The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Byron gets milestone win for Hendrick, moves closer to chance to race for title
William Byron grew up a huge fan of Hendrick Motorsports, watching Jimmie Johnson win championships and knowing how much he wanted to one day drive for that organization.
Byron, 25, is now a step closer in his sixth Cup season to having an opportunity to race for Rick Hendrick’s next title after getting the team owner a milestone victory in the second-round opener of the NASCAR playoffs.
Byron led only the last six laps Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas, going in front by passing Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe right after the final restart, and advanced to the round of eight with his series-best sixth win of the season. It was the 300th for Hendrick, coming just two years after passing Petty Enterprises’ longtime record of 268 wins.
“The 300 wasn’t a goal — 269 was a goal to beat Petty’s record,” Hendrick said. “I never thought we’d get there, so we started counting down until we got to break that record. Once we got to 269, then everybody started talking about 300.
“I’m not thinking about 350, I’ll tell you that. I’m going to enjoy 300 and see what happens. I’d like to win another championship.”
With Byron already in the next round, Hendrick also has 2021 champion Kyle Larson still in contention. Larson is currently eighth in the playoff standings with two races left before the next cut, though he was almost the one to get No. 300 — like he got the record 269th at Charlotte midway through his championship season.
Larson, a three-time winner this year, led 99 laps at Texas Motor Speedway. He was in front with 20 laps to go when, after he and Wallace opted against stops for fresh tires during a caution period, they were side-by-side going into Turn 1 on the restart. Larson got loose on the inside but avoided contact with Wallace when the No. 5 Hendrick entry went up the track and slammed hard into the wall.
The race still ended with Hendrick in Victory Lane celebrating a milestone with Byron, along with the crews and drivers from his other three cars.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s really special,” Byron said about getting No. 300 for Hendrick with his 10th career win. “Growing up a Hendrick Motorsports fan, I watched win No. 200 on TV when Jimmie won that race (at Darlington in 2012). I always felt like obviously the gold standard was Hendrick Motorsports, so if I could ever drive for them, once I started having success in my own career, that was the goal.”
Hendrick has 14 Cup titles, led by the seven Johnson won and four by Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 car that Byron now drives. Terry Labonte won a title in 1996, a year after Gordon got the organization’s first one. Chase Elliott was the 2020 champion.