“Was a Struggle”: Hendrick Motorsports Star Admits Being Under a Lot of Pressure at the Prospect of Replacing Jeff Gordon

It’s almost unfathomable to even imagine that someone could replace a NASCAR icon like Jeff Gordon. The four-time Cup Series champion is regarded as one of the very best by almost everyone in and out of the sport. But in 2015, with the legend nearing retirement, Hendrick Motorsports had to look forward and find some worthy to sit in Gordon’s #24. William Byron found himself in that position, to replace Gordon.

As the search went on, HMS initially gave the #24 to Chase Elliott in 2016. In 2018, however, they shifted Eliott to the #9 and settled on giving the coveted #24 to William Byron. With the position also come expectations—in this case, expectations to carry forward the legacy set by Gordon.

To be fair, Byron should carve out his own legacy, his own place in the sport, instead of trying to replicate or follow in someone else’s steps, no matter how legendary they may be. But the comparisons are inevitable, especially considering the young driver was given the car synonymous with Jeff Gordon’s name.

A lot of expectations often translate into a lot of pressure, something Byron recently admitted in an interview.

In an episode of the Boomer Chats podcast, while answering a question about him being the Jeff Gordon replacement, Byron told Boomer Esiason, “It was a lot of pressure. I think my rookie year was a struggle. I think it is for most rookies and especially NASCAR where it seems like the veteran guys have a leg up. It was definitely a struggle, but I just had to stay grounded.”

William Byron admits he and Jeff Gordon are quite close

After describing how he felt about replacing the legendary NASCAR icon, William Byron revealed the relationship and the dynamic he shares with Gordon. The #24 driver also shed some light on his and Hendrick Motorsports’ overall contribution when he was just starting out.

“Luckily, Jeff and I are pretty close and we were able to have a lot of conversations about my learning process and how to improve. They gave me a lot of time, they gave me a lot of time and resources just to develop,” Byron said. “I was lucky to have that.”

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Gordon had defended William Byron post his Darlington tangle with Joey Logano

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Towards the very end of the Cup race at Darlington this past season, William Byron was leading and looking like a sure bet to win the race. But then, Joey Logano happened.

The Team Penske driver shoved the #24 out of the way and took the win, leaving both Byron and Gordon pretty angry. The veteran also had some not-so-kind words to say about Logano’s intentions.

In such gray situations, it’s expected that the team’s spokesperson, which for Byron was Gordon, will take a diplomatic, neutral stance until the controversy is resolved. But the Hall of Famer did not mince his words.

“It’s unfortunate to see a win, be taken away from you on the last lap like that,” Gordon said in a post-race interview. “Logano is aggressive and William’s car, I believe, was getting very very loose, so Logano had a shot at him to do it clean and he chose to do it in a different way.” 

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