“I really didn’t think we had a shot”

Three-time Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon has expressed excitement and surprise over William Byron’s unexpected victory at Daytona International Speedway. The #24 Hendrick Motorsports driver avoided last-lap carnage to win back-to-back Daytona 500s on Sunday, February 16.

It was a surprise win for Gordon because Byron was not in contention for victory; not only that, he was not in the top-five finish. However, the contact between Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe triggered a multi-car crash that opened the opportunity for the #24 driver. Byron, who was ninth at the time of the contact, took full advantage of it and escaped the chaos, holding off Tyler Reddick to earn the iconic 500-mile race.

After the win, Jeff Gordon acknowledged that he didn’t initially see Byron as a contender, focusing instead on Alex Bowman, who was running at fourth position in the race before Custer’s last-lap wreck. With chaos unfolding on the final lap, Gordon was shocked and excited to see #24 emerge as the leader.

Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio about Byron’s Daytona 500 win, here’s what the vice chairman of HMS said:

“Victory never gets old, especially at Daytona, and I think this one is just such a surprise or a shock. Daytona is always unpredictable, right? And you never know, but I really didn’t think we had a shot at it yet. Bowman was in position there towards the end; he got shuffled out.”

“And I didn’t even realize where William was because so much was happening, and when those two started crashing, I saw this red blur go through, and I was like, did he get through? And then the next camera angle is the Axalta #24 and William leading the race, and I was just in shock. Amazing. So very excited,” he added.

William Byron is now the fifth driver to win back-to-back “The Great American Race” and the first since Denny Hamlin, who won in 2019 and 2020.

Jeff Gordon on HMS’s milestone victory at Daytona

The 2025 Daytona 500 win was particularly special as it marked Hendrick Motorsports’ record-breaking 10th Daytona 500 victory, which sets Rick Hendrick apart as the winningest team owner in the race’s history.

In the same interview, Jeff Gordon acknowledged how special this achievement is while also celebrating the #24 HMS team’s second straight Daytona 500 victory.

“Rick and I were talking earlier about how special it would be to win 10, you know, and he now has accomplished that stands alone is the most Daytona 500 wins by an owner and that that’s really special but also to see William and Rudy and the whole Axalta team get back to Victor Lane back-to-back Daytona 500s pretty many is an amazing day,” he said.

Three out of 10 HMS’s Daytona victories came with Jeff Gordon in 1997, 1999, and 2005.