While Team Penske celebrated their third consecutive Cup championship, Hendrick Motorsports grappled with a tumultuous week, ultimately seeing their driver secure a third-place finish.
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Jeff Gordon, representing Hendrick Motorsports, commended William Byron for his stellar effort, acknowledging the challenge of keeping pace with Team Penske’s speed and momentum on the track.
Gordon remarked that despite not winning the championship, Hendrick Motorsports had much to celebrate. The year marked the 40th anniversary of the team, a milestone stacked up by victories from all four HMS cars and playoff appearances, finally ending up in the championship race.
Gordon also expressed admiration for the skill and control exhibited by the Team Penske drivers throughout the season, stressing their performance on the track.
He said, “Even the short run of the #22 was pretty impressive… We just got beat today, it wasn’t our day. But it doesn’t take away from how proud we are in the effort of the #24…”
When asked about Team Penske’s performance at Phoenix, Gordon replied, “Woo, man I mean three in a row! Those guys are on fire and clearly have this figured out with the Next Gen car getting here to Phoenix… Last year showed up, this year showed up. I mean, we kind of knew going in we were a little bit behind. So, yeah, we got some work to do.”
Continuing his analysis of the late-season surge of Team Penske, similar to their performance over the past two years, the Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports reflected on the transformation.
He mused, “I think about how the Ford was running earlier in the season and now here they are dominating and winning championships. So, we got to figure out, where we can find more in our cars and in our setups and tire modeling.”
Jeff Gordon on the gap to Team Penske at Phoenix and pride in the effort from William Byron, Rudy Fugle and their No. 24 team pic.twitter.com/oFXq1YsVVz
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) November 11, 2024
Gordon lauds Byron’s progression in recent years
Despite the swirl of controversy that marked Byron’s championship 4 qualification, he delivered commendably, securing a P3 finish for the second year running, behind only Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney.
When asked about Byron’s growth, Gordon observed that the team and the audience have to acknowledge how relatively new he is to this level of racing, especially compared to many of his competitors.
Yet, looking at the strides he’s made — his quick adaptation, his maturity behind the wheel, speaks for itself. As he put it, “His in-race behind-the-wheel experience and yet how fast he has progressed, how fast he has matured.”
“[He] Running for championship last year, coming back this year, I just saw a huge step forward for him and the team then they fought for it. Yeah, all those things are lined up.”
Overall the year marked a strong Hendrick Motorsports team performance, with all their Cup drivers ending the season in the top ten.
