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DAYTONA BEACH — As they stepped off the post-race press conference stage with smiles on their faces, William Byron patted Jeff Gordon on the back and murmured something to him.
Maybe a “thank you.” Maybe a wisecrack.
Either would’ve been valid.
Byron is a Daytona 500 winner — again. He ripped off a second straight victory in NASCAR’s Super Bowl, one that received the green flag a few minutes after 2 p.m. Sunday and didn’t see the checkers until after 9:30 p.m. due to rain at Daytona International Speedway.
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Most notably, Byron broke a record — Gordon’s record — for the youngest multi-time Great American Race champ. The current vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports claimed his second Harley J. Earl Trophy in 1999 at 27 years, six months and 10 days old.
Byron’s mark: 27 years, two months and 18 days.
“Well, I have a long way to go,” he said. “What do I need, 93 wins or something (to tie Gordon’s career total)?”
“I hope he breaks them all,” Gordon said of his numbers. “I’m in full support of that.”
Sunday wasn’t a passing of the torch by any means. Byron has been in Gordon’s old No. 24 Hendrick car since 2018. Eight seasons, counting this fresh one, if you can believe it.
But it’s a continuation.
You remember what Gordon did for 24 years in the No. 24 Chevy. Three Daytona 500 victories, four Cup Series titles. And much, much more.
When he retired, Chase Elliott hopped into the driver’s seat for two seasons and made the playoffs in each.
Byron earned the nod in 2018 when Elliott pivoted to his dad’s old No. 9.
He captured his first win in 2020 at the Daytona summer race. Since then, he’s added 13 more, including Sunday.
“You guys have witnessed it and seen it,” Gordon said. “We talk all the time about how quickly he’s risen through the ranks and won races and championships and continues to do it at the elite level in Cup …
“William is just a great guy and cares a lot about the sport and the team, and so you wish good things for him. I was telling him, ‘You must be living right because the seas parted today.’”
Indeed they did.
Byron began the second and final overtime lap in ninth. Heading into Turn 3, he had worked his way toward the top five and looked to dart to the outside as a last-ditch effort. As he did, a crash ignited at the front of the pack and collected traffic all the way through.
For Byron, it happened perfectly, though. He slipped up the outside wall, avoiding the smoke and carnage and rolled right into Victory Lane. The caution flag dropped just after he crossed the stripe.
He’s the fifth back-to-back winner in race history and the first since Denny Hamlin five years ago.
“Obviously, it worked out in a fortunate way for us, but it’s not all luck to win twice in a row,” Byron said. “It’s a lot of teamwork.”
Speaking of his team.
Byron not only topped Gordon’s multi-time winner age mark. He handed Hendrick its 10th Daytona 500 triumph. That’s the most of any organization. Last year, Byron elevated Hendrick into a tie with longtime record-owner Petty Enterprises.
“I’m just proud of him,” Gordon said. “I know the fans that I get to interact with, there was a period of time where they were sad that I was not in (the No. 24 Hendrick machine), and I can see their excitement now that that legacy continues on because of what William and the team are doing.”
Make no mistake. Byron felt the pressure of that legacy early on, he said Sunday. He had to adjust.
He has.
“Now it’s like, OK, we’re building our own team,” Byron said. “We have cool paint schemes. We have awesome sponsors. And it’s starting to all come together, and we’re really getting a personality to our team.”
That personality includes winning at the World Center of Racing.
Like it always has for the Hendrick 24.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500: William Byron continues Jeff Gordon’s Hendrick legacy
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