CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — It is time that we start doing a better job of appreciating William Byron. Actually, it is past time for us to get on board the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy and the affable 26-year-old North Carolinian who wheels it.
He is a freshly minted Daytona 500 champion. His second victory of 2024, on the Circuit of the Americas road course two weeks ago, was the 12th win of his career, marking the third straight season he has won at least two races and his fifth straight campaign with at least one trophy, including last year’s series-best six. He has made NASCAR‘s postseason playoff field in six consecutive seasons, his only miss coming in 2018 when he won the consolation prize of Rookie of the Year, and last fall he made the Championship 4. Oh, and he also won the Xfinity Series title in 2017 … and the year before that set a record for rookie wins in the Truck Series with seven.
That all feels worthy of our collective praise, certainly more praise than it feels like he is currently receiving or has ever received.
But why is recognition of his feats such a rarity?
There are those — like, a lot of those — who will tell you that William Byron is not Jeff Gordon, the original captain of that car and a four-time Cup Series champion. They are also quick to remind us that he’s no Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time champion who was essentially discovered and hired by Gordon. They’ll also say he’s not Chase Elliott, or Kyle Larson, both Cup titlists and both his HMS teammates.
You know who else would tell you all of that? William Byron.
“I know that I am not Jeff Gordon, but when I get that car with his number on the side, I want to do everything I can to do right by Jeff and by the history that number represents,” Byron explained last month, adding that if he ever needed a reminder of all that, it usually comes in the form of a prerace, getting-into-the-car visit from Gordon himself, now the chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. “He likes to joke that there’s no pressure and that it’s not his car anymore … but I also don’t think he’s really joking. There’s still a part of me that can’t believe that conversation is…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – RPM…