Austin Dillon definitely loved playing the matchmaker at the Phoenix championship race. Acting like the ultimate wingman, Dillon stopped the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car and Championship 4 contender, William Byron, and convinced him to meet Sydney Sweeney. But it wasn’t your typical meet-cute.

At the Sydney Sweeney-rich finale of the championship race, the Hollywood star was among the spotlight guests. She delivered a pre-race message while waving the checkered flag, strolled through the garage area, and then even posted a photo with Ryan Blaney and his team to celebrate his race win. Dillon knew what he was doing (*cough* big for the sport *cough*), but Byron was hardly present in the moment.

William Byron reveals the reason behind the hurried meeting

Speaking to Bob Pockrass about the meet, Byron was smiling all along and even tipped his hat to Dillon. “Yeah, I was pretty locked in on the task. That’s kind of why I was in a hurry to leave the meeting. But no, I appreciate him (Austin Dillon). It was funny. It was a good moment. Yeah, a lot of my buddies just love to poke at me on that. So for sure. Yeah, I do know who she is. [But} I was pretty focused on the race. But yeah, but it was cool,” he revealed.

Dillon, who saw NASCAR seating Byron and Sweeney across from each other at the meeting, could only imagine how big a deal it would be for the sport if it worked out. He’d even say, “Travis [Kelce] and Taylor [Swift] would have nothing on y’all,” referencing the high-profile romance that captivated the sports world in 2023.

With NASCAR trying to pick up viewership and attract a newer audience, this could have worked in their favor. Tylor, for one, had spiked the NFL female viewership to record its highest-ever in the regular season last year. So maybe Dillon was thinking right, given Sweeney’s instant sellouts. But Byron, who had locked his spot into the Championship 4 thanks to his Martinsville victory, was a man on a mission.

On his third attempt at bagging his first title, the 27-year-old was locked in. Unfortunately, that never followed through.

Early in the race, he won the first stage and led a race-high number of laps among the contenders, making him a favorite. However, things unravel late. With just a few laps remaining, Byron’s car suffered a right front type of failure, sending his machine hard into the wall in Turn 3. The resulting caution triggered an overtime restart that reshuffled the field.

With Byron left down and out of contention, Kyle Larson saw the opportunity to clinch the championship, and Ryan Blaney crossed the line for the race win. But even if Byron had taken his mind off the race during the little interaction with Sweeney, any spark between them would have been a far possibility.

For his part, Byron is currently single following his split from Erin Blaney, the sister of fellow NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney, last year, in a relationship that lasted roughly 4 and a half years. But the Euphoria actress is believed to be dating music executive Scooter Braun since September. They have also been photographed together a couple of times.

So maybe Dillon got this one wrong, but Hollywood female stars seem to be the running theme for Byron.

William Byron’s 2025 dating rumors

With his career soaring and another shot at championship glory, William Byron has also found himself at the center of growing curiosity about his personal life. Earlier this season, he was spotted alongside a mysterious blonde before a race, a moment that quickly ignited speculation about a possible new romance.

The buzz had already been brewing since NASCAR is pre-race hype for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which showed Byron standing next to a woman in a striking red dress during the national anthem, fueling whispers that the two might be a couple.

However, the rumor mill never sleeps, and the early speculations about Sabrina Carpenter and the HMS Driver are what took the cake. Following his back-to-back Daytona 500 victories, Byron’s newfound confidence seems to carry over into his off-track life. A parody account, “The Daily Downfords,” shared a fake screenshot that appeared to show Byron leaving a “Hi” under Carpenter’s Instagram post. The driver took the joke in stride, played along, and was asked about it by TMZ.

Byron laughed, saying, “Maybe we can get her out to race or something, that would be great.” When pressed for a message to the espresso singer, he simply grinned and said, “I don’t know, her music is pretty good.” It was a lighthearted moment, one that revealed a playful, easy-going side of the usually focused Hendrick Motorsports star.