William Byron joins rarefied air with second consecutive Daytona 500 win

"Obviously some good fortune, but just trusting my instinct on that last lap there," Byron told Fox Sports regarding the wild final lap. "I felt like they were getting squirrelly on the bottom. I was going to go (to) the third lane regardless because I was sixth coming down the backstretch. Obviously fortunate that it worked out in our favor." 

"It's obviously really special. It's an amazing race. Just really proud of our team. We plan on winning a lot of races this year."

In 2024, Byron won three of the first eight races on the Cup Series schedule. He is a two-time winner at the Cup Series' next destination, the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the defending winner at the third stop on the Cup Series calendar, Circuit of the Americas. 

Byron has become one of NASCAR's elite drivers over the past three seasons, and is searching for a third consecutive Championship 4 appearance in 2025. His second straight Daytona 500 victory is the first step in Byron potentially putting together his first championship campaign.