DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Monday’s Daytona 500 saw one of NASCAR’s top tier teams, Hendrick Motorsports, reach a milestone in more ways than one.
For starters, with William Byron wheeling the famed No. 24 Chevrolet to victory lane at Daytona Int’l Speedway, it gave team owner Rick Hendrick his ninth win in the Great American Race, tying the team with Petty Enterprises for the most wins (9) in the 500-mile race.
The win also came on the 40th anniversary of their first start in the Cup Series — dating back to 1984.
It was a dream come true for Byron, who was a fan of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson when he was a kid. In victory lane, Johnson congratulated the now 26-year-old racer.
“I feel like I’ve always had a bit of imposter syndrome because I race against Jimmie Johnson, like this guy was my hero,” Byron said after the race. “Literally every Sunday I had his die-cast cars in my room and just dreamed about what it would be like to be in his shoes and now I get to race against him.”
• While Johnson’s inaugural run aboard a Toyota Camry didn’t go as planned as he finished 28th and four laps down, the rest of his Legacy Motor Club teammates shined.
John Hunter Nemechek led the Legacy M.C. brigade in seventh, followed by Erik Jones in eighth.
“It’s a good start to the season,” Jones said. “I’ve not had good luck at the start of the season at Daytona, so we will take a top 10. I wish it was more. I think we had a car capable of more – I just struggled to make much happen throughout the day, getting in line and getting to the front.”
• Another team who quietly secured multiple top-10 finishes was Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe.
Gragson wheeled his No. 10 Ford to a ninth-place finish with Briscoe in tow in 10th. It was Gragson’s first run with SHR after his suspension and release from Legacy M.C. last season.
“We led some laps early, but we came down there at the end to fix some damage right before the final restart,” Gragson said. “We didn’t have a whole lot of area to go, but I guess it’s better than being wrecked. Overall, we’ll take a top 10.
“We kind of got pinned on the bottom and didn’t have a lot of room to go and then the race ended. I feel so good being behind the wheel. This whole Stewart-Haas team did a great job, especially getting the backup car going.”
• Two drivers pulling double duty on Monday night secured top 10’s in both the Cup Series race and NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Daytona.
Nemechek equaled his seventh in the Daytona 500 with a seventh in the United Rentals 300. Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger finished sixth in the Cup Series and a solid 10th in the Xfinity Series race.
“We had an up-and-down night but everyone at Kaulig Racing did a great job this weekend,” Allmendinger said. “We had great pit stops, great strategy and we had a car that could hang up there. We gave ourselves a shot at it and that’s all we can do.
“It’s the biggest race we have in the sport and I’m really proud of everyone’s effort this week.”
Allmendinger is competing full time in the Xfinity Series with a partial schedule in the Cup Series.
• Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie quietly notched a fourth-place finish at Daytona. LaJoie has now scored three straight top-10 results on superspeedways, dating back to Daytona in August of last year.
“Really stoked to start the year with a top five in our Chili’s Catch a Rita Chevy Camaro. Super happy with our team’s execution to start the season,” LaJoie said. “Our Spire Motorsports team brought a great race car with good speed & executed throughout the course of the day.
“We gained some track position, led some laps and after getting shuffled back continued to fight & claw our way to the front. The 500 begins a marathon season, so it’s great to start off on the right foot. We have 35 more to execute one run at a time & one race at a time to keep this 7 car up front where (it) should be.”