NASCAR CUP SERIES
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DAYTONA 500 – SECOND PRACTICE
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
FEBRUARY 14, 2025
In a rain-shortened second practice for the NASCAR Cup Series, defending DAYTONA 500 champion, William Byron, topped the speed chart – clocking in a fastest lap of 46.172 seconds, at 194.923 mph, in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Byron met with the media following the practice session to discuss the team’s week thus far.
Media Availability Quotes:
At the end of the Duel, you said that you were worried about your car maybe overheating. It sounds like they made a lot of changes and you might go out on low fuel just to see if you had any issues. I’m curious if you did and if you had any issues..
“Yeah, we didn’t have any issues. But yeah, it was just a weird sort of fuel pressure situation going on, so we just had to — I think the No. 84 (Jimmie Johnson) had the same thing. So just trying to figure that out and I feel like we got it resolved. I feel good about that. We were able to run just some single laps by ourselves the last eight or 10 laps, and we had no issues or signs of it. So hopefully, fingers-crossed, that doesn’t show up on Sunday. Definitely did a lot of systems checks and kind of went through everything; changed some things on the car to make sure it didn’t happen.”
Knowing now, particularly with the start time moving up a little bit, that the conditions you guys just experienced will probably be closer to what the end of the race will bring Sunday. How much were you able to learn in that Chevy draft pack you guys had there in practice, as far as moves you could make and things you might want to put in the back of your mind come Sunday afternoon?
“Yeah, I mean that’s what’s tough about practice nowadays. Nobody really practices super hard, so it’s really just having a couple of pushes – I got a few pushes from Chase (Elliott) and we were able to kind of set a gap and get some fast pushes. We were making some fast laps, so the pace was up. That was great to see because if you’re out there a second off the pace, it’s not really super indicative. It did feel like a lot of the changes we made to our car were directionally great. The car was a bit of a handful in the Duel obviously and a lot of that was just because of what we did to qualify. I feel like we kind of got back to our race setup and our normal stuff, and everything felt great. Just optimistic, really. I think this is a lot better car than I had here last year, just being our primary and having some speed on our side, hopefully. I’m excited. But yeah, practice is not really a full routine, per say. You don’t get a full judge of what your car can do.”
Are there any parallels between the feel that you had in last year’s car that you won with and the car that you have here this weekend?
“Well, yeah.. I mean last year, we just kind of made the best with the backup car situation. I feel like the backup cars have come a long way since then. We didn’t really have the most speed, but we were in just good positions and we handled well through the race. I feel like this car has a lot more speed. I’m just excited and optimistic for that because I think that’s going to help us a lot in the race.”
You still have a career ahead of you, but how important was it to get the DAYTONA 500 victory out of the way early?
“Well yeah.. I mean, I hope so, right? I hope I do this for years. I feel like I’m just starting to kind of get a rhythm and a routine. Everything has really fallen into place. It’s nice to get a win like that for sure, but there’s still a lot of things we want to accomplish; try to win a lot more races and everything like that. It just starts with your process and I feel like this week’s been a good process. We’ve done everything we need to do to get to this point. It’s just one more practice and then the race is super long, so just have to get through the stages and get to the end of the race. But yeah, last year was great and it gives you confidence. It makes things a little bit easier, for sure.”
Because of the pace of the NASCAR schedule, does winning the DAYTONA 500 really change your life like a lot of people would think it would?
“Yeah, it does. Like when people refer to that, you know friends of yours or just people you meet, it does. It was a really unique win in that sense. But for me personally, no.. I mean I was the same person, I feel like, and just getting through the rest of the season. There’s still a lot of races left to win and compete. It is tough as a competitor because you have a lot more to go do, but off the track, I think it’s very different for sure.”
It seems like you feel really good about things for Sunday. Do you feel more optimistic, more confident maybe, this year going into it than you have in past years?
“Yeah, I think the week has been a lot less chaotic. I mean, I would say a lot of times I’ve been down here, I’ve crashed in the Duel or had something happen during the week that is not ideal. We’re starting closer to the front, which hopefully makes the beginning of the race easier. My car feels faster and more comfortable than I’ve probably ever had here. That’s just teamwork – working on the things we need to have a good handling car and fast car. That’s just been years in the making, really. So far, so good. We’re kind of checking all the boxes that we’ve tried to check coming here. It feels great. You never know how the race is going to play out, but yeah I have really good vibes for Sunday, for sure.”
Did you see the Gibbs cars on pit road and the little iPad? What did you think about that?
“Yeah, I saw the clip and I sent it to be crew chief (laughs). It looked nifty by them, for sure.. pretty crafty. I’m surprised, I guess. Just never thought about that one. But yeah, it looks really cool. So, you know, it’s a copycat sport, right? I’m sure you’ll see more of it, if it works well. Right now for us, I think we’ve got a good system, but who knows, right? If we figured that out, it might be better. But so far, it’s not looking like a huge advantage or anything. It’s just more accurate, probably.”
How could it be better for the system that you have?
“Just taking the human error out of it, right? Like right now, you’re just up there with a stopwatch and it’s radio comms. So taking the whatever – there might be a delay of him telling me to go versus seeing a light. It’s just taking human error out of it, but it’s also just faster because you’re seeing it in front of you instead of hearing it.”
I’m sure you guys discuss every single possibility. The DVP policy and being toed back.. obviously the Talladega race in the playoffs, there were 23 cars in a wreck. This race last year had 23 cars. What kind of discussions have you had with your guys on what could be done in a situation like that, or how do you address if you have to be in something like that and trying to get a tow truck back?
“Yeah, that’s one of those details that I’ll just have to go over with Rudy (Fugle). I don’t know a whole lot about it. All I know right now is if you’re towed back, you can go behind the wheel into that designated area and work on the car. Hopefully for us, we won’t have that anytime soon. I guess the good thing is that at another race track where you feel like you could have kept going in the race, like you can keep making laps and maybe learn something. These cars are really tough, so if you can change the rear suspension or something and go back out, you could finish the race. That’s all I really know right now.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
