2024 Daytona 500: William Byron Seizes Victory in NASCAR’s Premier Event.

2024 Daytona 500: In the commemorative 40th anniversary year of Hendrick Motorsports, William Byron presented team owner Rick Hendrick with an additional reason to rejoice at Daytona Beach, Florida.

During a chaotic rush following a restart on Lap 197 out of 200 in the Daytona 500, Byron managed to cross the start/finish line and receive the white flag just before NASCAR intervened with the fifth caution of the evening. This occurred as Ross Chastain careened uncontrollably through the infield grass, having been nudged by Austin Cindric’s Ford.

At the moment of caution, Alex Bowman closely trailed his teammate, resulting in a remarkable 1-2 finish for Hendrick. This victory not only marked the organization’s first triumph in the “Great American Race” since Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win in 2014 but also showcased the first Hendrick 1-2 in this prestigious event since Jimmie Johnson outpaced Earnhardt in 2013.

With this triumph, Hendrick secured their ninth victory in the Daytona 500, equalling Petty Enterprises for the most wins in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series’ most esteemed competition. Due to heavy rains over the weekend, the race had to be postponed from Sunday to Monday.

The 26-year-old Byron, who secured his 11th Cup Series victory and second win at Daytona, reflected, “I started as a kid racing on computers and now I’ve won the Daytona 500.” This marks his first victory at the 2.5-mile superspeedway since the 2020 summer race.

I am amazed by this moment. I long for my father’s presence. Despite his illness, I dedicate this to him. We have faced many challenges together, and we used to sit in the grandstands watching the race when Byron was younger. This experience is truly incredible.

Hendrick was overflowing with joy in Victory Lane.

“I can’t even begin to describe how perfect this moment is,” he expressed. “When we first considered coming here, we never imagined we would end up winning. It felt surreal.”

“We managed to secure this victory on our 40th day here, and we’ve also tied a record. It’s truly incredible.”

Prior to the final restart, Chastain was leading the pack on Lap 192 when a nudge from Alex Bowman caused chaos, sending Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron spinning into Brad Keselowski’s Ford.

Keselowski then collided with Joey Logano’s Ford, who had been leading for 45 laps. The crash involved 23 cars, leaving a trail of wreckage along the backstretch.

The collision caused Blaney, Keselowski, Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suárez, and Todd Gilliland to exit the race. NASCAR halted the race for 15 minutes and 27 seconds to clean up the track.

Logano expressed his disappointment, “Speedway racing strikes again. It’s enjoyable until incidents like this occur. The race was intense, with a lot of jostling towards the end. Our car was handling it well. Our Mustang was incredibly fast and could lead the pack effectively. I thought I had the right cars around me, but it just didn’t come together.”

Byron commented on the accident, “I’m obviously upset about what happened on the backstretch. I was pushed and ended up sideways. However, I’m proud of the Axalta team, especially since it’s our 40th anniversary on Monday. I feel incredibly fortunate for the opportunities I’ve had and want to continue this momentum. We have a lot to prove this year, and this is a promising start.”

The extent of Byron’s remaining challenges is up for debate. He won six races last season, made it to the Championship 4, and finished third in the final standings.

The race was just under five laps old when an eight-car accident off Turn 4 initiated the inevitable attrition. Keselowski’s Ford made contact in a tightly bunched line on the outside, causing John Hunter Nemechek’s Toyota to collide with Harrison Burton’s Ford in the center lane.

Burton slid towards the infield, involving Carson Hocevar’s Chevrolet. Burton’s No. 21 Mustang veered up the track and collided with Kaz Grala’s Ford and Austin Dillon’s Chevrolet. Following Dillon, Hocevar was hit by seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, leading to the collision.

The crash resulted in the elimination of Burton, Hocevar, and Grala’s cars. Dillon took his No. 3 Chevy to the garage for extensive repairs, while Johnson lost two laps on pit road as his Legacy Motor Club crew worked to fix his Camry.

“I can’t recall exactly who was on my outside,” Burton mentioned after visiting the infield care center. “It seemed like they either received a bad push or lost control and hit me on the right side, sending me across.

“The grass was so wet that once I entered it, I thought I’d be fine, but the car just kept sliding… it’s really unfortunate that our day ended so quickly. We had a very fast Ford. It’s disappointing. All we can do is move forward and aim to win next week.”

It took another 187 laps of racing before a massive wreck, larger than the earlier incident, reduced the field and set the stage for the final battle among the surviving cars.

In a race with 41 lead changes involving 20 drivers, Christopher Bell finished third, followed by Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, and AJ Allmendinger. Chastain, who lacked sufficient space when he attempted to pass Cindric on the penultimate lap, finished 21st, one position ahead of Cindric.

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, initially involved in the first yellow of the day on Lap 6, finished 28th. Reddick, the 2024 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 winner, finished in a different position.