Former Hendrick Motorsports Crew Chief Steve Letarte Believes William Byron Was Promoted Too Early

William Byron has been in the NASCAR scene since 2015. Still, it seems that his career has been pretty much fast-tracked. He debuted in the Truck Series in 2015, with a full-time debut in 2016. A year later, he had his full-time Xfinity Series debut, grabbing four wins and the title. Then in 2018, he moved up once again, this time to the Cup Series, and has been racing there ever since. Interestingly, according to former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte, the 24-year-old may have moved too early.

He said, “What William really did was execute it. I don’t want to make it sound that simple, because its far from. His execution at his age is really what makes him one of the guys we’re looking to for a very long storied career. He moved up arguably almost too fast in my mind. He had one truck year, I think he broke a motor, didn’t win the championship. Not controversial, but kind of disappointing. Then he went to Xfinity, had his success, then it was right on to Cup.”

What lies ahead for William Byron in the NASCAR Cup Series?

At the moment, the #24 driver has two wins under his belt. They came at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and very recently at the Martinsville Speedway. This rockets him all the way up to third in the championship standings. To make matters even sweeter, Byron and Chase Elliott are sandwiching second-placed Ryan Blaney.

Meanwhile, their other teammates are sixth and 13th respectively, with Alex Bowman ahead of Kyle Larson. Ironically, Elliott is leading the championship despite not winning a single race this season. Of course, this will also mean that he will be under a little bit of pressure to get the monkey off his back. Meanwhile, William Byron himself will be eager to continue his good form. At the same time, he will want to prove that fast-tracking his career was a fantastic idea.

READ MORE: Jeff Gordon Admits Hendrick Motorsports Left ‘Surprised’ Despite William Byron’s NASCAR Win in Martinsville