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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 05: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, drivers for Hendrick Motorsports, at fanfest before the start of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum on February 5, 2023, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 05 NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum Icon230205065
via Imago
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 05: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, drivers for Hendrick Motorsports, at fanfest before the start of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum on February 5, 2023, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 05 NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum Icon230205065
We have all grown up with the idea that an athlete has to maintain a strict diet for most of their career. There are a lot of restrictions on items that are not a big deal for regular people to have from time to time but are a big no-no for athletes, regardless of the sport. But one tends to wonder at times. How often can athletes indulge in a little cheat meal? For some, it’s once in a blue moon, but for one NASCAR athlete, that little cheat meal is like a sweet post-race ritual. Even if the Hendrick Motorsports star gets a stick from his dentist or his performance coach for doing it every weekend after a race, he will still do it.
After all, a little candy after a weekend of exhausting, high-intensity racing does sound like a fair reward. And besides, this driver has been in good form this year, delivering consistent results week in and week out. Also, if your team’s handle is sharing a video of you having a sweet tooth, I guess it’s good PR after all.
Rick Hendrick’s best driver has a sweet tooth
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Hendrick Motorsports recently posted a video on their Instagram Stories of what seems to be a Q&A with one of their best-performing drivers this year. So it’s not Chase Elliott. The man in question is none other than William Byron.
The #24 driver was asked a question by a fan asking what his top four favorite candies were, and Byron, perhaps inadvertently, let it slip that he likes to satisfy his sweet tooth every race weekend at the hotel.
“Top four? I like sweet tart ropes.”
“Those are a big popular pick when I’m in the hotel room or at the race track.”
“And then Twix, I like peanut M&Ms, I honestly like the Twix, like the Santa ones. It’s really good…mostly chocolate,” he amusingly said.
William Byron has had a fantastic season so far in 2023. Arguably, the 25-year-old has been the best Hendrick Motorsports driver. In a season filled with uncertainty surrounding Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman’s performances, Byron has been a shining light for the team Hendrick Motorsports, winning a total of 5 races in the regular season.
The #24 driver was in serious contention for the regular-season championship in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series and will go into the playoffs as one of the strong favorites to win the whole thing. At 25, he is one of the younger drivers on the grid, and this year can be the one where he wins the big prize.
Rick Hendrick has got to be happy with how Byron has performed this season, but he will be absolutely gutted that his star driver, Chase Elliott, did not make it into the playoffs. That is not entirely Chase’s fault, of course. He suffered a serious injury earlier on in the season, took quite some time off, and by the time he came back, he was never fully at one with his car.
Chase is a fighter, and he fought until the end to get into the playoffs. The #9 driver came close to winning Indianapolis and Daytona to qualify for the last 16, but it wasn’t meant to be. After the weekend’s race at Daytona, the 27-year-old did not hide his disappointment.
The former Hendrick Motorsports champion was dejected after Daytona
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Elliott finished in fourth place at Daytona. People usually see a P4 finish as a good result for any driver, but for Chase, nothing but a win would have done. In the post-race interview, Elliott said that he hated the way things panned out.
“So I hate it. I hate the way that this worked out. I can’t change it now. We’ve been trying to fight through it, and we came up short. So that’s life sometimes. So I do think we’ll be better for this on the other end somewhere,” the former Cup Series champion said.
WATCH THIS STORY: Chase Elliott’s Aggressive Mindset Hours Before the Highly Speculated Run Warns the Whole NASCAR Grid
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This is the first time in his career as a Cup Series driver that Chase Elliott has not qualified for the playoffs. But there’s a lot to be positive about. Coming back from an injury as serious as a fractured leg and almost winning at a place like Indianapolis earlier this season is highly commendable.
The Hendrick Motorsports star will fully recover from the rollercoaster that was the 2023 Cup Series for him, and in 2024, there is no doubt we will see the Chase Elliott that we are all used to.
