The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season began stunningly, with the Daytona 500 providing an exciting watch. After an intense end to the race, William Byron triumphed for Hendrick Motorsports on Monday night. However, the Cup Series couldn’t have expected a better way to celebrate the team’s 40th anniversary.

With Dwayne Johnson kick-starting the proceedings as the Grand Marshal, the Great American Race had the perfect start. Unsurprisingly, the race witnessed several wrecks before it got too hot to handle.

William Byron hands Rick Hendrick the perfect anniversary gift at Daytona

Daytona 500 and wrecks have almost always gone hand-in-hand. Well, that’s what makes the race so iconic. Fortunately, the 2024 season opener didn’t lack any spark. Things got feisty in the early turns of Stage 1 when an incident took place in lap 5. Brad Keselowski prematurely in the race bumped John Hunter Nemechek in the high line.

Next, the Legacy Motor Club driver came down and made contact with Harrison Burton in the middle lane. Burton eventually hit Carson Hocevar as both drivers went into the grass. The wreck also collected Austin Dillon, Kaz Grala, Ryan Preece, and Jimmie Johnson. Ultimately, the crash ended the race for Burton, Hocevar, and Grala. While Keselowski seemed to have triggered the wreck, it turned into a nightmare for the four drivers.

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Further, despite Joey Logano taking the pole position after the qualifying race, he struggled to keep his lead. It only got worse for him and his Team Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney, with a miscalculated pit stop. On the contrary, this turned into a blessing for Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports as it allowed Chase Elliott to take Stage 1, making it the second time that Elliott registered a stage win at the Daytona 500.

Furthermore, making it a win-win for Rick Hendrick’s camp at the end of Stage 1, all four of the Hendrick Motorsports cars finished in the top five, with Ross Chastain finishing third. Additionally, seven Chevys finished in the top ten, including Kyle Busch. While three Toyota drivers managed to achieve the same feat, unfortunately for Ford, none of their cars managed to finish in the top ten at the end of Stage 1.

In Stage 2, Joey Logano gave the Ford camp a major boost as he dominated from almost the onset. For over half of the second stage, Logano, along with Todd Gilliland, led the pack. Where it was Gilliland who led more laps (12) in Stage 2 than Logano did in the rest of his Cup Series career combined, Kyle Larson made a stunning run and took the lead in the 116th lap. To everyone’s surprise, before that, Larson was only running 19th.

Interestingly, Stage 2 witnessed some tight racing in the dying phases. Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric went toe-to-toe to clinch the stage, but it wasn’t to happen. Rather, it was the defending champion Ryan Blaney who made a last-ditch move, registering a win in Stage 2.

In this Stage, Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, A.J. Allmendinger, and Chris Buescher joined the top ten drivers to have finished in the second stage. However, despite finishing in the top ten of another stage, Kyle Busch struggled early on in the final stage.

It wasn’t a day for Busch, it seems. With smoke pouring from his car, pit stops turned out to be a problem for him. While his left front wheel was left loose, Busch was forced to return to get it tightened. Witnessing the incident, Richard Childress had a strong message on the radio for the #8 team. He said, “Get your head out of your ass and no more f***ing up.”

Having said that, that didn’t stop Kyle Busch from making an impressive comeback. With 50 laps to go, the 38-year-old was strongly fighting in the top five to go all the way. Rowdy was up against Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, who both looked very much in control until the 180th lap. This was until the race witnessed the highest of its curves.

It was a huge wreck involving Hamlin, Logano, Keselowski, Gilliland, Reddick, Martin Truex Jr, Blaney, Erik Jones, Larson, Antony Alfredo, and many others that resulted in a red flag.

Who started the wreck? It was with Alex Bowman giving teammate William Byron a bump, which resulted in the #24 driver turning sideways and turning Keselowski into a Logano, taking out 18 cars in the process. While the mid-track meetup ended the race for Logano, Blaney, Keselowski, and a few others, the ‘Big One’ helped change Byron’s fortunes.

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Just a few moments later, post-restart, the #24 driver sealed the victory for Hendrick Motorsports despite some tough competition from Ross Chastain, certainly ending the HMS’ 10-year yearning for a Daytona 500 win. Not only that, the 26-year-old also helped Rick Hendrick reach another milestone with his narrow win on Monday.

A victory under caution at the Daytona 500 will always be memorable

It is no secret that winning the Great American Race feels like no less than an achievement. Having last won the Daytona 500 in 2014, Hendrick Motorsports and Rick Hendrick longed for a win desperately. Amazingly, William Byron made the wish come true as he managed to achieve what Dale Earnhardt Jr did ten years ago.

By doing so, Byron now becomes the sixth different driver to win the Daytona 500 for Rick Hendrick. With the team celebrating its 40th anniversary, the timing couldn’t have been any better. Not only that, with this win, Hendrick Motorsports has now record-tying ninth Daytona 500 victory. Petty Enterprises also has the same number of wins.

Naturally, William Byron looked ecstatic after the win. Speaking still in disbelief after the win, he said, “I’m thankful for great power under the hood from Chevrolet. I’m just a kid racing on computers and winning the Daytona 500. I can’t believe it. I’m just very blessed.”

It could entirely have been a different story had the race not gone under caution with eight laps to go. Regardless, it is a moment to savor for William Byron and Hendrick Motorsports. If the Daytona 500 was a testament to what’s coming in the Cup Series this season, it couldn’t get any more exciting for the fans.

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