William Byron flew commercial to Phoenix for Championship 4

William Byron didn’t want to take any chances when thinking about the Championship 4 earlier this season.

Evidently, that included not buying a flight earlier, even though he would’ve been racing on Sunday no matter what. That’s what superstitions will do for you, but it caused Byron to have to fly commercial to Phoenix earlier this week.

“William Byron flew commercial out here to Phoenix — with a middle seat in coach! Said he’s not good about asking people for favors so didn’t see if any drivers had a jet available,” Jeff Gluck of The Athletic posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “And he didn’t buy his flight earlier because he didn’t want to jinx making the Championship 4.”

Imagine boarding your flight to Phoenix to catch the NASCAR Championship 4 and you’re sitting next to one of the drivers that’ll be trying to win the whole damn thing. That must’ve been a pretty great memory for someone on that plane, or a missed opportunity for an unsuspecting passenger.

Nevertheless, Byron won’t have to fly commercial any longer if he captures the victory at Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. Ahead of another chance at a title for the No. 24 team, Hendrick team owner Rick Hendrick explained what it would mean to see the famed number back atop the NASCAR world.

“With the 24, we won our first championship,” Hendrick said this week, via NASCAR.com. “That’s a number that everybody here is close to everybody’s heart. So to see that car win again is super special. I think we’ve seen Chase [Elliott] win with the car No. 9 that means so much to him and of course the No. 5 which is our first number and Kyle’s [Larson] won a championship with it. 

“To see the No. 24 back in victory lane and winning a championship with William is gonna be special. I kinda know who Jeff Gordon is probably pulling for. But anyway, it is special because that number has meant so much to us and of course what Jeff’s done with it. So it would be very special to see the No. 24 in victory lane Sunday.”

A ton of former Jeff Gordon fans, and current William Byron fans, would love to see the No. 24 at the top of the mountain once again. Time will tell, but William Byron has a good shot at Phoenix, as he looks to cap off a memorable season with his biggest win yet.