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NASCAR's William Byron stopped eating Pop Tarts, and now he's in the Playoffs

For the 2024 championship contender, the secret to stepping up his on-track game meant ditching his favorite frosted breakfast foods and finding a way to enjoy working out.

Gregory Leporati

Published: Nov 9, 2024, 5:46 PM

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William Byron NASCAR workout

Illustration: Ralph Hermens / William Byron

Survive to Drive

The world's best drivers get real about what it takes to perform, physically and mentally, at the highest levels.

William Byron has long described himself as just a “normal guy” — an everyman who likes to spend his free time hanging out with friends at home in Charlotte, North Carolina. But this weekend, the man behind the wheel of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 car has a chance to do something extremely not normal: He’s one of the four remaining contenders vying for the NASCAR Cup Series championship in this weekend’s finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Also not so normal: Byron’s path to NASCAR success. He famously got his opportunity through sim racing, turning a prolific career in iRacing into a real-life shot in a race car. Even his entry into this weekend’s Championship Four was unconventional: His rival for the final spot, Christopher Bell, was booted from the playoffs after he received a safety penalty for riding the wall on the final lap at Martinsville — all while Byron’s Chevrolet manufacturer-mates (somewhat controversially) made Bell's last-laps attempt at a challenge more difficult.

Despite all that, Byron wouldn't be here if he hadn't put in a full season's worth of work — and coming into it, an off-season's worth of focus on his physical preparation. He admits that he didn’t pay much attention to his fitness, dating back to his rookie year in 2018. But coming into 2024, it's been a difference-maker from day one, literally: Byron won the Daytona 500.

“Before this year, I didn’t really enjoy working out,” he says. Now, though, he's realized it's a way to keep everything on track at the track. “For me, it’s all about never being a weak link for my team,” he says. “And fitness is my way of never being that weak link.”

We caught up with the championship contender to talk about making his peace with running and breaking his sugar-frosted breakfast habit.

What’s a typical workout week like for William Byron?
It’s a combination of running and lifting. It’s changed over the years, and it’s really whatever makes me feel the best. I’m pretty active with my workouts right now, and I feel like it’s become a passion of mine.

Was it a case of: the more you did it, the more you got addicted to it?
I feel like I just enjoy the benefits of it. It helps me in the car, it helps me feel better as a person, and it helps me feel better sleeping. So, I just think it’s made life better. A lot of that has to do with being in the car, sure, but also just being fit in my everyday life.

William Byron after winning the Daytona 500

Photo by: Gavin Baker / NKP / Motorsport Images

Is there anything you’re focusing on right now with your fitness?
It’s really wherever I feel like I can improve. Running has really taken on a new meaning for me — I never liked to run, as a kid or anything. I hated doing the mile in school, things like that. So, I look forward to running now, whether it’s around my neighborhood, run clubs, or things like that.

And then lifting with some of my friends who have moved back to Charlotte from college. That’s become a big routine. We also do some interval training and run some hills around Charlotte. It’s just evolved over the years, but something this season that I’ve become really passionate about.

And you have a personal trainer helping you, right?
I do, yeah, and I feel like it’s helpful, but it’s more of a guide. You know, I feel like fitness ultimately has to be your own interest. No one can really push you to be in better shape. It comes from getting a good foundation and then having fun doing it, just wanting to feel better. So yeah, I’ve always had trainers. [But] I feel like when it clicked for me is when I started to enjoy doing it myself.

What exactly are the benefits you’ve found in the car from this newfound focus on your fitness?
Ha, it’s different for everyone, and I probably don’t want to give away my secrets! It just makes me feel better and be a better version of myself for my team, not being a weak link.

What time of day do you usually do your workouts? The morning, to get it over with?
I’m not a morning person! I work out around 5 or 6 PM, but it depends on what I’m doing. I’m not a super late-night workout guy, either, but I like to do it in the second half of my day. That gets me tired and ready to go sleep.

Mental health is also a big part of racing, and the NASCAR season is especially grueling in terms of its length.
Yeah, I have a lot of different systems in place. I take a lot of notes, and I feel like sleep is really important. There’s a routine to everything I do. I don’t know how other guys are, but that’s what works for me. Without giving it all away, I have a lot of things I do during the week that helps me, and I feel focused. Mental health’s a huge thing—when you go every week for 38 weekends, you have to be really locked in, especially at the end of the year. And it takes a lot of energy to do that.

How important is diet for you? Are you watching everything you eat?
That’s been the last thing for me—I’m not a great eater. I feel like I eat whatever I want to eat, though that’s changed a little bit to where I only eat certain things during race weekend. But I still have moments of weakness throughout the week where I just eat whatever I want. Eating is sort of the last piece of the puzzle that I can improve, and something in the offseason that I want to improve on and have more discipline with.

Well, I do remember a video years ago in which you said you had Pop Tarts for breakfast every day—is that still the case?
I’ve weaned off the Pop Tarts for sure. But I’m a big breakfast person. I love omelets, any combination of eggs, bacon, ham, sausage. I’m a huge breakfast person now, whereas I used to not be, and I feel that helps me get my day started. I’m a big three-meals-a-day guy now.

You mentioned you do stick to a strict diet on race weekend. What are you usually eating on race day?
A race-day meal for me is chicken, broccoli, rice, grilled chicken most of the time. It’s pretty simple, I’d say, and never anything super spicy. It usually seems to work out pretty well and keeps me from ever having an upset stomach—which is good!

Sim racing has obviously been a big part of your story, and you’ve credited it even recently with helping you get road-course wins. When you look at your race week prep, which do you find more helpful: your sim prep or your fitness prep?
Well, sim racing is not as much of a thing for me during the year. I more so look at a lot of real data from SMT and in-car cameras, things like that. But I do sim with my team for most tracks.

And I’d say the other aspect of my prep is just working out and keeping that whole routine. I have the Whoop band, so I look at my sleep every morning and evaluate where my heart rate is, what type of stress I’m under.

Yeah, sleep is incredibly important for your overall wellbeing, and I bet it’s not something you were tracking too much when you were younger.
No, exactly. I always liked getting eight hours of sleep or so, but I was usually unorganized with my bedtimes. It’s gotten way more structured as I’ve gotten older.

Finally, with the championship race coming up, what would it mean to you if you could hoist the trophy and be the last man standing?
That’s a career defining achievement, and something we work towards all the time. Whether that comes this year or years in the future, I know we’re capable of winning championships. Now would be a great time to start that!

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