Home

NASCAR

Daredevil William Byron Reveals a Shark-Infested Desire Backed by Boss Rick Hendrick

Published 03/20/2024, 3:34 PM EDT

Follow Us

USA Today via Reuters

William Byron is hailed as the next superstar NASCAR driver of this generation. His performances at the season opener at Daytona International Speedway did reflect the sentiment, as he ended a 10-year drought for HMS by winning “The Great American Race.” For a driver, competing in a race car that produces 670 horsepower is indeed quite an experience—one that has its fair share of dangers.

However, Byron is just not content with racing in NASCAR, as he plans to indulge himself in an adventurous activity. One that would even top the adrenaline rush he gets from competing in NASCAR events.

William Byron shares the No.1 thing on his bucket list

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The HMS driver joined Jeff Gluck, who has this special segment on his podcast called the “12 Questions“. As the name suggests, Gluck usually tables 12 random questions for the featured driver, and more often than not, the answers prove to be really interesting. And so was the case when Byron was featured as the next guest.

Starting off, he was asked about the No. 1 thing on his bucket list. Being a NASCAR fan, most of us expected something along the lines of racing or wins, but his reply caught everyone off-guard. “Scuba diving with sharks. That would be awesome. I just have to get the nerve to do it. I need to find some more adrenaline rushes. So I know my boss (Rick Hendrick) is probably going to hear that and say, This is great,” Byron said.

Moreover, he wants a real experience, one that does not involve him being inside the cage against the sharks. “You gotta go in open water. A couple of girls I went to high school with scuba dive professionally and scuba dive with sharks. So maybe I can quiz them on what to do or how to start small, maybe”. 

Gluck often mixes things up and tries to get the best out of his guests, in terms of trying to tap into their personalities. In his bid to know more about Byron, he went on to ask him about his measure of success in racing, apart from winning. While Byron’s answer had all the factual details one would expect, it also had a unique twist.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Byron’s surprising take on his measure of success in NASCAR

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NASCAR stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

For some, success is just purely based on winning the most races and championships. Whereas some rate their wins in the crown jewel NASCAR races as their measure of success. But for Byron, his measure of success was the position of his hauler in the garage during the race.

Probably top-fives, laps led, average finish. Those are all the things I look at. Just overall consistency. But also for us drivers, it’s where you line up in the points in the garage. (NASCAR puts the haulers in order of the points based on the best-performing car in the company.) That’s always a measuring stick I use. Where are we lined up in the garage?“, Byron explained.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Although William Byron had a dream start to his 2024 Cup Series season with a win at Daytona, he has not been able to deliver another top-five finish performance in his next four races. So this weekend’s race at COTA will be crucial for him in terms of getting back into top-performing drivers.

William Byron: “I Don’t Think It’s Fair” to Cup Teams Amidst Speculation of Tire-Management Return for Bristol Playoffs

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Chintan Devgania

622Articles

One take at a time

Chintan Mahesh Devgania is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. As someone who likes to dive deep into the sport, he often takes up less explored topics to eventually see them make their way into top stories. His report on Toyota’s young recruit, Jade Avedisian, sharing her thoughts on Late Model Racing, was an example of that.
Show More>

Edited by:

Shreya Singh