Can William Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports Contract Extension Be the Catalyst for His First Win at Charlotte?

Rick Hendrick is known for believing in his people. For nearly three decades, he believed wholeheartedly in Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. And Hendrick is known to reward those who work for him and are successful, as well as eyeing even greater success going forward.

That’s the same situation that occurred Friday, when Hendrick Motorsports announced it had signed William Byron to a contract extension.

But this is no simple, routine, or run-of-the-mill contract extension.

It’s almost unheard of in NASCAR — where most contracts are at most three years in length — to give a driver a FOUR-YEAR contract extension, but that’s exactly what Hendrick did with Byron.

By giving Byron such a prolonged deal — which expires after the 2029 season — Hendrick made it very clear that Byron is one of the biggest keys to the future of Hendrick Motorsports, along with Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, all who are also locked into deals of varying lengths.

Byron’s new deal could also very well serve as added inspiration for the former online racing champion and Charlotte native to finally break through and win his first race on his home track in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, literally a burnout from Team Hendrick’s sprawling headquarters.

“We’ve built something special with the No. 24 team,” said Byron, who is in his eighth full-time season in the Cup Series. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to continue working with amazing people at Hendrick Motorsports who believe in me, especially Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick.

“We’ve accomplished some great things that we’re really proud of, but we have even bigger goals ahead. I’m excited to go after them with this team and this organization.”

Byron’s Signing Is Reminiscent of How Jeff Gordon Became One Of NASCAR’s Greatest

In a way, Byron’s signing on the dotted line is reminiscent of when Gordon inked his first multi-year contract extension. Hendrick knew what Gordon could do. And as it turned out, Gordon became one of the greatest drivers NASCAR has ever seen.

Byron’s situation is very similar to where Gordon once was. Think about it, Hendrick is 75 years old and has already passed the baton of day-to-day leadership to his No. 2 in command, who just happens to be the 53-year-old Gordon.

With his lengthy contract extension, it would not be out of the realm of possibility that the 27-year-old Byron is being set up potentially be the next Gordon — Larson, Elliott and Bowman are on their own unique levels already.

Hard as it may seem to believe, Byron has been part of the Hendrick organization now for nearly a decade, first signing with HMS in 2016 at the age of 18. Two years later, he won NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year honors.

And since 2019, he’s made the playoffs every year, including being part of the Championship 4 winner-take-all title race in both 2023 and 2024.

He is the only driver other than Gordon to win for HMS in the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet.

Now, with his new contract in his back pocket, let’s fast forward, say, 20 years from now, Byron will likely be retired from NASCAR Cup racing and Gordon may do what Hendrick did to him: turn over the baton of Hendrick Motorsports leadership to Byron.

Just like the way HMS is in good hands with Gordon, Byron could very well follow the same path Gordon did.

“William is the real deal,” Hendrick said. “What makes him so special is that he combines natural ability with an unrivaled work ethic. You see it in the great ones — the drivers who could get by on talent alone but choose to outwork everyone anyway. That’s William.

“On top of it all, he’s a person of high character and embraces his role as a leader. We’re proud to have him in our lineup and look forward to many more wins together.”

As for this Sunday’s race, Byron comes into it with 14 Cup-level wins, including his season-opening back-to-back triumph in the Daytona 500 for the second straight year.

But for some reason, the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet is still searching for his first win ever at his home track, the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway, and in the Coke 600, which is one of the most prestigious races on the Cup schedule.

Byron has made eight starts on his home track but has yet to take the checkered flag even once. Sure, he has three top 5 and four top 10 finishes in those eight starts, but it can’t help but gnaw at Byron that he still hasn’t won at home.

But if he finally breaks through on Sunday, just think of the return on investment (ROI) he’d  give to Hendrick, making the new contract extension all the more valuable.

Now that his future in NASCAR is set for the next four years, Byron has nothing to worry about but, as the late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis used to say, “Just win, baby, just win!”