On Sunday, William Byron will compete for a NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway.
But during a Thursday media availability, the Hendrick Motorsports driver spent some time riffing on two fun topics that have literally nothing to do with racing.
And his comments were quite entertaining.
William Byron Likes To Fly Commercial … But Why?
As a two-time Daytona 500 winner and now three-time Championship 4 participant, William Byron has established himself as one of NASCAR’s elite drivers.
So, he certainly doesn’t fly commercial, right?
Think again.
Byron still uses commercial airlines to travel. And he does so a lot.
His motivation for choosing this option? Pretty simple, really.
“There’s really no reason other than it costs a lot of money to get a plane,” the driver of the No. 24 Chevy said. “I feel like commercial for me is just as easy. I live 15 minutes from the commercial airport in Charlotte.
“I go TSA PreCheck. I keep my head down. It’s great. I love it. I like to get treated like a normal person, which I am.”
Amazingly, Byron still somehow manages to go unrecognized at times on planes and around airports.
“I was getting some pizza at whatever that place is (in the airport) that starts with like a ‘Z,’” Byron said. “The lady was checking me out. We were having a very average interaction.
“I think I was annoying her because I got some Nerds Clusters, then put them back. Another lady was like, ‘Good luck this weekend.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I appreciate it.’ It was funny.”
Funny indeed.
William Byron Has Some Strong, Not-So-Strong Preferences Concerning Christmas
Like most people, William Byron enjoys decorating for Christmas. But when this happens each year can vary greatly.
“As soon as I get around to it, I guess,” he said. “Probably like end of November, December. I am very fortunate to have a birthday that falls right at the end of November.
“I feel like when I get around to my birthday, it kind of gets the positive vibes going for Christmas. I love that time of year. I’ll look forward to that.”
As for when Byron usually takes his Christmas tree down, he’s similarly not committed to a particular date on the calendar.
“Yeah, same thing,” he said. “Like whenever I get to it. Usually, Christmas trees stay a little too long. Sometimes it’s like January 10. I think rule of thumb is January 6 or around there.”
As for the type of tree — real or fake — that Byron goes for, he’s considerably more settled.
“A real tree smells nicer,” he said. “I like the ambience of that.”
