He acknowledged that he was the “other guy” when people talked of the HMS roster which includes Cup Series champions, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. However, being side-lined isn’t something that affects him a lot. He said, “Yeah, I use it all as fuel, go just keep it coming. All the preseason predictions and everything.”

OFFICIAL: @WilliamByron was the leader at the time of caution.

He wins the 66th running of the #DAYTONA500! pic.twitter.com/PMIyF0TdVZ

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2024

He continued, “I just try to stay quietly focused. I feel like for me, I do well having my own space and being able to work through things with my race team.” His mindset is centered on balancing calmness and voicing out thoughts to make the HMS team better. While he is aware that he is never going to be the most vocal guy in the garage, he is plenty satisfied with it.

He concluded, “I just enjoy getting in the race car and putting the helmet on and going to work. That’s what I’ve always lived for.” With an unimpressive track record in the event, Byron carried one of the lowest odds amongst his teammates to win the Daytona 500. However, it was he who took the checkered flag at the end of the 500 miles.

How William Byron and Alex Bowman completed a 1-2 finish for Hendrick Motorsports

Monday’s race was no short of action. With wrecks filling the field right from stage 1, Byron and Alex Bowman found themselves ahead of their counterparts in the final laps of the day. Byron was engaged in racing Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric when the duo got involved in a wreck that sent them crashing out. Thankfully for Byron, he’d just taken the white flag when officials called for caution.

William Byron wins the Daytona 500! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/bmofJSB6k3

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2024

With the race then fixed to end in green or caution, Byron held his lead with Bowman at his heels. The two drivers who went in with the lowest odds ended up giving HMS its best finish in the Daytona 500 since Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win in 2014. Meanwhile, Byron’s teammate Chase Elliott won the first stage and finished the day in 14th position and Kyle Larson was slightly ahead at 11th.

The post How Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott Hype Overshadow William Byron’s Talent and Acts as Fuel for the Daytona 500 Winner appeared first on The SportsRush.

These and all her other achievements on the track have turned a lot of eyes and amongst them are that of Larson. The #5 Hendrick Motorsports superstar has gone as far as considering Avedisian the next-best female racer. He says, “She’s got a very aggressive style and she’s fun to watch. … A great lady, a great family, and comes from the West Coast, too, and so that’s another reason for me to cheer for her.”

As she continues running in USAC events for Keith Kunz, Larson hopes that she will be able to garner more wins. She will be transitioning to asphalt racing this year by competing in a Toyota GR for Trans-Am team Nitro Motorsports. Toyota Racing has been a strong believer in her abilities, which is why the company has signed a multi-year contract with her with the idea of propelling her to the Cup Series someday.

The carmaker’s GM Tyler Gibbs says of her development, “This is not a race to get her to some particular point [by a certain time]. It’s really about her maturation as a driver as well as a person.” Larson too believes that the youngster will benefit the most when she is not under pressure and hopes that she will get to be herself behind the wheel. “I am excited to see her career progress,” he concluded.

Jade Avedisian is unfazed by words of praise and unshaken by stories of failure

Aware of the high expectations that surround her career at the moment, Avedisian says, “It’s really cool when people say that about me, but right now … I just try not to look too far into the future.” The ladders of racing are filled with aspirational drivers who believe that they are skilled enough to break into the top tiers of motorsports. While they may have been so, it is not every ship that the winds favor.

Despite the odds, Avedisian’s time and focus is on working out at the Toyota Performance Center and her next race behind the wheel. She confirms her ambition, “My goal is to make it to NASCAR Cup Series racing on Sunday. I’m going to leave it to the people at Toyota to hopefully put me in the right spot.”

The post Who Is Jade Avedisian, the “Best Female” Driver According to Kyle Larson? appeared first on The SportsRush.

Larson believes that having help from behind is one of the keys to winning the event. He says to NASCAR, “I think you often see that I feel like with a lot of the guys who consistently run up front, everybody else in the field realizes that they’ve had success and they trust them to follow them. So you really need help from behind as well.” Larson has raced in the 500-miler several times in the past and holds a best finish of 7th place.

