Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1
    Transparent Wall Technician crazed 9.6's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    15,650
    Rep Power
    447

    William Byron wins Cup Series Rookie of the Year

    William Byron wins Rookie of the Year and celebrates 21st birthday in Las Vegas
    By Jessica Ruffin NASCAR.com November 29, 2018 at 11:48 am

    LAS VEGAS — Fresh off his first year in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, William Byron has shed his rookie stripe. And when the clock struck midnight to Nov. 29, he removed a different label — the underage one.

    That’s right, the 2018 Sunoco Rookie of the Year winner fittingly celebrated his 21st birthday in Las Vegas.

    “It’s a trip,” Byron said Wednesday afternoon about his birthday timing. “It’s kind of symbolic of the fact that I’m kind of coming of age and kind of getting the rookie stripes off and everything. It makes sense that going into my second year, growing up a little bit. Started living out on my own and some of the things I’m doing there, so that stuff will help grow up a little bit.”

    Indeed, the 2018 offseason is like a transition and growth period for the young driver. He moved into his own place three weeks before the end of the season — “I gotta do laundry and pay my own bills and there’s all these things. And the place doesn’t clean itself,” he said with a smile.

    And on Wednesday afternoon, Byron accepted the 2018 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in front of his fellow series drivers at the Myers Brother Awards. He earned 10 top-15 finishes in 2018 and paced the field for 61 laps to claim the award.

    “I love to race,” Byron said during his acceptance speech. “Six years ago, it would have been crazy to imagine that I would be racing side-by-side with idols of mine. The first race of the year, lining up against Jimmie Johnson in the Duel: the lights, the colors, it was a lot brighter than in an Xfinity car.”

    The 2018 season brought plenty of “new” for Byron, who started with a new series, team, crew chief and car number, inheriting the No. 24 driven to fame by Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.

    “It’s been a lot of growing up,” he told NASCAR.com. “I feel like I’ve learned a ton of things and it’s just been a learning process to understand the Cup Series and understand what makes me tick. So, I’ve enjoyed that part of it. I feel like going into next year, I don’t have to learn all that stuff again. …

    “(I’ll be) definitely more aggressive, I would say, and confident and not feeling like I’m being judged as much,” he continued on his approach for 2019. “I feel like in my rookie year, there was a lot of judgement. I feel like I won’t have that as much. I feel like I’ll be able to get past that and not feel like I’m not part of the series.”

    The rookie stripe now gone from his No. 24, Byron looks to his sophomore season that will begin in a few months. And maybe while in Las Vegas, he’ll toast (with an adult beverage) to his promising future — and a memorable first year in the Monster Energy Series.

    “As I look towards next year, I’m excited and ready to get going,” he said. “No more rookie meetings, and that’s a freedom I haven’t had in my short NASCAR career thus far.

    “With that being said, I’m ready to take those rookie stripes off.”
    "The illusion of freedom will continue for as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will take down the scenery, move the tables and chairs out of the way, then they will pull back the curtains and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater."
    - Frank Zappa

  2. #2
    Transparent Wall Technician crazed 9.6's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    15,650
    Rep Power
    447
    Ohh damn,I missed that,,, oooops
    sorry 4me2c
    I read that thread too, but I missed that post thou... somehow or other.

    thnx
    "The illusion of freedom will continue for as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will take down the scenery, move the tables and chairs out of the way, then they will pull back the curtains and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater."
    - Frank Zappa

  3. #3
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    in front of pc
    Posts
    2,074
    Rep Power
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by crazed 7.2 View Post
    Ohh damn,I missed that,,, oooops
    sorry 4me2c
    I read that thread too, but I missed that post thou... somehow or other.

    thnx
    this thread is different
    his post was over 2 weeks before ceremony banquet
    I guess he didn't read all of first post

  4. #4
    Transparent Wall Technician crazed 9.6's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    15,650
    Rep Power
    447
    Yea, Byron prolly deserves a dedicated thread for this honor

    William Byron didn't get behind the wheel of a race car until he was 15 years old, learning the sport on iRacing, a popular online simulator backed by NASCAR.
    When he was 18 and still in high school, Byron won the May 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.

    Byron, now 21, went on to win seven of 23 races in the Truck Series during 2016. Then he moved into stock cars and won the Xfinity Series title, collecting four wins and 22 top-10 finishes in 33 races.
    Then sliding behind the wheel of the iconic No. 24 car this season for Hendrick Motorsports,to become Rookie of the Year.

    While most drivers grow up racing Go-Karts and numerous dirt tracks, Byron didn’t actually get behind the wheel of a race car until he was 15 years old, but that hasn’t prevented him from holding his own against the Cup Series’ other young guns — a group that includes Hendrick teammates Chase Elliott (22) and Alex Bowman (25) as well as Ryan Blaney (24), Kyle Larson (25), and Erik Jones (21).
    "The illusion of freedom will continue for as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will take down the scenery, move the tables and chairs out of the way, then they will pull back the curtains and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater."
    - Frank Zappa

  5. #5
    3 Time Nascar Pool Winner 4me2c's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Out There...!
    Posts
    6,751
    Rep Power
    300
    and Now He has one...! Other Post has been Deleted...!

 

 

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •