The iconic number 24 car found its way back to Victory Lane at the Daytona 500 as the youngest current driver for Hendrick Motorsports held off a late charge to win the Great American Race. William Byron entered 2024 looking to improve on his 2023 second place finish in the championship standings. He didn’t spend much time in front of the Daytona 500, but he led the most important lap of the race. Byron recorded his 11th career victory. The win also moved Hendrick Motorsports into a tie with Petty Enterprises for most Daytona 500 victories.
William Byron Takes Late Race Lead
Byron led all drivers in victories in 2023 with six. However, Ryan Blaney came on strong at the end of the season and won the championship right out from under Byron. The former iRacer turned Monster Energy Cup Series driver is looking to make his way back to the final race at Phoenix and this time win the championship. Prior to 2024, Byron had not finished in the Top 20 in the Great American Race.
Following the big one that led to a red flag in the final ten laps, Byron pulled alongside leader Ross Chastain as the drivers came around to take what would turn out to be the final green flag of the race. Byron got to the front and led the final four laps of the race to secure the victory. Chastain tried to make a move coming to the white flag but a block from Byron led to a crash between Chastain and Joey Logano. Byron took the white flag before the yellow came out, freezing the field and ensuring Byron won the race and locking him into one of the 16 playoff spots.
Hendrick Motorsports drivers all finished in the top 15 as Byron’s teammate, Alex Bowman finished second giving the team a 1-2 finish. Fellow teammates and former NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Champions, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott finished 11th and 14th respectively.
While Byron has struggled in the Daytona 500, it is his second win at the track. He recorded his first career win in the 400-mile Daytona summer race in 2020. William Byron joins Geoffrey Bodine, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as drivers who won the Daytona 500 driving for Rick Hendrick.
Daytona 500 Top 10 Finishers
- William Byron
- Alex Bowman
- Christopher Bell
- Corey Lajoie
- Bubba Wallace
- AJ Allmendinger
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Erik Jones
- Noah Gragson
- Chase Briscoe
NASCAR Double Header and Next Cup Race
The Daytona 500 is just the first half of a Presidents Day NASCAR double header. The Xfinity Race, much like the Daytona 500, was delayed due to rain. The second race of the double header is expected to start around 9 pm Eastern.
The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup driver head to Atlanta for the second race of the season. Joey Logano won the 2023 Atlanta Spring race. Meanwhile, William Byron won the last time NASCAR made their way to Georgia in the Fall.
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