The Daytona 500 affair seemed like a Penske fairytale at first. All three of Roger Penske’s drivers dominated the front row. Reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano led for 43 laps and won Stage 1 while Ryan Blaney led for 22 laps and won Stage 2. Austin Cindric was in the top five for a big chunk of the race. However, the chaotic last stage claimed all of them – and William Byron claimed the fairytale victory to secure a repeat victory at the Daytona 500.

William Byron defends his crown

Hendrick Motorsports lived up to its glorious streak as always. During the 2024 race, William Byron delivered a photo finish with his teammate Alex Bowman, clinching the victory in style. As he claimed the 66th Daytona 500 victory, the 67th also landed in his lap. The No. 24 Chevrolet overcame a sea of smoking wrecks that engulfed Roger Penske’s men. Byron emerged unscathed at the end after leading five times for 10 laps. He delivered a consecutive Daytona 500 victory, a feat that Denny Hamlin did last in 2019-2020.

In the post-race interview, William Byron could not get enough of his ecstatic emotions after going back-to-back. “Yeah, obviously, some good fortune. But just a trust in my instinct on the last lap there. Like they were getting squirrely on the bottom… I was honestly going to third lane regardless ’cause I was probably 6 coming down the back. Obviously fortunate, that worked out in our favor…I had an amazing car and had a hard time with the fuel-saving and kind of staying towards the front.”

As Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric battled for the lead on the white flag lap, Cole Custer was right behind them as they crowded up the bottom lane. The lack of space led to all three of them colliding and taking out a couple more drivers behind them. However, Byron and Tyler Reddick escaped this wreck on the outside lane and ended up P1 and P2 in a thrilling finish to the Daytona 500.

While Roger Penske’s Cup Series stars faded in the background with mangled cars, William Byron overcame all the melee. He counted his blessings: “It’s obviously really special. It’s an amazing race. Obviously, a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving.” There were multiple crashes, as there always are at Daytona, but Byron managed to weave his way away from it all in a triumphant night for Hendrick Motorsports at the expense of Roger Penske.

The Penske drivers were involved in crashes themselves before the final laps and could not capitalize on their wins in stages 1 and 2. Joey Logano was involved in a crash with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in lap 186 which also ended Kyle Busch’s hopes for a Daytona 50o victory. To pile on their misery, Ryan Blaney was also collected in this wreck, ending the two Penske drivers’ dominant drive at Daytona.

While Byron wasn’t the most dominant in this race, he credited HMS’ teamwork and strategy which propelled him to victory lane.

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The HMS fold is thoroughly dedicated

When Rick Hendrick first got into the motorsports world, he was clear about his vision. Hendrick started drag racing at the age of 14 and worked on cars with his dad who was a volunteer crew member on weekends. There he developed his old-school work ethic along with a love for people – foundations that led to building the Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick’s work ethic has filtered into his NASCAR Cup Series team, which works together tirelessly to fetch wins every weekend. We saw that reflected in the recently concluded Daytona 500, which marked HMS’ 313th Cup Series victory.

That is why William Byron showered words of appreciation and gratitude for his team. The No. 24 Chevrolet team has worked throughout the off-season to dodge the crashes that marred Daytona. Byron outlined a glittering season ahead: “Just really proud of our team, can’t stress that enough. I’m just super thankful for this group and everything that they do in the off-season to get prepared. We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year. We’re not going to stop here. We’re going to continue to push forward and try to get to Phoenix.”

Byron is eyeing his third straight Championship four appearance with HMS and this time, he wants the Bill France Cup when he leaves Phoenix. As we look forward to a year jam-packed with more victories for the HMS fold, do you think William Byron could be the one to end the Penske dominance? Let us know in the comments below!