William Byron on competitiveness, middle fingers and aggressiveness: 12 Questions

New York Times

09-04-2025

Each week, The Athletic asks the same 12 questions to a different race car driver. Up next: William Byron, the back-to-back Daytona 500 winner and current NASCAR Cup Series points leader heading into Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. This interview has been edited for clarity, but the full version is available on the 12 Questions podcast.
1. What was one of the first autographs you got as a kid, and what do you remember about that moment?
Kenny Wallace when he was doing 'NASCAR RaceDay' (on Speed Channel). I was in the crowd. I loved that show (which was similar to 'College GameDay' with fans surrounding the stage). That was just a great show. I feel like we should bring that back. That was such a good vibe and everyone was so into it.
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2. What is the most miserable you've ever been inside a race car?
Whenever it's really hot, so there's a couple. The Daytona road course in 2020 was really bad. And then Martinsville (in the 2023 playoff race) when I got overheated. I just wanted to get out, like claustrophobic.
I remember the Martinsville one, but I don't recall the Daytona road course.
Daytona was so hot that I don't know if a lot of us would have made it to the end. It was that warm. But we had a rain delay and then the weather cooled off after that. It was still humid, but it wasn't as hot. It was like 105 and humid before the break, and guys would have definitely had some trouble (making it to the finish).
3. Outside of racing, what is your most recent memory of something you got way too competitive about?
Well, that's anything for me. But the thing that sticks out is cards with my family over the holidays. Anytime we go on a trip and we play Spades or something, I lose my s— if we lose. I usually storm off, and they laugh at me. (Laughs.)
Is there trash talk that makes you do it? Or just the frustration of losing?
Just the frustration of losing. And no offense to my mom (Dana), but we're always paired together, and we're not a good pairing. I won't blame one or the other, but it ends up in frustration, and I just lose my s—.
4. What do people get wrong about you?
I don't feel like I listen too much to what people think. But probably just my style of racing. People think I'm not aggressive, but I'm plenty aggressive. I think I just show it in probably a smoother way than maybe what people see. I don't make a lot of errors, so maybe it doesn't look aggressive, but I feel like I'm pretty aggressive. On restarts, I'm always up toward the top of the metrics (Byron is the No. 2-ranked restarter this season, according to NASCAR Insights data).
5. What kind of Uber passenger are you, and how much do you care about your Uber rating?
I'm a 4.91; I checked the other day. But I am super quiet. I don't talk. So if somebody is talking, I try to let it play out for a minute, and then eventually I just stop. I just like to chill. And honestly, those are the most relaxing rides. They're probably like, 'This guy is super quiet,' but that's what I like.
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6. This is a wild-card question. You recently posted a picture of doing your new seat-pour process, and you captioned it: 'Nothing makes me more nervous than today.' I'm imagining if you get stuck with the wrong pour, it could cause problems? Can you shed some light on why that made you nervous?
You're so reliant on that (seating) position, and you only get one chance at it. You only get one take because that (seat-pour formula) fills around you. As soon as they start the clock and the foam is hot, eventually it cools off and it molds. It's a very intense process because you're trying to get it right, but you really only have about a minute. It's very time-sensitive.
And you're stuck with that. You hate to make them re-pour and do it over. And then you really don't figure out if it's right or not until two months later. So it's one of those deals where you're like, 'OK, I'm going into this trying to make it right, and then I have to wait two months to see the final product.' You just never know if it's going to work out the way you intend it to.
I imagine you could get three hours into a race and your back is killing you and you're like, 'Oh, great. Now I have this seat forever.'
Yeah, it happens. I've had the same seat for eight years. My body type has changed, and it's just starting to get uncomfortable. So I needed something new.
7. This is my 16th year of doing 12 Questions interviews. I'm going back to an earlier one to see how your answer compares. In 2017, I asked you: What is your middle-finger policy on the racetrack? And you said, 'I've never used the middle finger' because you had gotten one from someone in your second-ever Legend car race, and that left an impression on you. Has that changed eight years later?
It's not changed, man. I've gotten some middle fingers, but I use it sparingly. The last time I used it was on a lapped car about four years ago at Dover. I was really pissed because I was running for the lead and Dover is a tight exit and they came up in front of me. I was like, 'Screw you, dude.' But that was it. I usually just handle it in other ways. But I like to keep my hands inside.
8. Other than one of your teammates, name a driver who you would be one of the first people to go congratulate them if they won a race.
Erik Jones. We have always been pretty close, so I'm always happy when he's running well.
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Does that go back to your Truck Series days?
No, we were actually in the Truck Series at different times. It goes back to when we were growing up. When I was getting through the ranks, I saw him around the local racetracks, running short tracks, and he was always helpful. He was tough to get to know at first, but then once I got to know him, we became really good friends. That would be one I have a lot of respect for (on the track) and personally, too.
9. How much do you use AI technology, whether for your job or your daily life?
Only on the iPhone texting thing where it summarizes it (with Apple Intelligence). I get some long texts sometimes and it puts (the summary) in the subject. I'm like, 'Oh, great. I don't have to read this person's long text.' So I love that, and I leave them unread for awhile. (Laughs.)
10. What is a time in your life you felt was really challenging but you were proud of the way you responded to it?
I was proud of our family when my mom went through her cancer (in 2021). I was racing all the time, and everyone stepped in and really contributed to help her out and make sure she was taken care of. And honestly in that moment, I realized how much bigger life is than racing, and that really reset my perspective. I was like, 'OK, I love racing, but I love my family. I love being there for them.' And that was honestly when some of my perspective started to change.
11. What needs to happen in NASCAR to take the sport to the next level of popularity?
I could go on and on about this, but we need to become way more current in the landscape of social media and exposure. Looking at my generation and being around my friends, they would love to be able to follow the race more easily for their favorite drivers. Formula One has a really good interface for their apps, like how you follow Lewis Hamilton or how you follow Charles (Leclerc). We need to have a way to easily get to that, like the in-car cameras (on Max).
And we just need to educate people on how difficult this sport is. People don't understand how difficult it is to drive these cars. They think, 'Oh, you're just turning left at 80 percent of the tracks,' and it's like, 'No, you're on the edge. You're literally fighting the car on the edge, like if you were driving on ice.' So we just have to educate people and do that in a current way.
There's plenty of personalities in this garage, it's just trying to show it and we've got to do it in more current ways.
12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next person. The last one was Chris Buescher, and he wanted to know what kind of gambler you are in Las Vegas. Are you the kind of guy who will be OK losing $100, or do you not mind losing $5,000 when you come to Vegas? And what do you play?
Oh, dude. I get pissed if I lose $300. I play $15 hands of Blackjack or Ultimate Texas Hold'em. I don't mess with the slots. Sometimes I do roulette. But I did not gamble at all (last month during the Vegas weekend). It's just not fun for me. I don't like losing money, man. I'm pretty tight. Pretty frugal. (Laughs.)
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Do you have a question I can ask the next person?
What are they going to do over the Easter break, and is that enough time to reset their brain? Or will they still feel like they're in the grind of the season?
(Top photo of William Byron celebrating his Daytona 500 win: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)