Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron spent his Tuesday night this week in a productive manner. He was one of many celebrity attendees at the TGL match between Boston Common and the Los Angeles Golf Club at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It was a strong personal interest in golf that led him to watch the simulator competition.
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He told the press at the venue, “I’ve been watching this event for a couple weeks in a row. I got some of my buddies here as well that play golf, and we’ve been really intrigued to see what it’s like in person. I started in sim racing, and this is kind of a sim version of golf.” TGL is a golf league created by the iconic Tiger Woods along with a couple of partners.
Byron is well-known for starting off his NASCAR career by racing on simulators. He won more than 100 events before ever getting into an actual stock car. This similarity with TGL appears to have had him further intrigued. He admitted in an interview at Texas last year that he would rate himself to be a 10 or 12 handicap.
He also expressed his admiration for Scottie Scheffler and praised his solid mindset. When asked about his attendance in the 2024 Masters Week at the Augusta National Golf Club, he said, “ I’ve been once or twice and it’s just a very special place and just has that kind of history behind it… That aura when you walk in. So, it’s really cool.”
Byron prepares to defend his Daytona 500 crown
Byron certainly has made a name for himself in NASCAR over the last few seasons. He finished third in the standings in both 2023 and 2024 and won the Daytona 500 last season. The Great American Race will fall on February 16 this year and he will hope to win it again. Wisely, he doesn’t take such an achievement lightly.
He said, “For us to start the season off with one of the biggest races of the year, when you win that race, you still have the rest of the year to go out and compete. You have to stay focused on the task at hand each week.” Byron finished the Clash at Bowman Gray in 18th place, marking a tumultuous start to the season during the unofficial opening race.
He has been following a good fitness regime in the offseason to prepare for the upcoming season as well. Hopefully, he will be able to secure a better result in 2025 than he has thus far.
