CONCORD, N.C. -- William Byron climbed out of his Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Saturday night a Cup Series winner after he took the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway.
It marked the 22-year-old's first Cup Series win and punched his ticket to the playoffs, which starts at Darlington Raceway next week. Byron said the feeling was indescribable.
"On Cloud 9 for sure," Byron said. "There was a point in that race that I didn't really think things were going to work out in our favor to make the playoffs, really have an opportunity next week. This was kind of one of those do‑or‑die situations. Kind of crossed that fork in the road (Saturday night). We were able to be aggressive and make it happen."
Byron restarted toward the front of the pack after two red flags dropped at the very end of the race and he was able to move into the lead in overtime. He was flawless in staying out front and had teammate Chase Elliott behind him for the extra push needed to cross the finish line first.
"You couldn't have picked a more pressure‑packed race," Byron said. "When you're at a superspeedway, the running order changes every two laps practically, it's incredible to put that much pressure on a couple of points. You really can't points race, which I think is probably what they want us to do. They want us to go for wins, try to compete hard. It was a perfect format for that."
Byron said the thrill of crossing the finish line first was that realization that he was officially in the playoffs. Before the race, he was just four points above the playoff bubble and was battling several other drivers, including teammate Jimmie Johnson, for a berth.
"The first thought probably was just how excited I knew that my team was, how excited (spotter) Tab (Boyd) was on the radio, how excited (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) was, how excited I was," Byron said. "That feeling of coming off four, it's just a shot of adrenaline right into your arm, it really is. It's just an incredible feeling. I can't describe winning a race in NASCAR. It's been a while, so it just is an awesome feeling."
With Byron's win, Hendrick Motorsports became the first organization to have three drivers under the age of 27 win a Cup Series race in a season. It also marked the 12th year Hendrick Motorsports had three different drivers win in one season.
The Daytona winner will have a week to prepare for the first playoff race of the season at Darlington Raceway. The playoffs kick off Sunday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.