Hendrick star William Byron’s 4-word message ahead of Atlanta Cup Series media day duties

Daytona 500 winner for the second year in a row, William Byron arrived at Atlanta for this week's contest at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Out of all of this year's drivers, he's the only one that has won it multiple times (2), making him a favorite (16-1 betting odds, via SportsLine) behind Ryan Blaney (9-1) and Joey Logano (19-2). Daytona's positive momentum could also play in his favor.

One of the very first activities for all drivers is media day, and although William Byron doesn't have a difficult relationship with them, his Instagram story conveys a mild tedium.

This week, the winner of The Great American Race was the victim of a social media prank that involved him and pop star Sabrina Carpenter, and as a result, he has had to deal with more press than usual. He posted a story on Instagram today (February 21) on his arrival at Georgia's capital city.

"We here. More media"

Screenshot via Instagram - @williambyron

Earlier this week, an account on X fabricated a screenshot of Byron commenting under the Espresso singer's post on Instagram. The post went viral quickly until it reached William Byron himself, at which point he joked about it through his X account. It wasn't until later that he came out and clarified the whole thing.

"They do a really good job with Photoshop nowadays. It was a good parody account; kind of like that NBACentel account. They did a good job. Maybe we can get her out to a race or something, that would be great. Or I can get to a show. That would be fun" William Byron said in a video via TMZ Sports (min 2:19 and onwards).

Ms. Carpenter isn't a total stranger to the world of NASCAR, as she performed at the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards in Las Vegas.

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William Byron seeks to increase positive momentum at Atlanta

William Byron is no stranger to the Atlanta Motor Speedway, he's won there twice and looks to repeat the feat on Sunday (February 23). With a win in Daytona in the season opener, he is one of the favorites to victory lane.

At fourth favorite sits Christopher Bell with 18-1 odds (via SportsLine). Out of his last 13 starts, he has managed to finish Top 10 in ten, and on top of that, his team, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest team in the history of the track with 10 wins.

Finally, to complete the Top 5 favorites, Mexican-born Daniel Suárez also sits at 18-1. With three straight Top 2 finishes that include one victory, Suárez is looking to take the chequered flag before anyone else.