CONCORD, N.C. – With a three-year contract extension completed, William Byron is focused on the task at hand, not just for this year but for many more to come at Hendrick Motorsports.
"I'm happy where I am," Byron said hours after his new deal was announced on Thursday. "They are happy with the progress that I'm making. I feel like there's that excitement for the future of what we're going to do together. I'm looking forward to it."
RELATED: William Byron signs extension with Hendrick Motorsports
The three-year agreement keeps Byron behind the wheel of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the end of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The current season has seen the 24-year-old become a quick study of the Next Gen car with two wins (one of two drivers with multiple victories so far), and he sits tied for third in the standings with crew chief Rudy Fugle calling the shots. He is locked into the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native is off to career-best marks through 11 races in his fifth Cup Series season with four top-five finishes, 520 laps led and 13 playoff points.
One key factor for Byron in his rise at Hendrick Motorsports has been the tutelage and impact of vice chairman Jeff Gordon as a mentor. The NASCAR Hall of Famer posted 93 wins and four championships in the No. 24 Chevrolet – he and Byron are the only drivers to win in that car number in Cup Series history.
"He's helped quite a bit," Byron said of Gordon. "I think he’s just made me comfortable in the Cup Series and made me understand what's important. He's really good at managing both sides of it. He's good at managing the off-track and the on-track (and) knowing the importance of both. That's been what I've learned from him over the years. And little tidbits of information about racing, too.
"He's been good for me, but also good for the race team and good for Rudy. He'll come into our 24 (team) room and he'll talk about racetracks, what to expect and what he thinks is important. That's cool because he's won at a lot of places, so I think it's great information."
Thanks to Byron and teammates Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports has combined for five wins to open 2022. That mark is tied for the second-most wins in team history at this point in a season. The current Hendrick Motorsports roster is also the quickest four-car lineup in Cup Series history to have each driver visit victory lane.
That internal competition is not lost on Byron with the second half of the regular season coming up and the playoffs on the horizon.
"When it comes to the competition, I still think that if we can just do our deal and just continue to build a notebook that's a good foundation, I think we've got all the tools and resources to do well," Byron said. "I'm not too worried about anybody else. I continue to see my teammates, if they hit on the setup, they can win, and I feel like we're just the same. So I'd say it's really just internal focus. Try to be good every single week and try to build that notebook.
"Knowing that your teammates are going to be right there to challenge you for wins is a good thing."