NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
FEBRUARY 19, 2024
William Byron, Chevrolet Takes 2024 Daytona 500 Victory
Chevrolet’s 26th Win in the ‘Great American Race’
· William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1, captured the victory in the 66th running of the Daytona 500 – his first career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series’ crown jewel event.
· The victory marked Chevrolet’s second consecutive – and 26th all-time – triumph in the ‘Great American Race’.
· Byron is the 19th different driver to take Chevrolet to victory lane in the Daytona 500.
· The victory is Chevrolet’s 51st NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona International Speedway, and the manufacturer’s 852nd all-time win in NASCAR’s top division – both of which are series-leading feats.
· Byron delivered Chevrolet its 101st win in the NASCAR national ranks at Daytona International Speedway, extending the Bowtie brand’s record as the winningest manufacturer in NASCAR history at the ‘World Center of Racing’.
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1
2nd Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
4th Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Chili’s Catch-a-Rita Camaro ZL1
6th AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1
Finished: 1st
HOW DOES DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION SOUND TO YOU?
“It sounds really damn good! Just thanks to an awesome crowd coming out. I have so many emotions. Obviously, I hate what happened on the backstretch. I just got pushed and got sideways.
I am just so proud of this team – this whole No. 24 Axalta Chevy team, winning on the 40th anniversary to the day (of Hendrick Motorsports’ first race). Just extremely blessed and thankful for all the opportunities and we just want to keep it going. We have a lot to prove this year and this is a good start, obviously. Daytona 500, its freaking awesome. Let’s go.”
YOU HAD NOT EVEN HAD A TOP-TEN IN THIS RACE BEFORE. WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE TONIGHT TO GETTING IN POSITION TO WIN?
“I don’t know, just really good strategy. We obviously laid back and tried to save fuel for most of the race. We would get up there at the end of the stages and make some moves. Just thankful for the power under the hood, all of our partners, Chevrolet, and everybody that allows us to do this. I’m just a kid from racing on computers and now winning the Daytona 500. I can’t believe it. I wish my dad was here, he is sick, but this is for him, man. We have been through so much and we sat up in the grandstands together and watched this race. This is so freaking cool.”
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
Finished: 2nd
“Proud of William (Byron) and his team – they deserved it there at the end. They did all the right things, and I feel like we did too there at the end. Had to go up and block the top lane and that just killed the middle for a bit. We got the middle back rolling and then they all started crashing.
Just proud of everybody on this No. 48 Ally Chevy team. Super pumped for everybody at Hendrick Motorsports – it’s 40 years to the day since the first HMS race, so really cool to see William in victory lane, and obviously a good day for our Ally Camaro, as well.”
Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Chili’s Catch-a-Rita Camaro ZL1
Finished: 4th
“Really stoked to start the year with a top five in our Chili’s Catch a Rita Chevy Camaro. Super happy with our team’s execution to start the season. Our Spire Motorsports team brought a great race car with good speed & executed throughout the course of the day. We gained some track position, led some laps and after getting shuffled back continued to fight & claw our way to the front. The 500 begins a marathon season, so it’s great to start off on the right foot. We have 35 more to execute one run at a time & one race at a time to keep this 7 car up front where should be.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1
Finished: 11th
TELL US HOW YOUR RACE WENT.
“Yeah, obviously the first stage went well and then the next two stages just got caught in the wrong lanes at pivotal points and lost track position. So, yeah, kind of cost us a good shot to win there at the end, but was able to miss that big wreck mostly. Got a left, front flat from sliding them and had to pit, but thankfully we missed the last one and awesome to have a Hendrick Chevrolet win that race and cool to see William win.”
Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
Finished: 14th
“I made a mistake and I saw Kyle was coming really hard on the top and I tried to pick that lane up and he gave me a big shove down the short shoot, and I thought I could sneak back to the middle but the 20 was wanting to be there too. Just made a mistake there on the last lap and not sure I would have got to the front row, but certainly would have been a better finish for us. I hate that because we had a solid day otherwise. Happy for William to kick off the 40th year of Hendrick Motorsports with the win.”
Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
Finished: 16th
“I’m proud of the fight this No. 31 Cirkul team showed from the start of the weekend getting our backup car ready to race. We wanted to get to the front early in the race if possible, which was a little bit of a different approach than what I’ve typically had at these kind of tracks. Trent [Owens] made some great calls, and we were able to do just that and stay up there to show everyone we can push successfully and accept pushes successfully while battling up front. That goes a long way when you get down to the end of these races. I thought it was going to workout there at the end, but unfortunately we got some nose damage we couldn’t avoid with about 10 to go. Not quite the finish we wanted, but I’m looking forward to what’s to come with this team.”
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Camaro ZL1
Finished: 21st
ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH HOW YOU RACED THERE?
“I am. To learn the fuel saving game and really get aggressive and match these guys, so that we can pit when we need to…..I have burned up too much fuel in the past couple of races and to put ourselves in position on the final pit stop to come out with the lead, cover the other OEM when they caught up to us, and just work with some legends of the sport, and have control over the race there at the end. I know the top is the logical thing and it makes sense when the third lane is split up. It just pulls us back and we still had a shot though. I really do feel content. It’s weird to say it, but we did everything right.”
CAN YOU BE TOO AGGRESSIVE ON THE FINAL LAP?
“When you crash, I think so. Happy for William and Chevy and General Motors to win. It was really awesome for us to control some of the cycles, the green flag pit cycles, and kicked their butts. So that was really cool and then to have a bunch of Chevys left there at the end there made me feel good. It was cool Alex (Bowman) pushed me there at the end and I felt like there was minimal chance that a Chevy wasn’t going to win and one of them got it done. But yeah, too aggressive is when I don’t finish.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Boost by Kroger Cottonelle Camaro ZL1
Finished: 31st
“I didn’t see what happened there. I know I got us in that position, made a bad move once I got to the lead. The outside lane had a run coming and I thought I could get there, and I didn’t, and I got hung there in the middle so that kind of got us back there kind of in the middle of that pack there and I didn’t see what happened there obviously. Someone got turned around and caused a melee. I thought I was going to get through, I got clipped just there at the end and broke a right rear. So, unfortunate for our Boost by Kroger/Cottonelle Camaro because it was really, really fast and I felt very strong about it in the draft and what I was doing out there, but just didn’t make it to the end.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1
Finished: 34th
It’s very heartbreaking right now because the car was very strong, and the team did an amazing job calling the race strategy-wise. We got points in both stages, and this was my strongest Daytona 500. The car was capable of winning the race, we just needed things to fall our way, and unfortunately, they didn’t. I haven’t seen the replay, but I was told that we almost missed the wreck. Just part of it.”
CARSON HOCEVAR, NO. 77 GAINBRIDGE / ZEIGLER AUTO GROUP CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 40th
HOCEVAR ON THE ACCIDENT THAT ENDED HIS RACE IN STAGE ONE:
“I didn’t really see anything. I was just going where I could go. Just a bummer.. bummer for my No. 77 Gainbridge / Zeigler Auto Group Chevy team. There’s a lot of people here from Gainbridge and Zeigler here, and I wanted to be able to put on a good showing. Just really disappointing to have our race end early.”
HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU HAVE TO REACT?
“0.1 seconds, basically. It happened right in my lap. I tried my best not to slide across the grass, but obviously with two-plus days of rain, it’s going to be really slick. I just kept sliding. It felt like I was all alone sliding across the grass and just hoping that nobody hit me. It’s just unfortunate that was the case.”
About Chevrolet
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