NASCAR

William Byron Bristles At Naysayers, Defends Consecutive Daytona 500 Wins: ‘It’s Not All Luck’

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Jared Turner
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Jared Turner Sports Editor

Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.

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Published17 Feb 2025

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William Byron - Daytona 500

By any objective analysis, all the stars had to align perfectly for William Byron to win Sunday’s Daytona 500.

But Byron, whose No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was five rows back coming to the white flag, bristles at any suggestion that his second consecutive victory in The Great American Race was some kind of fluke.

“Well, I think you can’t underestimate the amount of preparation and teamwork that we had throughout the week,” Byron said. “We had an awesome car today. We just didn’t have the track position to show it, and the way the fuel savings and strategy worked out.”

William Byron’s Second Daytona 500 Win Featured A Much Different Plot Than His First

Byron led Sunday’s Daytona 500 on five occasions for a total of 10 laps out front, but the Charlotte, North Carolina native had last held the top spot with just over 40 laps to go when he regained the lead with less than half a lap remaining. He did so by simply managing to avoid a wild multicar wreck that eliminated Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer and other frontrunners.

Byron led only once for a total of four laps out front en route to his first Daytona 500 triumph, but those four laps came in succession at the end of the race.

“We were always up front, and this year just wasn’t that way,” Byron said after Sunday’s 67th running of NASCAR’s most prestigious race. “I felt like for us, we were trying to stay positive. And I felt like each restart there at the end, we were still optimistic about our chances to get forward.”

But Byron certainly wasn’t going to win without the chaos that erupted — that he avoided — on the final lap.

“Yeah, obviously it worked out in a fortunate way for us, but it’s not all luck to win twice in a row,” he said. “It’s a lot of teamwork and a lot of talking with my spotter and us three working together and making the most of it.

“Definitely fortunate but definitely a lot of teamwork.”

William Byron Becomes Fifth Cup Series Driver To Win Two Daytona 500s In A Row

The circumstances surrounding Byron’s win notwithstanding, he joined an elite club of drivers who’ve celebrated a Daytona 500 victory in consecutive years. The last driver to do it before Sunday was Hamlin in 2019 and 2020. Prior to Hamlin, it hadn’t happened since Sterling Marlin went back-to-back in 1994 and 1995.

NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty (1973 and 1974) and Cale Yarborough (1983 and 1984) are the only other drivers to hoist the Harley J. Earl Trophy in consecutive years. No driver has prevailed in the Daytona 500 three years in a row.

Does Byron believe that at this time a year from now he and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team can become the first to secure the elusive Daytona 500 trifecta?

“They gave me everything I needed tonight,” Byron said of his team led by veteran crew chief Rudy Fugle. “I just kept getting more pissed off as the race went on, because I wasn’t taking advantage of it when my car was really good.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll bring me a great car next year, and we’ll try to go after it.”