William Byron running K&N Pro Series at Sonoma as Cup Prep

William Byron is 200/1 to win at Sonoma in Cup debut.

William Byron on racing at Sonoma:
“I’ve done some preparation for Sonoma over the offseason, just trying to get an understanding of shifting and the blips. Really, Pocono was another good chance to practice shifting. I think the biggest things at Sonoma are getting your shifts right and your braking the way it needs to be. Trying to make speed on the entry of the corner is a lot more important than most places. On the ovals, it’s all about the exits, but on the road courses the entry is very important, and the exit is very important too, so you have to attack both parts of it.”

Byron on running the K&N race:
“I ran the K&N race there three years ago and finished fifth. The biggest thing was just trying to save your tires over the course of the race – you only had one set of tires, so it really teaches you some discipline there. It’s a good opportunity to get your rhythm down. Sonoma is obviously a pretty physical track, so you’ve got to be prepared for that when you’re running both races. But, it’s more track time and it gives me a better chance to be closer when I get to the Cup race because that’s probably going to be one of the hardest races of the year for me.”

DOUBLE DUTY: This weekend at Sonoma Raceway, Byron will pull double duty – driving his familiar No. 24 Chevy Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series while also getting behind the wheel of the No. 27 Chevrolet for Jefferson Pitts Racing in the regional NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race on Saturday, June 23. The 64-lap Pro Series West race is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. local time. The tape-delayed race will air on NBCSN on Thursday, June 28, at 6 p.m. ET. Byron, the 2015 K&N Pro Series East champion, also ran the Pro Series West race at Sonoma in 2015, when he finished fifth.

LIBERTY U FOR TWO: The blue and red Liberty University colors will adorn the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the eighth time this season. Liberty is the majority primary partner of the No. 24 team with 13 races in 2018. Along with the Cup race, Liberty University will be featured on Byron’s No. 27 Chevy for Saturday’s Pro Series West race. Byron, a sophomore majoring in business communications, takes online classes at Liberty, which offers more than 250 programs online.

SONOMA STATS: Byron will make his first Cup Series start at Sonoma Raceway this weekend, but the rookie of the year contender has experience on the 1.99-mile road course in the 2015 K&N Pro Series West race – his first road course race in a stock car. He finished fifth after starting second in the 64-lap event, driving the No. 91 Liberty University Chevrolet for the HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks team. Overall, Byron has run seven road course races across three different NASCAR series – Xfinity, Truck and K&N Pro – finishing inside the top 10 in all but one of those races. His best road-course finish was the fifth-place Pro Series West result at Sonoma.