The Charlotte native is just the fifth driver to win the prestigious race in consecutive years.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β Legendary NASCAR careers are defined by whether or not a driver won the Daytona 500.
The elite race has been a cornerstone of motorsports for over 60 years and its winners list is essentially a who’s who of stock car racing royalty. Petty, Earnhardt, Allison, and Hamlin are some of the names forever tied to the race for pulling off wins at the prestigious track.
William Byron added his name to the list by winning the big race in 2024. He solidified his spot in the record books with a second win in 2025.
Byron is just the fifth driver to win the Daytona 500 in consecutive years. Richard Petty (1973, 1974), Cale Yarborough (1983, 1984), Sterling Marlin (1994, 1995), and Denny Hamlin (2019, 2020) were the first four to do so.
There are just 13 drivers, including Byron, who have won the race multiple times. Nine of them are NASCAR Hall of Famers. Hamlin and Byron are still active. Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, and Michael Waltrip are the other drivers who have won the race multiple times.
The Daytona 500 carries a life-lasting legacy for its winners. Drivers are often introduced as Daytona 500 winners well beyond the race’s date.
Even though Petty won seven NASCAR championships and a record-setting 200 races, it’s his seven Daytona 500 wins that are most fondly remembered. Hamlin is heralded as one of this generation’s greatest drivers and his three Daytona 500 victories are a highly-regarded piece of that argument. Even Derrike Cope, the 1990 Daytona 500 winner, parlayed that win into a career that lasted until 2021 despite scoring just two victories.
Joined with the conversation of the race’s champions are the elite drivers who never won the race. Three-time series champion Tony Stewart won just about everything in NASCAR but failed to win the Daytona 500. Rusty Wallace won 55 NASCAR Cup Series races but was 0 for 23 in the big show.Β
Kyle Busch, a two-time champion and 63-time race winner, has failed to win in 20 attempts at the Daytona 500.
It’s a conversation that drivers do not want to cloud them every year they try to win the race. After all, the Daytona 500 is the start of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule and the end goal each season is the win the championship. Overbearing pressure on one race could throw off a driver’s start to the season but NASCAR drivers can ignore the distrcations.
It’s a discussion Byron will never have to worry about. He’ll receive a week of adulation in a media tour to celebrate the race win and a lifetime of respect in NASCAR circles.Β
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