The Daytona 500 lived up to its infamous reputation this year. The most awaited race was sprinkled with smoking wrecks that knocked veteran drivers off of the contenders’ list. While bets were made on some impressive drivers, lady luck placed her hand on an unsuspecting competitor – William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports. 

He ended a decade-long winless drought at the Daytona 500 for his team, who rejoiced in the historic win. Byron’s teammate Alex Bowman vied with him for the victory, sealing Hendrick’s glory in the race. But the final lap had fans puzzled at who exactly got ahead first. The visuals were unclear, despite a Twitter confirmation by NASCAR.

The Daytona 500 finish provides ample food for thought

Two aerial shots contradicted each other regarding the Daytona 500 winner. Fans were splitting hairs about the unconventional finish lap. In a recent podcast episode of Door Clear Bumper, NASCAR experts in the Bojangles Studio discussed the strange closing lap of the Great American Race.

Brett Griffin took the fans’ perspective into consideration and said, “Imagine sitting there, for four hours, watching this race. And I, as a new fan, get zero explanation and William Byron is declared the winner.”

From Bowman’s in-camera view, it seems that he and Byron are very close to each other. The Fox telecast did not clearly capture who was in the lead after the caution was thrown. NASCAR later released an aerial photo to justify their announcement that Byron was the winner.

Doug Coby, who drivers for Tommy Baldwin Racing in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, apparently gave a hilarious reference to the Super Bowl. As per Freddie Kraft, the driver wrote, “Imagine going to the Superbowl, and like 10 seconds into the game they just smash all that sh*t and tell you the Giants are the Champions.”

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William Byron, the 2024 Daytona winner, had some aggressive tricks up his sleeve. He arguably caused a massive wreck on lap 192 when he hooked onto Brad Keselowski. That triggered a huge pile-up of 23 cars bumping about in a smoke show.

Some fans expressed their discontent about the Daytona 500 on Twitter. “The Daytona 500 should never end under a caution. Biggest race of the year with a crap finish.” Another fan tweeted: “A single drone shot determines the winner of the biggest race of the season??  Don’t they have cameras along the track with appropriate angles?”

However, doesn’t matter if you love it or hate it, Hendrick Motorsport drivers have been stealing the show lately. 

Hendrick drivers are coming to the forefront of races

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William Byron started in the 18th position and led only 4 laps in the 200-lap Daytona 500 race. Yet he came thundering into the Victory Lane on the 2.5-mile-long superspeedway, bringing Rick Hendrick tears of joy after a Daytona 500 winless slumber of 10 years. 

Praising him, his team owner, as per Fox Sports, said, “He won more races than anyone last year, and I think [Fugle] helps him with the chip. But I like the way he’s approaching this year. He’s done a lot in the short time he’s been in the sport, so winning the Daytona 500 now, that’s something that he’ll always carry with him.

“It’s exciting to see and think about the future with he and Rudy together because he’s just done an awesome job everywhere.”

While they operated at half strength last year, could this be the year of Hendrick Motorsports’ resurgence?

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