In 2014, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was then driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won a rain-delayed Daytona 500. Since then, a decade passed since HMS won the “Great American Race”. But history repeated itself on Monday. William Byron won this year’s rain-delayed race and also grabbed his 11th race win since 2018, thus making a glorious start to Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary season.
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As Jamie Little of Fox Sports walked up to team owner Rick Hendrick in the victory lane, the Hall of Famer seemed to be in utter disbelief. Viewing it as an act from a perfectly written drama, Hendrick said, “I’m telling you, you couldn’t write the script any better…24-24. When you think about coming down here for the first time we didn’t think we should be here…felt so out of place. And to win this on our 40th…that’s awesome.”
Rick Hendrick and @JeffGordonWeb talk with @JamieLittleTV. #NASCAR #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/x1ucBlqipW
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2024
While the owner was still taking his time, still letting all of it seep in, team Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon was so excited that he shot his arm up in the air and cried out, “Daytona 500!” Visually ecstatic, the 4X Cup Series champion admitted that although he wasn’t driving the car himself, he felt like he was making every lap with Byron’s #24 Chevy. According to him, by winning the 66th Daytona 500, Byron has attained a whole different level of stardom.
The crash that ultimately got Byron locked into the playoffs
The Daytona 500 being eventful isn’t anything unusual. Moments before the checkered flag came out, the field witnessed a 23-car pileup. That too, was not surprising at all. After all, that’s how the fans are used to seeing the closing 10 laps of the 500 unfold.
About three laps before the big crash, the lead cars went as far as three wide. However, the real action began with nine laps to go. Byron’s teammate Alex Bowman slightly nosed him and Brad Keselowski’s #6 Ford got caught in the ripple effect. It wasn’t long before most of the leading cars got caught up in a series of crashes. Almost half of the field was involved. Luckily, Byron wasn’t one of them, and he managed to drive to the pit row and continue racing.
A closer look at the carnage from the big one in the 2024 #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/CaqCsg0sGg
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2024
“Just extremely blessed and thankful for all the opportunities, now just want to keep it going,” Byron exclaimed after climbing out of his car. “We have a lot to prove this year, and this is a good start obviously. Daytona 500, it’s freaking awesome!”
Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., And Kyle Busch were among those who wrecked. For Busch, this was his 19th straight winless Daytona 500.
