‘Tis the season – yet the joy may vary for people. During this Christmas season, NASCAR veterans are enjoying in their own way. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is spending a jolly time with his two adorable daughters in a decked-up house, and Denny Hamlin is spending quality time with his family as well. However, other NASCAR icons are cherishing the holiday spirit with a touch of philanthropy – including William Byron.

Barstool Sports, a media brand that deals with sports betting, newspapers, podcasts, video blogs and retail business, is a primary partner of NASCAR. Its founder, Dave Portnoy, is a well-known figure in the racing world. However, he also has a pizza rating series, that he is using to elevate a noble cause this season – with Byron to back him.

William Byron trumpets a rescue initiative

Barstool Sports partnered with NASCAR back in 2019, ushering in a new era of sports betting in the stock car racing series. For instance, the partnership rolled out innovative wagering options in 2021, like ‘Barstool Exclusives.’ This allowed fans to bet with or against the picks of Barstool personalities. Then cross-sports props were another creation – seeing props or parlays mixing the season-opening NFL game with the Cup race in Richmond two days later. Besides this groundbreaking work with NASCAR, Dave Portnoy is also known for his philanthropic work. In ‘One Bite Pizza Reviews,’ Portnoy makes an anonymous visit, buys a large cheese pizza, takes one bite on the sidewalk, and gives it a rating out of 10.

This Christmas season, the Barstool chief took the initiative to promote a business in dire straits. Tiny Brick Oven is a quaint little pizza joint in Baltimore, and Portnoy shared a video of his visit to the place. The shop owner could be seen greeting the NASCAR partner heartily, but also sharing heartbreaking news. “One of my customers here – she’s been tagging me because we’re getting ready to close…we can’t get our liquor license.” He added, “We can probably get our license and continue to stay open if we had $60,000.” And so Portnoy embarked on sharing the details with his fanbase on how to support Tiny Brick Oven – and Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron also helped. He re-shared Portnoy’s X post with a fitting caption: “Merry Christmas.”

William Byron is no stranger to philanthropic efforts of his own. The William Byron Charity Gold Tournament raises money for programs that support the youth. During the 4th annual tournament this year, Byron raised almost $700,000 for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas. He expressed gratitude to all the people involved: “There’s a lot of people behind the scenes that work on this tournament for months. I’m just the lucky guy that gets to show up and play golf and talk about it. It’s been really nice to have their support and fund the whole thing. Mr. Hendrick’s last-minute donation in that was really generous, so I’m grateful for that too.”

Now that William Byron is supporting Portnoy’s initiative, fans hop aboard too.

NASCAR community rallies to send wishes

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Dave Portnoy‘s exemplary work has been on display for a long time now. This year he has already visited several pizza businesses – in September, he was a customer at Ianni’s Pizzeria in Delmont, Rockaway Pizzeria in White Oak, and Slice of NY in Murrysville. In October, he visited Dipper Cafe and Ray’s Pizza in New Bedford. So after William Byron posted another episode of his helpful efforts, one fan hailed Portnoy: “This is why we love Dave. He’s a good person. He cares about people. This is awesome. These are the stories we want to share during the holidays.” Somebody else also tipped their hat to Portnoy for redefining how to spend your Christmas holiday. “Portnoy being a class act. Warms the heart. Good for him and happy for the shop.”

Due to Portnoy and William Byron’s efforts, Tiny Brick Oven is getting warm wishes from the racing community. The owner’s requirement of $60,000 may be fulfilled in no time, as people’s social media reactions show. One fan wrote optimistically, “I hope this guys small business flourishes 🎄🐦‍⬛🧡⚾️🦀🍕” The Barstool Sport’s founder’s generosity may have opened the doors for the small pizza joint. So another fan hailed Portnoy for using his fame and social media presence for a noble cause. “That was cool of you Dave, especially the part when you said he’d have the money before Christmas. You made his life! He’s probably going to have a child and name it after you.”

William Byron’s part was also crucial in this philanthropic exercise. Being the owner of 13 NASCAR Cup Series victories, the HMS phenom’s online presence is also a force to reckon with. So one fan acknowledged his noble effort in sharing Portnoy’s video, by manifesting a successful title run in 2025. “Merry Christmas to the 2025 NASCAR champ 🔥”

Evidently, both William Byron and Dave Portnoy’s efforts are garnering a lot of support. Hopefully, Tiny Brick Oven will be a thriving business soon!