William Byron sounds uncertain about Jeff Gordon’s Daytona 500-winning Chevrolet’s NASCAR return: “I don’t know if we’re going to use that car again”

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron had a solid start in the 2025 season. He clinched his second "The Great American Race" title last week and is preparing for the Atlanta Motor Speedway race. During the media ahead of the qualifying session for the race, Byron was asked about the whereabouts of his 2024 Daytona 500 winner, #24 Chevy.

The #24 number has a long and rich history in stock car racing. Former Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon drove the number for 24 years in his 25-year career. Gordon secured 93 wins, 475 top-ten finishes, and 81 poles in 797 starts with his iconic car. After creating a remarkable legacy, Gordon retired in 2015 from full-time racing in the Cup Series at 43 years old.

On August 9, 2017, Hendrick Motorsports announced William Byron as the replacement for Kasey Kahne in the 2018 Cup Series season. He was set to drive the #5 Chevy but 20 days later the team announced the latter would pilot Jeff Gordon's iconic #24 to continue his legacy. In his debut year, Byron became the Rookie of the Year, and in his sophomore year, he debuted in the playoffs.

The HMS ace climbed the ladder of success and won two back-to-back Daytona 500 events in the same car in 2024 and 2025. Reflecting upon the 2024 500-mile race win, the interviewer asked where the car was.

"That's a great question. I don't know.. I feel like it's probably going to go in the museum or something like that. I don't know.. I don't know if we're going to use that car again. With the Next Gen allotment, you can't really retire cars as often, so I'm not sure if we're going to retire it or race it again. It might be raced again.. we'll see," William Byron enthusiastically replied. (via Speedwaydigest.com)

The HMS driver has secured 14 wins, 105 top-ten finishes, and 13 poles in 253 starts in the legendary #24 Chevy Camaro ZL1 in the past eight years.

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''Things always have a reason'': William Byron on breaking Jeff Gordon's record at Daytona 500

On February 16, 2025, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron unexpectedly took home his second Daytona 500 title. He began the race in fifth place after finishing the Qualifier Duel 1 in second place. After wrapping up Stage 1, Byron was in tenth place and missed his spot in the top ten at the end of Stage 2.

However, in the final lap, the #24 driver was in P9 at the backstretch, and in the blink of an eye, the three leaders, Denny Hamlin, Cole Custer, and Austin Cindric, got involved in a major crash. Meanwhile, Byron sailed through them and clinched the title.

During an interview with FanDuel Sports Network reporter Shannon Spake, William Byron mentioned breaking Jeff Gordon's record of the youngest driver to win the Great American Race multiple times.

"I just think about how things always have a reason and happen for a reason. I feel like just seeing that race yesterday—we talked about it on the grid—but how cool it would be to pull into victory lane with that car because it looks so... it was like a new version of what the #24 has always been with the flames... THAT fuelled me all week," Byron told NASCAR reporter Shannon Spake.

The HMS ace is set to compete in the Ambetter Health 400 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway scheduled for February 23, 2025.