Rick Hendrick makes his feelings clear about Byron’s Jimmie Johnson-like-talent: “William is different”

Rick Hendrick, owner of one of the most successful NASCAR teams, compared his star driver, William Byron to the legendary Jimmie Johnson. His comments came after Byron's second consecutive victory at the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 16. The Hendrick Motorsports boss shared that Byron's smartness, ability to think through situations, and laser-like focus put him on the same level as seven-time Cup Series champion Johnson.

William Byron gave Rick Hendrick a dream victory in last year's Daytona 500 as it came on the 40th anniversary of HMS making its first-ever race start in NASCAR on February 19, 1984. What was impressive is that Byron did that in a backup car. A year later, he achieved his second Daytona 500 and again did it in his backup No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro.

Byron has now broken the record set by Jeff Gordon, whose #24 car he inherited, of becoming the youngest NASCAR driver to win consecutive Daytona 500s. Speaking to FOX Sports about what makes William Byron so special at such a young age, Rick Hendrick explained:

"William is different. He's a lot like (seven-time Cup champion) Jimmie Johnson. He thinks a lot. He's very smart, and he tries to understand everything. He’s so laser-focused. When you got somebody that smart that's been able to accomplish what he has that fast. Some guys just have talent and some guys can be doing it forever, and they get to a level, and that's as far as they're going to go."

The Great American race is known for producing last-lap crashes that often take out a lot of drivers who aren't in the top five or six spots, and Sunday's race did not disappoint in that regard. The odds of making it to the finish line in one piece were low for Byron as he sat in ninth place with one lap to go in an overtime finish.

However, he had placed his car near the outside wall in the final laps, giving him a good chance to avoid the wreckage that took out a lot of the heavy hitters. Surprisingly, NASCAR did not trigger caution despite the last-lap crash and Byron raced his way to the finish line ahead of the No. 45 car of Tyler Reddick.

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Rick Hendrick on breaking the Daytona 500 record

Started by Rick Hendrick in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest and the most dominant team in the NASCAR Cup Series history. In its 1381 race starts in the Cup Series, the team has won 313 races, including 14 championships, and has secured 1279 top-five finishes, 2187 top-10 finishes, and 300 pole positions. Mr. Hendrick spoke about his team's last year's achievements ahead of the team's 40th anniversary.

"When I think back on our story, I have a hard time believing it myself," Hendrick said. "In 1984, we had five employees, 5,000 square feet of rented space, and a lot of desire to make it work. I dreamed of one day winning a race, but I never imagined it would grow into what it is now," he said (via hendrickmotorsports.com).

With Byron winning the 67th running of the Daytona 500, Rick Hendrick now has another feather in his cap; he is now the winningest team owner of the Great American race. HMS has won the iconic race 10 times, surpassing Petty Enterprises who held the record for a long time.

"To have 10 of these. We've been so fortunate to have great drivers, great crew chiefs, and great teams," Mr. Hendrick was quoted as saying by The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

What makes Rick Hendrick so successful is his hunger to keep succeeding. After praising Byron and his crew chief Rudy Fugle for their amazing chemistry, he looked towards the future saying that Hendrick Motorsports still has a lot to achieve.