William Byron wins 2024 NASCAR race
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USAF Thunderbirds perform flyover at Daytona 500
The world-renowned U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform the customary flyover for the 66th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
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If 2023 was a breakthrough year for William Byron, 2024 could prove to be even bigger.
Byron, who led all NASCAR Cup Series drivers with six wins last season, scored the biggest triumph of his career Monday evening, winning the 66th annual Daytona 500 to kick off the 2024 season.
Byron took the white flag at Daytona International Speedway in his No. 24 Chevrolet seconds before a caution flag flew because of a last-lap crash. The 26-year-old edged his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman for the checkered flag, NASCAR officials ruled, after reviewing the sequence of events.
“Just extremely blessed and thankful for all the opportunities, now just want to keep it going,” Byron said after exiting his car. “We have a lot to prove this year, and this is a good start obviously. Daytona 500, it’s freaking awesome!”
The one-two finish made a memorable day even more special for team owner Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman, Jeff Gordon, who famously drove the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet to three Daytona 500 wins and four NASCAR Cup Series championships.
Monday marked the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ first race, and Byron’s win gave the team owner a record-tying nine Daytona 500 victories. Byron became the sixth different driver to win the Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports and the first in nine years.
Monday’s win marked Byron’s 11th Cup Series victory since 2018. The Charlotte, North Carolina native made it to the NASCAR championship race in 2023, finishing fourth in the race and third in the final standings behind champion Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson, who won the 2021 title as a Hendrick driver.
Now Byron will seek to join Larson and 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, and bring another season title to NASCAR’s most successful owner 35 races from now.
It was a particularly rough ending for Team Penske and Ford, which had multiple Daytona 500 contenders taken out in two late crashes. The first one, with eight laps remaining, wiped out pole-sitter and 2015 winner Joey Logano and Blaney, among others, in a massive 18-car crash. The final crash took out 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric, who was in position to win again on the penultimate lap before a wreck ended his and Penske’s hopes for a victory lane celebration.
“It’s just a really unfortunate end. We had a shot to win the Daytona 500,” Cindric said. “We were really in great position with the outside lane breaking up and kind of one-on-one with the 24 with the whole pack behind, so you can’t really ask for anything else other than that out of myself and the team. It just sucks a little bit.”
Cindric finished 22nd, Blaney 30th and Logano 32nd. Noah Gragson, driving the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10, had the best finish for For in nignth. Joe…
Read More: William Byron wins 2024 NASCAR race 2024-02-20 02:30:09