William Byron has chance at NASCAR history
If William Byron can win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he will become the seventh driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same season.
Byron could become the first driver since Jeff Gordon, who also drove the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports, in 1997 to accomplish the feat.
Byron will start from the outside front row in second for the race Sunday night.
History
The Daytona 500 first ran in 1959 while the inaugural Coca-Cola 600 was held in 1960.
Fred Lorenzen was the first driver to win both races in the same year in 1965. He finished the year with four wins and 13th in overall points.
LeeRoy Yarbrough was the next driver to do it, winning seven races total in 1969 en route to 16th in points.
David Pearson did it next in 1976, racing a partial scheduled that featured 10 victories in 22 of the 30 races that year. He finished ninth in points.
Darrell Waltrip accomplished it next in 1989, winning six times and finishing fourth in points.
Next, Dale Jarrett did it in 1996, winning four races and finishing third in points.
Gordon is the most recent driver to do it, winning 10 total races and picking up the championship that season.
The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (FOX/PRN).
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.