Winning the Daytona 500 is indeed hard. Finishing the 500-mile race while leading laps, and coming up front while staying out of trouble sounds just like a fairy tale for most drivers out there. Even the winningest team in NASCAR had to wait for nine years since 2014 to win the ‘Superbowl of NASCAR.’ Needless to say, William Byron’s win for Hendrick Motorsports at the famed high-banked tri-oval was a cherished one.
Advertisement
However, looking from the team’s point of view, Byron’s and Alex Bowman’s 1-2 finish last Monday was special for another reason. It was the fourth time in the team’s history that two HMS drivers took home the top two spots in the historic race.
“I’m in awe of how hard it is to win this race,” exclaimed Mr. Hendrick. “I’m just so happy for William (Byron), Rudy (Fugle, crew chief), the organization and to see Alex (Bowman) finish second. That was great.”
Back in 1997, it was the current HMS Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte and in 2013; it was 7x Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. And now, after their most recent feat, Byron and Bowman have etched their names alongside Hendrick Motorsports legends like Johnson and Gordon.
The organization now has nine wins at the Daytona 500, tying them to Petty Enterprises for the most wins by one team.
Is William Byron going to displace Chase Elliott as Hendrick’s poster boy?
Here is some food for thought: Can William Byron usurp Chase Elliott’s throne as the front face of Hendrick Motorsports? Well, here are two reasons why that might happen one day.
The most recent one is that the #24 driver snapped a nine-year Daytona 500 losing streak for the Chevy team and with that, launched the 40th anniversary season for Hendrick Motorsports by winning the Daytona 500. Just as he crossed the start-finish line, Byron was still in utter disbelief and kept asking over the radio, “Did we win it? Did we win it?”
“Well, no one told me. And Rudy was crying on the radio, so I was like ‘Dude, I hope he’s crying for good reason,'” Byron admitted in an interview. “I guess he was a ball of emotion there, and so I was like ‘Did we actually win or not?'”
Just rewinding the clock backward by a few months, Hendrick Motorsports had witnessed their star driver bag yet another gallant triumph; this one even more special from the team’s point of view. It was the team’s 300th win in the Cup Series. There was no looking back for him after that.
The team’s 300th Cup win and now, their 40th anniversary win; Chase Elliott might really need to do what is needed at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.
