Charlotte native William Byron readies for first NASCAR All-Star Weekend

William Byron in his new sweet colors this week. He's 10/1, part of field.

William Byron on the All-Star Race:
“I’m looking forward to the all-star weekend. I can’t wait to race at Charlotte with all the excitement that comes around it. I really enjoy every track we go to in May. I think Charlotte will be different this time with restrictor plates and the aero package, but hopefully what I learned with that aero package last year at Indy (in Xfinity) will apply. I feel like maybe I’ll have a little bit of the upper hand just knowing what my car needs to do because I think a lot of guys may be up in the air on what to do with their cars (with the new package). Hopefully, that applies and we can get one of those spots in the All-Star Race. Then, it will be like playing with house money at that point. To get in the All-Star Race would be awesome.”

VOTE FOR BYRON: As a Cup rookie, Byron isn’t locked into the All-Star Race … yet. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has three chances to race his way in from the Open qualifying race by winning one of the three stages, and another opportunity by receiving the fan vote. Fans can vote once per day and votes shared via Facebook or Twitter count double, making sharing on social media a key component. Fans can vote for Byron at NASCAR.com/fanvote until 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, May 18. The winner will be announced immediately following the conclusion of the Open qualifying race on Saturday, May 19.

CHARLOTTEAN: In two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Byron earned finishes of 14th and 16th. In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Byron earned the pole and finished 10th at Charlotte. He began his racing career in Charlotte when his father took Byron to visit the U.S. Legend Cars International headquarters in Harrisburg, North Carolina, in the summer of 2012 to learn about a way to begin racing. Byron began competing in the U.S. Legend Young Lion Division in 2013, a year in which he won nearly half of the 69 legend car events he raced across the United States. All totaled, he earned 33 victories en route to the 2013 U.S. Legend Young Lions National Championship and the 2013 Thursday Thunder Young Lions championship at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After enjoying success in legend cars, Byron was ready to move up to full-size cars in 2014 and he hasn’t looked back.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: This weekend marks Byron’s first attempt to make the All-Star Race. The two youngest winners of the Open drove for Hendrick Motorsports – Jeff Gordon in 1994 at age 22, and Brian Vickers in 2005 at age 21. Byron, 20, could add his name to that list on Saturday night. Two drivers won the All-Star Race as rookies – Ryan Newman in 2002 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2005. Rookie-of-the-year standings leader Byron is also in good company with drivers who won the event before their first points-paying win, a feat both Newman and Michael Waltrip accomplished.