How will William Byron fare in NASCAR Cup — NASCAR America

"Mr. (Rick) Hendrick has built such a great team".

The 19-year-old Byron will drive the No. 5 Chevrolet in the Cup series. "I'm not blaming anybody - crew chief or drivers".

That's all Hendrick needed to hear before sealing the deal. It was a special moment. "We just haven't gotten the job done like we should, and so sometimes when you have those kinds of situations you have to change something up to get a fresh start".

Kyle Busch Motorsports picked up Byron for 2016 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with the then 18-year-old becoming the most successful rookie in series history after earning seven victories en-route to securing fifth place in the championship and rookie of the year honours.

"At every step, William has proven how quickly he can adapt", Hendrick said. "You might as well let him learn in what he's going to be driving for years to come". He's fast and that speaks volumes for his talent in the vehicle. "I think we've positioned ourselves for the future". He's very, very bright. He will debut at stock auto racing's highest level in the 2018 Daytona 500 and compete for rookie of the year honors. "His rapid rate of success has blown us all away". As a Truck Series rookie, Byron won an astounding 7 races.

And Byron, who is the type of young driver that comes along maybe once every decade or so, appears to be the likely replacement.

Although NASCAR's Monster Energy Cup Series will certainly be a jump from the development tours, Byron isn't intimidated by the challenge. "I said, 'William, how'd you like to drive in Cup next year?' And he said, 'I'm ready.' There was no hesitation". "I have a great people around me".

"I'm ready!" Hendrick recalled Byron exclaiming.

"Everyone I watched as a kid, I'm now racing", Byron said. "I look forward to what the next chapter in my career holds".

Next season, Byron will have two primary sponsors, Axalta Coating Systems, and Liberty University, which began its support of Byron in 2014 when he was driving late models. Byron took the No. 5 seat 48 hours after Hendrick announced Kahne's official release from the auto.

"I don't really have much of a concern", said Hendrick, adding Johnson will be a mentor while Gordon and Earnhardt will still have roles with the organization. "For whatever reason, we weren't hitting it".

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kasey Kahne is out at Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season.

"Kasey has worked extremely hard", team owner Rick Hendrick said in news release.

"So therefore, it's not so much about money".

Byron got his start in IRacing, an online simulation of the sport.

Johnson raced against Chase's father, Bill Elliott, for years after making his full-time Cup Series debut in 2002. GMS has had ongoing talks regarding a technical alliance with Hendrick for 2018.

With Alex Bowman taking over Earnhardt's No. 88 auto and Chase Elliott driving Gordon's former No. 24, that will be three Hendrick Cup drivers under 25 in Cup next season. "The main thing is not to put too much pressure on them", Hendrick said.

His promotion is the latest in a youth movement for NASCAR, which has seen Gordon, three-time champ Tony Stewart and Earnhardt retire in a little more than two years. He's still going to be involved with the team, so we've got a lot of coaches.

For Byron, it will be a dream realized.

"The 5/24 (building), they have the window there, and I would walk up to that, and it's pretty cool to be on the other side of it next year", Byron said.