William Byron more than 'the other guy' at Hendrick with Daytona 500 win

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron has two teammates who have won Cup Series titles.

Chase Elliott won the Cup title in 2020 and is celebrated as NASCAR’s most popular driver. Kyle Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, is considered one of the world’s greatest racing talents who will make his Indianapolis 500 debut this year.

And Byron?

“I’m the other guy,” Byron said late Monday night.

Byron doesn’t know how many more wins or if winning a championship might make him more than the “other guy” at Hendrick Motorsports. But for at least one night, he certainly was on top of the NASCAR world as he captured the rain-delayed Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

A 26-year-old who learned how to race on a computer rather than toiling on short tracks for several years, Byron earned his 11th career victory in his 217th start as he already is in his seventh season of Cup racing.

This was a win for those who love a story about a dream but having no idea of the path not being from a racing family. A story about a driver maybe pushed to Cup when he wasn’t totally ready and yet has grown to have the confidence and results to be considered among the sport’s elite. 

He doesn’t have a podcast and his quiet, congenial demeanor (most of the time) gives him a core of fans who, much like him, cheer but with no obnoxious tone.

“I just try to stay quietly focused,” Byron said. “I feel like for me, I do well having my own space and being able to work through the things with my race team.

“I have to kind of balance that kind of calm demeanor with working with my team and being vocal enough to do the things we need to do to get the car better and things like that.”

Byron won the Daytona 500 by being inches ahead of teammate Alex Bowman (another “other” Hendrick driver) when the caution came out with less than a full lap remaining as two drivers challenging for the lead, Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric, went spinning.

NASCAR had hoped to have the field race to the finish, but Cindric’s car came back up the track and NASCAR threw the caution after Byron and Bowman had passed the start-finish line taking the white flag, making the race official. 

For Byron, he had never even finished a Daytona 500 on the lead lap, having a best finish of 21st. But he also had earned his first career victory at Daytona in the August 2020 race.

“If we finish, all bets are off — we can win it,” Byron said five days before the race. “We’re good enough at superspeedways.”

Byron won following a 2023 season in which he captured a series-best six Cup races but ended up finishing third in the standings behind Ryan Blaney and Larson. He led 95 laps in the season finale at Phoenix but faded over the second half of the race.

He led fewer than 10 laps in two of his wins, including at Darlington, where Chastain and Larson crashed while battling for the lead late in the race. He won a rain-shortened race at Atlanta.

So some viewed his six victories as not as dominant as they might appear.

“I feel a little chip on our shoulder because I feel like we didn’t get the credit we deserved,” Byron said prior to the season. “So … we’re going to go out there and prove some more and hopefully win a bunch of races and run up front and just take it to everybody.”

His team owner, Rick Hendrick, doesn’t mind that attitude. And Hendrick liked that Byron crew chief Rudy Fugle embraces the team having that chip.

“He won more races than anyone last year, and I think [Fugle] helps him with the chip,” Hendrick said. “But I like the way he’s approaching this year. He’s done a lot in the short time he’s been in the sport, so winning the Daytona 500 now, that’s something that he’ll always carry with him.

“It’s exciting to see and think about the future with he and Rudy together because he’s just done an awesome job everywhere.”

Hendrick Motorsports celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, with Monday’s victory coming 40 years to the day of the first HMS start when Geoff Bodine finished eighth in the 1984 Daytona 500.

It seemed fitting that it was the driver of the No. 24 car who got it done, considering that is the number that Jeff Gordon drove for four championships, the second-most of any Hendrick driver and maybe the most well-known driver in Hendrick history.

“What I love the most is seeing him make it his number and building that fan base not only — 24 fans have been around for a long time, but his own fans,” Gordon said. “A win like this, this is going to elevate that up to the next level and bring a whole lot more new fans to the sport and for William.”

The driver who has the most Cup championships at Hendrick is Jimmie Johnson. The seven-time champion now co-owns Legacy Motor Club and competed in the race.

Johnson came over to Byron and congratulated the youngster, who as a kid thought the closest he would get to Hendrick Motorsports was stopping at Johnson’s house on Halloween.

“I feel like I’ve always had a bit of imposter syndrome because I race against Jimmie Johnson, like this guy was my hero,” Byron said. “Literally every Sunday I had his diecast cars in my room and just dreamed about what it would be like to be in his shoes and now I get to race against him.”

The dream became a reality several years ago. And, yet, Byron still wonders how long he might last.

“It’s a pretty crazy emotion to go through, just getting into the Cup Series, just honestly being happy to be there, and then figuring out, OK, well, what are my goals, what are the things I want to accomplish,” Byron said.

“I feel like I’ve always had a bit of kind of work through fear because of fear, and I feel like that’s fueled me because I never want to lose the opportunity to race in the Cup Series.” 

He won’t lose that opportunity for a long time, no matter if some view him as the other guy at Hendrick.

“I use it all as fuel, so just keep it coming — all the [lower] preseason predictions and everything,” Byron said. “I don’t read too much into it.

“I’m never going to be the most vocal guy. I just enjoy getting in the racecar and putting the helmet on and going to work. That’s what I’ve always lived for.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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