By: Toby Christie – follow on twitter @toby_christie

It didn't take long for Hendrick Motorsports to find a successor for the No. 5 Chevrolet, which will be vacated by Kasey Kahne at the end of the season after the team announced earlier this week that they were going to end Kahne's contract a year early.

In a move that was first reported by Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal, and is now being reported by Motorsport.com, NBC Sports and a slew of other publications, William Byron will take over the coveted seat in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018.

Byron, who has three wins in his rookie campaign for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, should be officially announced by the team as their fourth Cup Series driver later this week.

The squeaky-clean 19 year old also scored a NASCAR record seven wins in his Camping World Truck Series rookie season in 2016.

The North Carolina native will join a team that includes seven time champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48), Chase Elliott (No. 24), and Alex Bowman (No. 88).