Kyle Petty believes William Byron compares well to Jeff Gordon as a driver, and it’s not only because he’s driving the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports.
Joining Eric Estepp’s Out of the Groove, Petty explained why Byron is a “franchise player” for Hendrick, even more than his teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott moving forward.
“We know the story of Kyle Larson. He gets in a car, and he drives the freaking wheels off of it. It doesn’t make — he doesn’t want to know what tires are on it. He doesn’t want to know what the springs are. He doesn’t want to know anything else. Give him a steering wheel, and a place to sit, and by god, he’s your guy. He’s your guy. It’s that simple. William Byron is not that kind of driver. Jeff Gordon was not that kind of driver. Neither was Kurt Busch, or Kevin Harvick in recent years. These are franchise players,” Petty explained. “These are players that not only see the racecar, they see the organization, and they see where the racecar can go. And they drive that bus. That’s what I’m talking about.”
While Petty relented that Larson and other past Hendrick wheelman like Jimmie Johnson have immense talent, it was Gordon who built the foundation, and laid the groundwork for success, much like Byron is doing now.
“I think Jimmie [Johnson] rode a lot of the time, on the bus that Jeff had created. Jeff built that into a place. Jimmie’s a phenomenal racecar driver. Cut from the same cloth as a Kyle Larson. But Jimmie’s not that guy, to me, with the technical knowledge, that’s going to move the ball. I think William Byron is that guy, who has an understanding of the car, mechanically and aero-wise, and is going to move that ball, and does it at an early age. Does it like Jeff Gordon at an early age,” Petty added. “Kevin Harvick was that way. He carried Stewart-Haas Racing for three or four years, just on his back. He had no help from his teammates. They were riders, not drivers, from the bus standpoint. They were racecar drivers, but not drivers from the bus stop.
“So I think there are franchise players, and that’s almost a better way to put it. If I’m going to build a franchise, I’m going to build a team, I’m going to build it with a William Byron. I’m going to go win races with Kyle Larson, but Kyle Larson’s not a builder. He’s just going to come in and win a bunch of races. But when he leaves, and my car isn’t good, and I don’t have a guy with the talent of a Kyle Larson, I’m not going to run well. William Byron’s going to leave the company a better place.”
Time will tell if William Byron can have the immense success Jeff Gordon had in his career, but it seems like the fellow No. 24 wheelman is on his way, at least according to Kyle Petty’s opinion.
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