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CONCORD, N.C. – The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season is nearly here, and a trip to Daytona International Speedway awaits this weekend.

Understandably, that has created a buzz in the air on the Hendrick Motorsports campus.

“I feel like everyone at Hendrick Motorsports is ready to get to the racetrack,” William Byron said. “There’s a lot of excitement.”

And perhaps no one is more excited than Byron himself, as he is set to make his Cup Series debut. At 20 years old, he’ll become the youngest driver to start the Daytona 500 since Trevor Bayne in 2011, and Bayne went on to win the race.

And the Rookie of the Year candidate said he feels as prepared as he can be considering the step up to a brand-new series.

“I’m just looking forward to the new challenges I have – all the newness is something that I look forward to,” he said. “When you have guys like Jeff (Gordon) or Jimmie (Johnson) behind the scenes helping you become a better driver, you can’t ask for much more as a rookie.”

Most importantly, he’s looking to find success on the track – something he’s done quite often in the previous steps in his racing career.   

And he expects that if he is able to do that, he’ll continue to cultivate not only his own fanbase, but the fanbase of the No. 24 Chevy.   

“The biggest thing I’m going to do is try to produce results, and if that gets more fans and more excitement around the 24, then that’s all good,” he said. “Jeff also is kind of working behind the scenes to transition those fans over to our car, and I think that hopefully they can find their excitement and joy at the racetrack in watching us succeed.”

“The best thing I can do is be myself and try to show what I can do on the track.”