Former NASCAR driver turned commentator, Kyle Petty, shared his views on how Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) driver William Byron is shaping the future of Rick Hendrick's team in the Cup Series.
Kyle Petty, son of NASCAR legend Richard Petty, drew a parallel between #24 Chevy driver Byron and former NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Gordon was also a driver for Hendrick Motorsports and drove the #24 for the team in the early 90s.
In a recent conversation with Davey Segal on his latest episode of Victory Lane podcast, $20 million worth (according to Celebrity Net Worth) Kyle Petty discussed the resemblance of William Byron and Jeff Gordon in shaping HMS' future. Petty said:
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"I look at him (Wiliam Byron) in the same mode as Jeff Gordon. Rick (Hendrick) took him. He runs some trucks, he runs some Xfinity and as soon as he had that success, Rick moved him to Cup." (0:14)
According to Petty, many people affiliated with HMS were not ready for this early move of Byron to the Cup Series. But Rick Hendrick still made the move. Petty continued by saying:
"Rick's goal and vision for William (Byron) was to be a Cup driver if Rick was willing to commit financially and emotionally. Also, to be that guy to say, "You're my man, Byron, I'm gonna stand behind you no matter what you do these first few years, but we're gonna learn to drive a race car together I'm gonna give you the equipment and you're gonna learn to be a Cup driver.""
This led to the 63-year-old Petty reminiscing about the initial days of Jeff Gordon in HMS. Petty said:
"I think that's what he (Rick Hendrick) did with Jeff. Once Jeff had success in the Busch series at the time and he heard him, Boom! He's stuck him right in a Cup car. People said at the same time, "He's 21-22 too young to be driving a Cup car against Earnhardt, Rusty and Mark and all these guys."
"William (Byron) can be your franchise player," said Kyle Petty confidently about HMS' future
Kyle Petty is a former NASCAR driver for Petty Enterprises, where he drove the No. 45 Dodge Charger. In the same conversation with podcaster Davey Segal, the 63-year-old talked about how William Byron can be a 'franchise player' for Hendrick Motorsports. He then went on to explain what he meant by that.
Petty said:
"I think William is the kind of guy also who can be your franchise player. What I mean by franchise player is, he's the guy that can make the cars better for everybody. [1:27]
"He'll (William Byron) make the car better for Kyle Larson. He'll make the car better for Alex Bowman. He'll make the car better for Chase Elliott That's what Jeff Gordon could do. That's what Dale Earnhardt did. That's what Kurt Busch has done at every team he's gone to. He's made the team better because he's made the car better. The stats stick this way."
Currently, all the Hendrick Motorsports drivers are in the top 10 spots in the overall Cup Series standings. #24 Chevy driver Byron sits at P6, #48 driver Alex Bowman at P9, #9 driver Chase Elliott at P3 and #5 driver Kyle Larson leads the table with impressive results throughout the 2024 season.
