Defending Daytona 500 Champion Byron has Chance to Pull off Rare Feat
William Byron has a chance to accomplish a feat that has only been pulled off four times throughout the 67-year history of the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Byron, who won last year's edition of The Great American Race, is looking to knock off back-to-back victories in the sport's most prestigious race.
If Byron, 27, can defy the roulette-esque odds that is superspeedway racing on his way to another triumph in the Daytona 500 this year, he'll join Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84), Sterling Marlin (1994-95), and Denny Hamlin (2019-20) as the only drivers to reign supreme in this event in consecutive years.
While a very historic mark is within his grasp, during Wednesday's Daytona 500 Media Day, Byron said he isn't worrying himself about the history that could be potentially made. Instead, he's focused on doing the things he needs to do in the here and now to put himself in a better position to win Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series season-opening race.
"No, I don't really think about the history," the North Carolina native explained. "There's so many things, so many boxes to check as this week goes. I mean, obviously, that would be a great footnote after the race is over, but right now, there's just so many things to get to that point."
Instead of day-dreaming of hoisting his second Harley J. Earl trophy, what is Byron focusing on instead?
"Well, I think there's so many aspects," Byron stated. "The way you position yourself at the end of the race, really, it starts [with qualifying]. You know, you can get yourself on the front row, and that gives you a great opportunity to not have to stress about the Duels. And then if you have it locked in on the front row, you have to race the Duels and understand what your car has and keep it in one piece."
Byron, who broke down the path to a win in The Great American Race in a very cerebral fashion, continued to shy away from the what-ifs on Sunday, instead focusing on Wednesday night's Daytona 500 qualifying session.
"It is, it's a process throughout the week, and obviously, Sunday is about positioning yourself as the Stages go along. And like I said, the last 20 laps of the race, essentially. It's just a process, you know, [I] really can't think too far ahead. I'm not thinking about Sunday at all, yet, just trying to get through tonight, check the boxes that I need to to have a good qualifying run," Byron said.
Heading into qualifying, Byron and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series garage have only had one practice session to shake down their race cars. But Byron says practice isn't as important at Daytona as some make it out to be.
"It doesn't affect us at all. Practice here is such a facade, really," Byron pointed. "You're not around enough cars, and there is not enough energy in the pack to really know what the cars are going to do. The Duels are your best practice. That's when everyone is at 10/10ths."
Having such a marathon week for the official start of the season, does that help with the suddeness of getting into that grueling schedule?
"It does. I honestly look forward to this week. It's kind of like a little bit of a Spring break. You're down here forever, you have, obviously, a lot of obligations, but I enjoy it. It's a nice lead in versus like The Clash. It's so sudden, and you're in such a different environment. You don't have the garages or even your hauler, so, this race gives you a chance to settle in, get all of your stuff acclimated, and then you hit the road after that."
While he's not falling into the trap of overconfidence heading into the race weekend, Byron makes no bones about what his favorite thing was from his first-career Daytona 500 win -- the famed Harley J. Earl trophy.
"I mean, I think just the trophy itself is probably the coolest thing," Byron said. "The side-effect that I always thought about was all of the media you would have to do and what that would feel like. But, it's honestly been great. So, it's not bad. But just the trophy itself is such a historic-looking trophy, and its unlike any other one I've had."
Another reason Byron is probably not allowing himself to think about a second-consecutive Daytona 500 win is the fact that he has had the hardest time deciding where to display his 2024 Daytona 500 trophy. For now, the trophy is sitting in the front room of his house.
"[I] Just kind of moved it around at home. It's been in a couple of different spots, but now it's in my sunroom in the front," Byron admitted. "So, yeah, I think maybe one day I'll put it in a case or something, but yeah, right now it's just hanging out."
As Byron enters the Daytona 500 race weekend, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is doing so with a brand-spanking-new Axalta paint scheme. The scheme, which harkens back to Jeff Gordon's iconic flames paint scheme, but with it's own special accents, is something that Byron said he is proud to pilot this year.
"They showed me a picture of [the paint scheme] on a frame, and I think it was pretty much 90% there. Credit to those guys, they did a great job," Byron explained when pressed on whether he had much input in the car's design. "The designers and everybody, it looks awesome. Really proud of that, I think that's how a race car should look."
Sure, it seems silly, as a paint scheme design doesn't add any tangible performance boosts, many race car drivers find themselves in a better space mentally when they climb into a beautiful car on the grid as opposed to a less pleasing design.
"Yeah, it does. You know when you're stepping into a really nice race car, and something that you're really proud of. And also, the attention in the craft with my guys and how much effort they put into the race car. So, it does affect me, personally, it affects how I feel getting into the race car Obviously, once I'm on it, it is what it is. But I think having a good looking race car, and having a car that your guys have put a lot of effort into, that means a lot."
He has a snazzy car, and a chance at a rare achievement this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, but Byron also is seeking a third-consecutive Championship 4 appearance in 2025. He won this race a season ago, but Daytona's Big One could always rear its ugly head at any moment and extinguish any prayer of Byron getting off to a fast start this season.
If that were to happen, Byron reiterates that he isn't too worried about it. He has his head in the game, and his end goal is winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship at season's end.
"It's not a huge deal," Byron responded when asked about the importance of getting off to a quick start this year. "I mean, I think this season is really long. I would like for us just to continue to improve. I think that's the biggest thing. Yeah, you want to get a win early, it takes some pressure off from the outside, but really, you continue to strive for more. Sometimes, you don't see the champion really get hot until the second half of the year. Not saying that's the right formula, but I'm just saying you've got to be consistent throughout the year. Try to win every week. That's our goal, not really thinking about trying to make a statement or anything like that. We're just trying to go out there and execute every week."
If Byron can avoid calamity, and emerge victorious on Sunday at Daytona, he would secure his seventh-consecutive Playoff berth, and he'd have 25 more races to pile on Playoff Points on his path to the postseason. But first things first, Byron is focused on Daytona 500 qualifying, and then will shift his focus to the Duels, and then the final practice sessions of the week before ultimately turning his attention to Sunday's Great American Race.
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.