‘Smoke’, ‘Rowdy’, and ‘The Intimidator’ are some of the most iconic nicknames in NASCAR history. While nicknames like these only enhance your legacy, some make for a questionable conversation about its origins. Such is the tale of two Hendrick Motorsports drivers, William Byron and Alex Bowman. Ahead of the 2025 Daytona 500, Bowman was asked about a nickname that he allegedly gave to William Byron.

While HMS drivers have some solid nicknames such as Alex ‘Bowman the Showman’ or Kyle ‘Yung Money’ Larson, William Byron’s was rather confusing. Aside from these nicknames, Bowman also touched upon his relationship with Byron and how fun he is as a teammate, with some hilarious suggestions for his facial hair!

Alex Bowman revealed the story behind Byron’s nickname

NASCAR Journalist Steve Taranto asked Alex Bowman, “I was talking to William Byron and I asked him where the ‘Slick Bill Byron’ nickname came from and I think he admitted that was your idea. Where does that come from?” Bowman had a large grin on his face while hearing the question, as he was aware of just how goofy the nickname was.

Alex Bowman replied, “I have no idea [about the Slick Bill Byron nickname]. It just sounded cool, I love William, he is a baby-face assassin. He has so many good nicknames that you can call.” So while answering a question about one nickname, Bowman casually dropped a new and better one. Baby Face Assassin. And this makes sense as well, as Byron is the youngest of the four chartered Cup Series drivers for Hendrick Motorsports.

Kyle Larson is 32, Bowman is 31, Elliott is 29, and the ‘baby face assassin’ is 27. Speaking on his relationship with the younger Byron, Bowman added, ” I don’t think William realizes this, but he’s like a little brother that I’d never had. Even though he has had more success than me lately. It’s been a lot of fun coming into Hendrick Motorsports with him. Being around and watching his evolution as a driver. I like William a lot, he’s one of my favorite people in the garage… We can come up with more nicknames for him if we want, though.”

However, Bowman also touched on why ‘Slick Bill Byron’ didn’t work as well as he wanted it to as a nickname. “William is a hell of a racecar driver and I don’t mean this to sound condescending. I just don’t think you’re gonna find a nickname that makes him gritty and tough.” For Bowman, ‘baby face assassin is the way to go. However, as the conversation progressed, some interesting solutions came up to improve William Byron’s ‘toughness’.

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Bowman feels Byron should groom his facial hair differently

While Alex ‘Bowman the Showman’ sounds incredibly cool, the driver himself doesn’t believe so. In the same interview when asked about it, he said, “Another terrible nickname… for the record you can’t give me a tough nickname either.” While poking fun at Byron’s lack of ‘toughness’ off the track, Bowmajn stayed humble and admitted that he too is in the same boat.

However, his comments on William Byron‘s toughness were the opposite regarding his performance on the track, Bowman added, “He’s not a guy that looks tough but goes out there and absolutely kicks your a–“. Bowman wouldn’t be wrong here as well, Byron has been one of the best drivers over the past few years, making back-to-back Championship 4 appearances in 2023 and 2024. The HMS #24 has recorded 9 wins and 28 top-5 finishes across the last two seasons, cementing his spot among the NASCAR elites. And he’s doing it in the legendary Jeff Gordon’s number! Speaking of Gordon, remember when he entered NASCAR as a talented driver sporting that iconic mustache? Well, Bowman has some advice for Byron along those lines.

The journalists in the interview were comparing Byron’s ‘soft’ off-track demeanor and fiery racing abilities to the 4-time Cup Champion Gordon. One media member noted that it was Gordon’s mustache that made him loom a little more tough than he was, to which Bowman said, “Maybe if William [Byron] had a mustache… You think we can get William to grow a mustache? I’m sure he can do it! I think somebody here should start a Twitter (X) poll ‘yes or no should William grow a mustache’… That’d be great!”

Well, we aren’t sure how happy Byron would be to get votes for growing a mustache, but it would surely increase his ‘toughness’. All jokes aside, it is incredible to see the camaraderie between the HMS drivers heading into the Daytona 500. And lest we forget, William Byron is aiming to defend his Daytona 500 crown from 2024. With or without the mustache, Byron will put on a show at Daytona this weekend and we are looking forward to it! Do you think William Byron can retain the Harley J. Earl Trophy? And should he grow a mustache if he does?