Hendrick Motorsports created history, claiming their 10th Daytona 500 victory as William Byron secured the checkered flag on Sunday. This also marked the #24 as the first HMS driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s and the first Cup Series driver since Denny Hamlin in 2019 and 2020 to do so. The previous #24 to win the Daytona 500 was HMS Vice Chairman, Jeff Gordon, who revealed a conversation with Rick Hendrick before the race that seemed outlandish at the time.

Truth be told, no one expected William Byron to pull it off again, not the way the race was going. Entering the final lap William Byron was in ninth, hoping for a miracle to win the race. As they entered Turn 3, he had moved up to sixth, but the real battle was up front between Denny Hamlin’s Toyota and Austin Cindric’s Ford. However, a trailing Cole Custer squeezed into Hamlin’s rear, triggering the three of them and others behind to spin out of the race. This left a wide-open outside lane for Byron as he stunningly took the checkered flag for the second year in a row. But how did Rick Hendrick manifest this victory? Well, it all stems from an age-old tradition at Daytona International Speedway!

An ecstatic Jeff Gordon did not see this win coming

As is the tradition at Daytona, the previous year’s winner always keeps their car at the track until the next Daytona 500. Being the defending champion, Byron had his #24 from last year at the track. As Byron, Hendrick, and Gordon were collecting it, Gordon revealed the conversation that manifested Byron’s win. Jeff Gordon told Dirty Mo Media, “Earlier today I was with Rick [Hendrick] and William [Byron] and we were getting the car from last year’s win returned to us. That was so special and we were talking about how amazing it would be to do it again. I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen, but they pulled it off.”

The #24 driver now joins an elite list of NASCAR drivers who won the Great American Race, more than once. Truthfully, catching Richard Petty’s tally of 7 wins is going to be a tall order. On the bright side, Byron has equaled Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Michael Waltrip, and Matt Kenseth. Crucially, he has also equally Hendrick Motorsports royalty, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Speaking on how proud he is of Byron and how he wants him to celebrate, Jeff Gordon added, “It’s great that it’s the #24 team and Axalta to do it back to back. Number 10 for Hendrick Motorsports as well. It takes you doing this a few times to learn how to enjoy it the most. I bet he’s going to enjoy this one more than the last. If he does it again, he’ll figure out how to do it even better then.”

This win for HMS is more than just another victory. Despite all the luck involved in pulling them through, the win is a testament to their will to stay alive till the very last second and capitalize on their chances. It is what made them a powerhouse in NASCAR and what hopefully will guide them back to the summit of the Cup Series. A place they haven’t seen since 2021!

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William Byron’s crew chief reflects on his emotions from last year

For the past couple of years, Byron has been in excellent form in the NASCAR Cup Series. In 2023 and 2024, he reached the Championship 4 and finished 3rd on both occasions. This not only marks the #24 driver’s 14th career win but his third at Daytona International Speedway, with his first coming at the August Daytona race in 2020. While his first victory came with Chad Knaus as crew chief, his next two have come with Rudy Fugle.

Fugle reflected on the contrasting emotions from winning in 2024 to stealing the race in 2025. “Personally, last year, that win brought me to tears,” said Rudy Fugle, who starts his fifth Cup Series season as William Byron’s crew chief. “And then this win, it brought me to laughter is what I said just because — I looked up, and we’re getting ready to win, and it was just amazing. Here we were. Two totally different emotions. If we build a good enough team, things like this happen more times than not, and that’s what we’ve been working on. It’ll hopefully just become easier and easier as we go.”

Fugle’s comments perfectly describe the emotions of every HMS fan, as there was no chance they were expecting a win out of thin air. Byron was pushing hard on the last lap, but never in real contention to win the race until that crash. So was this victory all luck? Byron doesn’t believe so. He said, “Yeah, obviously, it worked out in a fortunate way for us, but it’s not all luck to win twice in a row,”

With this, Hendrick Motorsports has officially surpassed Petty Enterprises in the Daytona 500 winners tally. Beyond the statistics, what this also does for William Byron is give him some much-needed momentum. Owing to the triumph, he has drawn first blood, and Hendrick Motorsports are on a charge, as he hunts for a maiden Cup title. Do you think William Byron can take Hendrick Motorsports back to the pinnacle of NASCAR in 2025? Let us know in the comments below!