On April 13, 2025, the Bristol Motor Speedway thrummed with raw energy as the Food City 500 unfolded under a blazing Tennessee sun. For William Byron, it was a day that tested every ounce of his skill and heart. Starting a daunting 26th in the 38-car field, Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) Chevrolet faced a steep climb on a track notorious for its unforgiving nature. But by the time the checkered flag waved, he’d carved out a finish that left him beaming with pride, a testament to grit, teamwork, and a refusal to back down.

Bristol, dubbed “The Last Great Colosseum,” is a half-mile concrete oval where chaos reigns. Its tight corners and high banks made passing a rare feat today, especially since the tires were not wearing off like drivers thought they would. For William Byron, Bristol’s history loomed large—his 11 prior Cup starts here averaged a 17.4 finish, with just one top-five in 2021. Yet, Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle approached the 500-lap battle with quiet confidence, drawing on lessons from a 2024 season where Byron’s 10 top-fives and 20 top-10s led the points for 17 weeks.

William Byron sees the positives in his performance

From the green flag, Byron’s journey was a slow burn. His car, tuned to perfection by HMS, found traction where others struggled. The team’s preparation shone, a nod to crew chief Rudy Fugle’s meticulous planning, praised in a 2024 off-season review by NASCAR.com as “a championship-caliber partnership.” Byron picked off cars methodically, navigating traffic with the precision of his 2020 virtual Bristol win, where he outran John Hunter Nemechek in the iRacing Pro Invitational. Each lap gained on Sunday was a small victory, but the threat of tire wear hung heavy as concern echoed across the field.

When the dust settled, Byron’s sixth-place finish felt like a triumph after staring 26th. He carried exhaustion and joy as he reflected: “Yeah, I think we’re sixth but overall just yeah, long day, you know, coming from the back. I mean, it didn’t seem like many people could pass, but I felt like we could slowly work our way forward. This has been a sort of a tough place for us so just trying to get our footing back and put some consistent runs back together and I felt like we did that today so I was really happy about that and yeah you know it kind of could sniff the top five just just needed a little bit.”  Gaining 20 positions was no small feat, especially on a day where more than half the field finished a lap down! HMS celebrated a banner day—Larson’s win and Byron’s rally gave them a day to cherish after a horrendous week of personal loss.

Hendrick Motorsports lost its director of communications, Jon Edwards, last week in what was a shocking moment for the team. Edwards worked closely with HMS Vice President Jeff Gordon during the latter’s racing days and was the current PR manager for Kyle Larson, too. The team entered this weekend with one goal: Win it for Jon! And that’s exactly what they did, as Larson won the Xfinity race on Saturday and dominated the Cup race on Sunday. As the camera panned to the HMS garage as Larson crossed the checkered flag, a sign reading ‘That was for Jon’ could be seen, highlighting the collective effort to win for their beloved friend.

Despite the will to win being stronger than ever, Larson’s win was not written in stone before the race. In fact, leading up to the race, it looked like the tire compound might favor eventual 2nd-place finisher Denny Hamlin!

Tire issues were Bristol’s wildcard. Kyle Larson, Byron’s teammate, dominated with 411 laps led, clinching his third Bristol win. His previous win was last fall, where he also led over 400 laps, but in the spring of last year, Hamlin reigned supreme. The tires at the spring race last year wore off so much that the race saw 54 lead changes compared to just 4 on Sunday! The practice on Saturday saw tires wear off after 40 laps, indicating it might be another tire management race that Hamlin relishes. However, falling track temperatures led to a straightforward race with minimal tire wear, and Larson benefitted the most from a 200+ green flag run at the end as Denny Hamlin saw his 3 peat ambitions getting snapped.

Early in the race, Byron, mired in the pack, wrestled with the same fear. Saving tires meant losing ground, but pushing too hard risked a blowout, a balance that could make or break his day. On tires, he added, “I feel like the ambient temperature was up, you know, today… I was not super surprised. I mean, I could go 50-50 for the race, but then as the day started to develop and I was standing outside, I felt like it was probably going to be more like the fall, and it was. So if anything just wish I would have been more aggressive that first run to drive up there because I kind of was trying to save tires back in the back, and I just feel like I didn’t gain enough track position.”

Byron, like all other drivers, was waiting to see whether fall off would arrive or not, pushing his car less than he usually would. When he realized that it was not coming, it was too late to make a push for the lead, but his strategy to slowly work his way forward is what kept him in the hunt and didn’t put him a lap down like most of the grid was. Byron’s Bristol run mirrored his career—steady, resilient, and quietly

As night fell over the speedway, William Byron’s smile said it all. For HMS, it was a day of dominance; for him, a reminder that no starting spot is too far back to fight. With a weekend hiatus upon us as Easter Sunday is next weekend, Byron would be looking to prepare the best he can for Talladega the week after, in a bid to get back to winning ways at a superspeedway, where he won his first race of the season (Daytona 500)!