"He was already a superstar. He just went to another level of being a superstar."
Jeff Gordon
Editor’s note: This is the 30th in a 40-part series highlighting 40 of the greatest wins in the history of Hendrick Motorsports to finish its 40th anniversary season. A new installment will be released each day from Nov. 22, 2024 through New Year’s Eve. Votes were taken from Hendrick Motorsports employees as well as representatives of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Racing Insights with all unanimous selections being ushered in automatically. The remaining wins were deliberated and decided upon by a small panel.
CONCORD, N.C. - Despite past dominance, the DAYTONA 500 seemed to slip through the hands of Hendrick Motorsports more often than not following Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s triumphant victory in 2014.
A loss in 2024 would have been the 10th year of the dry spell.
But for the first race of the team's 40th anniversary season, William Byron had other plans.
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After anything but a normal Speedweek at Daytona International Speedway, the Harley J. Earl trophy would make its return to Hendrick Motorsports.
"You just don’t know how these races are going to end and you have to try to put yourself in a great spot," Byron said after this first crown jewel victory. "I felt like our team did a great job all day just putting ourselves in position and it’s pretty incredible."
| RACE FACTS | |
|---|---|
| Date: | February 17, 2024 |
| Venue: | Daytona International Speedway |
| Winner: | William Byron |
| Hendrick Motorsports win: | No. 302 |
| Laps led by winner: | 4 |
| Starting position of winner: | 18th |
| Top 10: | 1. William Byron; 2. Alex Bowman; 3. Christopher Bell; 4. Corey LaJoie; 5. Bubba Wallace; 6. A.J Allmendinger; 7. John Hunter Nemechek; 8. Erik Jones; 9.Noah Gragson; 10. Chase Briscoe |
| Did you know? | Byron had qualified sixth but was involved in a crash during his duel race. Ultimately, the backup car would be the vehicle used in his victory. |
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The first race of the 2024 campaign proved to be anything but normal.
To start, a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet did not sit on the front row during Wednesday night's qualifying session for the first time in DAYTONA 500 qualifying since 2014. Thursday evening's Daytona Duel race did not go much better.
Byron was cautious but aggressive, spending the majority of the qualifying race inside the top five. However, contact in the tri-oval from Kyle Busch with 13 laps remaining sent Byron spinning into Ryan Blaney, collecting a large portion of the field. It would be a backup car for the Charlotte, North Carolina, native for the main event.
While the crew prepared the car, the radar began to look more and more ominous. A second No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy was ready by Friday afternoon's practice session, but it soon became apparent the car might not have any track time until racing began. Weather rolled in on Saturday, dumping inches of rain on the race track and the surrounding areas, creating a washout of Saturday's final practice and eventually, Sunday's race.
Monday would now host the sport's biggest event.
But come a beautiful Monday afternoon, it was finally time to race. And from the get-go, it was clear the No. 24 team had brought a solid race car, backup or not.
"You couldn’t write the script any better, 24 in '24. When we thought about coming down here the first time (in 1984) we didn’t think we should be here and felt so out of place."
Rick Hendrick
As the race began, Byron quickly moved his way through the pack and was knocking on the door of the top 20 when a wreck broke out on lap six. The No. 24 entry was able to slide by the incident with no damage.
As stage one continued, multiple Chevrolet entries executed a quick pit stop for fuel only quicker than the competition, leaving the bowties out front to race for the stage victory. Ultimately, Chase Elliott got to the line first with Byron in fifth. Stage two would see a similar result as Byron would cross the line in sixth.
In the DAYTONA 500, intensity only ramps up when the sun goes down. But for Byron, the thought of victory was nearly gone in an instant.
On lap 196, an aggressive shove from teammate Alex Bowman pushed Byron's car sideways and into traffic. Luckily, Byron was able to collect the No. 24 entry and steer clear of the resulting chaos as a massive crash erupted behind him. The aftermath was a prime spot for his team in a sprint to the finish.
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As the race got back underway, Byron battled hard with Ross Chastain for the top spot. With two laps remaining, the bottom lane, led by the No. 24, broke away from the pack and looked to be in control of the race off the back straightaway — that was until a resurgent top lane linked up and began mounting a formidable charge off of turn four.
Coming to the start finish line, Chastain dove to the bottom lane and made contact with Austin Cindric. The resulting crash caused a caution after Byron had taken the white flag just ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman, making the race official. The result was a first crown jewel victory for Byron and the first DAYTONA 500 crown for the No. 24 entry since Jeff Gordon's 2005 triumph.
"I am just so proud of this team - this whole No. 24 Axalta Chevy team," Byron said after climbing out of the car. "Winning on the 40th anniversary to the day (of Hendrick Motorsports’ first race). Extremely blessed and thankful for all the opportunities."
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The win also kicked off a special season for Hendrick Motorsports, encompassing the team's historic 40 years of operation. A fact Rick Hendrick discussed after the race.
"You couldn’t write the script any better: 24 in '24," Hendrick said following the victory. "When we thought about coming down here the first time (in 1984) we didn’t think we should be here and felt so out of place."
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As for Byron, the first crown jewel victory was just the step vice chairman Jeff Gordon was looking for Byron to take in 2024. After winning six races and making the Championship 4 in 2023, Gordon had high hopes for Byron. And come the first race, he had delivered.
"He was already a superstar," Gordon said of Byron after the event. "He just went to another level of being a superstar."