William Byron paced COTA on Sunday in the lead for a race-high 42 laps and beat second-placed Christopher Bell by a narrow 0.692 seconds. The victory made him the first driver in 2024 to win multiple races. Notably, this is also the third consecutive year that Byron has become the first driver to win multiple races in a season. This feat was previously matched by none other than his predecessor, Jeff Gordon.
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Gordon became the first repeat winner in each of the three seasons between 1997 and 1999, driving the #24 Hendrick Motorsports car. More than 25 years later, Byron has done the same. Starting Sunday’s race at the pole, he displayed exemplary dominance throughout the 68 laps. The performance earned him his 12th Cup Series victory and a series-best 10th victory in the Next Gen car.
He is now tied with Terry Labonte on the all-time winners list for Hendrick Motorsports. Despite the celebrations that were due at the end of the race, Byron wasn’t all that pleased with himself. Behind the #20 Toyota Camry XSE, Bell showcased good speed and almost caught up with him towards the end. Noting how his Camaro’s speed waned in the final laps, he mentioned to the press that he still had a lot of work to do.
As reported by NBC Sports, his words went, “Yeah, (Bell) was really fast at the end. The Toyotas had the long run speed kind of all weekend, so for us, it was just trying to get a gap on the short run; manage our tires, and just kind of keep our car in a good spot. I definitely gave up a lot of time the last five laps, so we still have work to do.”
Regardless of his self-reflections, the men in charge at Hendrick Motorsports were overjoyed with his drive. Unmissable among them was Gordon, himself.
Jeff Gordon heaps praise on Byron after COTA win
After watching Byron drive his old #24 car to the victory lane for the second time this season, Gordon couldn’t control his delight. Talking to the press after the checkered flag flew, he said, “Just watching him qualify, how smooth he was. Same thing throughout the race. Just seemed to put the car in all the right places.”
“I never saw him make a mistake, which is what it was going to take to win today in the closing laps because (Christopher) Bell had the faster car with the fresher tires.” Byron’s win marked the 105th time the #24 car visited the victory lane and Hendrick Motorsports’ 304th win as an organization.
