"It's hard to feel like a win" - $200M Jeff Gordon shares thoughts on William Byron's Championship spot following controversial DQ

Jeff Gordon recently discussed his driver William Byron's advancement to the Championship 4 race amid several controversies. The vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports had mixed feelings about the qualification of Byron.

The four drivers for the final Championship race at Phonix Raceway are finally locked in after the penultimate race at Martinsville Speedway. While three drivers confirmed the spot with a win, #24 HMS driver Byron made it through after Christopher Bell was penalized for a last lap wall ride at the 0.5-mile short track.

As reported by John Newby of the National Motorsports Press Association, the $200 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth) worth Gordon reflected on Byron being the only HMS driver to qualify amid the controversial disqualification of Bell. He said:

"It's hard to feel like it's a win. It's disappointing and it's controversial and you don't want to see it come down like that, but at the same time, you want to see your team go have a shot at the championship. And so that was up to NASCAR to make that decision. They did, and now all eyes forward on going and racing for a championship."

Not only was Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell's hail melon move highlighted, but his Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace was also alleged to have slowed down, allowing Bell to pass and gain a position.

Additionally, it was alleged that Chevrolet, as an OEM, manipulated the race. Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon, both Chevrolet drivers, reportedly didn't pass Byron and blocked cars attempting to overtake him from behind.

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"You work with your OEM teammates": Jeff Gordon reflects on the scenario surrounding Chevrolet drivers assisting William Byron

In a post-race interaction, four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon shared his thoughts on the controversy involving the HMS' Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) drivers playing a part in sending William Byron to the Championship 4 race.

The former #24 Chevy driver of Rick Hendrick said:

"You try to play out every scenario you possibly can. You work with your OEM teammates to try to make your cars as fast as they can be, as well as try to find ways to work together to help your outcome so when those two guys [Chastain and Dillon] were behind us, I felt pretty confident that they were going to stay there but you don't know the #24 was struggling. He was driving his butt off and was able to stay ahead of them." [0:35]

While Byron advanced to the Championship 4, his teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott fell out of contention despite having a strong season. Byron will compete for the 2024 Championship title alongside Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick at Phoenix Raceway on November 10.