Rick Hendrick on William Byron: "He's just scratching the surface"

Hendrick Motorsports confirmed in a news release on Wednesday morning that the 19-year-old native of Charlotte, N.C., will take over its No. 5 Chevrolet team in 2018. Motorsport.com reported the move on Tuesday.

On Monday, HMS announced that it had granted the current driver of the No. 5, Kasey Kahne, a release from the final year of his contract.

Byron’s No. 5 team will feature sponsorship from Axalta Coating Systems and Liberty University, which has sponsored him in Trucks and Xfinity. The two primary sponsors will cover the majority of Byron’s Cup races annually. Additional details of the multi-year partnerships will be announced at a later date.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Byron said in a statement. “Mr. (Rick) Hendrick has built such a great team. The people at Hendrick Motorsports have dedicated their lives to giving their drivers the best chance to win every weekend. I have a responsibility to them to work hard and put everything I have into this opportunity. They need to know I’m always giving 100 percent because that’s what they do.

“When I told my parents that I wanted to drive race cars, they supported me and believed I could do it. Without them, there’s no way this would be possible. Axalta and Liberty University are awesome partners, and I’m so thankful for their faith in me.

“I’m going to do all I can to make my family, my sponsors and my teammates proud and represent them all in the right way.”

Byron only began working with HMS this season, running full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports and has already won three times and is second in the series standings. He is likely to be one of the top seeds when the playoffs begin next month.

Byron has only been driving stock cars about five years, and briefly drove Late Models for JR Motorsports before he was picked up by Kyle Busch Motorsports to compete full-time in 2016 in Trucks. He also won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title in 2015, winning four times that season.

He won seven times last season as a Truck Series rookie, a NASCAR national series record, but it was almost one year ago this week HMS surprisingly announced it had signed Byron to a multi-year contract.

Byron will join an HMS lineup next season that includes seven-time Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, who was recently named driver of the No. 88 next season, replacing the retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“At every step, William has proven how quickly he can adapt,” said HMS owner Rick Hendrick. “Some drivers have raw talent and some have a strong work ethic. William has both. It’s impressive to see a young guy who never gets rattled and instinctively knows how to communicate with his team.

“That level of commitment, poise and pure ability is rare at any age. I think he’s just scratching the surface.”