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24-year-old William Byron became the first repeat winner of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season after winning the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400.
The season saw seven different winners in each of its first seven races before the Toyota Owners 400. Byron's second victory came in dominant fashion after the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, where he led for more than 200 laps.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver spoke to Fox Sports after the race to dedicate his win to his mother, Dana Byron. He said:
“This one is for my mom. This same weekend last year, she had kind of a mini-stroke and she was diagnosed with brain cancer. It means a lot to have her here, and it’s been a crazy year, but she’s doing great. Thanks to everybody for the support. I kind of felt like she was riding there with me.”
Watch the interview below:
Dana Byron was diagnosed with brain cancer when her son revealed on social media that she had stroke-like symptoms and problems talking. The family was on a trip to Martinsville Speedway for last year's Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500.
Dana was taken to Atrium Health in Charlotte, where testing revealed that she had MALT Lymphoma, just as her son was starting the race.
The No. 24 Chevrolet driver came to know about the emergency after the race, through a text message from his father, and said:
"It all seemed OK, but they were like, yeah, there's this mass in her brain. We're not sure what it is. My heart just stopped. I'd say the next few days after that, I didn't think about racing at all. It was all about what was going on."
Fast forward a year since the announcement, William Byron's parents witnessed him dominate the weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The Charlotte, North Carolina native visited victory lane in both the Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series races at the 0.52-mile track.
William Byron's mother on how he handled her diagnosis
After the news broke to William Byron that his mother was diagnosed with brain cancer in last year's Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500, the driver understandably forgot about racing.
Dana Byron, who was diagnosed with the condition, spoke to Fox Sports after her son's victory, and said:
"He was there for me the whole time. He drove me one day to treatment. He was great. I just wanted him to go out to do what he needed to do and do his job racing."
Expect William Byron to bring his A-game to the Food City Dirt Race next weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
