsorship to race, he plans to stay in the seat.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at [email protected]
