William Byron is in his eighth season driving the No. 24 car full-time for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. The No. 24 car is famously associated with NASCAR Hall of Famer and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, who raced for Hendrick Motorsports his whole career (1993-2015) and is now the team’s vice chairman.
Shouldering the legacy of driving such an iconic car, Byron compared it to playing for an MLB team with 27 World Series championships on “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour.”
“I feel at ease because it’s now our own thing,” Byron told host Kevin Harvick. “It’s our car. We’ve made it our own, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s like being part of the [New York] Yankees. It’s a historic place. Driving the [No.] 24 car holds so much significance. It carries a rich history and you feel a sense of duty to win. That pressure, it doesn’t diminish. I clinched my first victory, my 12th victory, [and] it persists, so there’s a constant expectation, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“I enjoy driving there, and it feels like a good fit for me.”
The 2025 NASCAR season commences Sunday with the Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) at Daytona International Speedway, a track where Byron has seen success.
Out of Byron’s 13 career victories in the NASCAR circuit, two have been at Daytona, including last season’s race. Additionally, Byron secured four wins in the Xfinity Series in 2017, with one triumph at Daytona.
On February 2, Byron placed 18th among 23 drivers in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray, finishing a lap behind.
In his most recent showdown with points on the line, Byron ranked third in total points (5,034) with three victories, 13 top-five finishes, and 21 top-10 finishes last season.
After Gordon’s departure from the Cup Series in 2016, where he drove eight races to substitute for Dale Earnhardt Jr. due to an injury, Gordon shifted to the role of NASCAR color commentator for FOX Sports in 2016 after calling three Xfinity races in 2015. His tenure with FOX Sports extended until midway through the 2021 season, when he transitioned to his current position as vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.
Byron, aged 27, will commence 11th in Thursday night’s Duel 1 at DAYTONA (7 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports app).
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