Daytona 500: Byron’s Big Finish 🏁

02/20/2024

By: Jeff Yoder

William Byron Wins 2024 Daytona 500 After Only Leading Final 4 Laps

Better late than never! The postponed Daytona 500 was pushed to Monday after a rain-filled weekend in Florida, and an unlikely hero emerged. William Byron won the 66th Daytona 500 on Monday despite only leading for the final four laps. Byron was previously 0-for-6 in The Great American Race, and he’d only finished running twice. Both those finishes were outside of the top-10, and he began Monday with +2000 odds (tied for 10th-best).

Byron’s Big Finish

Byron took the lead late (Lap 196) and was aided by a caution flag just into the final lap. Multiple challengers over-extended their push for the lead at the end of Lap 199, resulting a multi-car crash. Byron cruised to victory under the white-flag caution with a fender advantage over Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman (2nd). And after a weekend where Toyotas won the qualifiers and Fords won the front row, it was Chevrolet — with four of the top-5 finishers — who won the event.

Byron’s emotions were evident in the victory interview as he thanked his team, his father, and a long list of his supporters. It’s the 11th career victory for the 26-year-old Charlotte native, but it’s certainly his biggest. Congrats to William Byron!

Daytona 500 Results

1. William Byron (#24, Chevrolet)

2. Alex Bowman (#48, Chevrolet)

3. Charlie Bell (#20, Toyota)

4. Corey LaJoie (#7, Chevrolet)

5. A.J. Allmendinger (#16, Chevrolet)

Watch: William Byron Wins 66th Daytona 500

NBC Sports: William Byron Wins Daytona 500 on 40th Anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports

Photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images