Kyle Petty Declares the New Jeff Gordon in Hendrick Motorsports’ Saddest Season in 4 Years

Even after 74 seasons of racing, NASCAR never fails to surprise fans and produce moments of magic on the track. Last weekend’s ‘Go Bowling at the Glen’ race was no exception. Hendrick Motorsports is having a rather dreadful time in 2023 because of the misfortunes of their talisman Chase Elliot. Despite these shortcomings, the enthralling 90-lap race this past weekend saw an HMS driver in victory lane. 

Former racing legend Kyle Petty was one of the spectators who had complete admiration for the Hendrick Motorsports star.  Speaking on NBC’s Motor Mouths show, the racing commentator expressed his views on the spectacular season that the young driver was having. 

Which Hendrick Motorsports star has legend Kyle Petty spellbound?

Securing 5 wins in a single season is a big achievement for any NASCAR driver. For Glen winner William Byron, this is the best record in the 6 years that he has finished in the top series. The former stock car racing driver and current racing commentator, Kyle Petty, acknowledged this achievement and heaped praise on the driver. 

In a show that got off with talks of the exceptional race weekend, Kyle spoke about how they’d anticipated the current season to have 36 different winners after seeing the competitiveness from last year. He said, emphasizing the No. 24’s surprising performance, “I never thought we would see another season like this from a driver.”

Kyle Petty was extremely fair in expressing his opinion that the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevy was having a Jeff Gordon or Kevin Harvick type of season with all the wins that he was accumulating. This is indeed as high as acclaim can get, with Gordon being one of the all-time greats to get behind the wheel. While emulating his career is a tough feat, Byron is sure enjoying having his name mentioned in the same breath as such legends.

The former stock car racer also did not fail to tip his hat to one other person who was equally responsible for William Byron’s performance this year, Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports. Petty talked about how the Glen winner and #24 crew chief made a great team that could match the achievements of yesteryear’s legends in the sport.

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The road course win that eluded the No. 24 Chevy and Hendrick Motorsports in 26 attempts

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Starting from 2nd position, Byron’s Camaro was nearly flawless the rest of the way, and as Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell faced a mechanical failure that forced him to retire, the race pretty much fell on William’s lap.

6 races ago, the No. 24 Chevy scored his 4th win of the season in the rain-shortened race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Back then, he appeared to be the favorite for the championship. But what followed was a failure to finish in the top 10 for 5 consecutive races.

With the final race of the regular season approaching at Daytona, the No. 24 team will hope to reproduce some of the same magic they had going at Watkins Glen and alleviate some of the pressure that Hendrick Motorsports has been facing this season.

Whether they will be able to add value to Kyle Petty’s words and keep up their performances to be crowned champions is a question waiting to be answered.

Read More: William Byron Claims One Person Makes Him Replicate Jimmie Johnson’s Peak