The #DAYTONA500 has been postponed until 4 p.m. ET tomorrow due to weather. pic.twitter.com/bmNEuWQVJr

— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) February 18, 2024

Byron, on the other hand, has fared even worse than his counterpart. In 6 starts, he has never finished better than 21st. His capabilities behind the wheel can be questioned by none after the season he had in 2023. Once he finds the key to unlocking the Daytona 500 there will be holding him back. But that’s easier said than done.

Byron says of the challenge on superspeedways, “We saw three-wide (racing last year), and a lot of that has to do with saving fuel and how that all plays out. So it’s just tough to balance. Now I feel like everyone’s gotten so smart with this strategy that it’s just more of a track position thing than ever.” 

Why Hendrick Motorsports VP Jeff Gordon wants his drivers to win the Daytona 500

The last time a HMS driver won the Daytona 500 was in 2014. Should Larson or Byron achieve the task this year, there’d be none more pleased than 4X Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon. He says of what it would mean for one of his men to be a winner at the event, “I want all four of them to experience it over the future because it is so special and you realize it once you win it. But right now, they’re realizing how hard it is to win.”

Both Larson and Byron had plenty of success in the past season though they did not win the title. They will be hoping to carry the same momentum into the 2024 season opener. The other HMS drivers, Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott will be running to break their bad spells from 2023 and bounce back strong.

The post Kyle Larson and William Byron Reveal Challenge Behind Winning the Daytona 500 appeared first on The SportsRush.

He said to Fox Sports in a recent interview, “I attest the award to my family’s history in the sport.” The Elliott family, including Bill and his brothers (Ernie and Dan), is beloved throughout the racing fandom for their simple beginnings and rise-to-the-top story. Chase explained, “They were just a small-town group of guys who set out with a big dream. They were a super easy group to pull forward because a lot of people could relate to them.”

Not surprisingly, Bill won the Most Popular Driver award a record 16 times. Such was his fame that he had to withdraw his name from the ballot to give others a chance after winning it in 2002.

Chase Elliott is looking to bounce back after a tough 2023. He talks with Tom Rinaldi. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/KyWQFfCi2X

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 18, 2024

Continuing the legacy of keeping popularity in the family, Elliott could not be more grateful to his fans. He quipped, “I have been super fortunate that a lot of folks have been supportive of mine over the years.” His streak of winning the award began in 2018 and has been kept alive thus far. Going into 2024, he will be hoping to find his form behind the wheel after a lackluster 2023 season and provide a worthy spectacle to those who support him.

Chase Elliott’s take on the criticisms that surround him and how he approaches it

Despite the love that he receives from fans, Elliott has been hit with complaints of impulsiveness several times over his career. He has been entangled in situations with drivers including Denny Hamlin and his teammate Kyle Larson which have drawn a negative light. However, he is in the clear about how much of all that affects him.

“To be totally honest, as you ride that roller coaster and you see the top of the mountain and you see the bottom of it too, it teaches you what really matters,” he says. For him, what that is is the expectation that he sets of himself and that his close friends and family set. “The rest of it doesn’t matter,” he concluded.

The post What Chase Elliott Really Thinks About Being the Most Popular Driver in NASCAR appeared first on The SportsRush.

Originally scheduled only for Monday, the second feature had to be pushed forward a day courtesy of Mother Nature. Larson and Tyler Courtney won each of the two features. While Larson’s victory does not come as a big surprise considering his past and current prowess in dirt tracks, his choice not to give himself a breather so close to the Daytona 500 certainly does.

However, Larson reasons, “If you can figure out how to drive these and be comfortable in them [Sprint Cars], then it helps everything else slow down for you.” This is an opinion that Larson has already expressed before in discussions about his dirt racing career. From the perspective of the former Cup Series champion, the races including the latest are highly beneficial practice runs for the bigger payday events in NASCAR and beyond.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.@KyleLarsonRacin won a High Limit A-Main on Tuesday, but this was no ordinary midweek event.

It was the first of 59 events for the new nationwide Sprint Car series in town — High Limit Racing.

MORE https://t.co/ltFkRVM6EA pic.twitter.com/3YJmRjfbau

— High Limit Racing (@HighLimitRacing) February 14, 2024

Considering the limited practice sessions that races like the Daytona 500 have, his take makes all the more sense. But his sprint car schedule or the High Limit Racing Series has other purposes than just being practice.

Larson’s undying affinity for sprint car racing and the uselessness of the Daytona 500 practice

Though “The Battle at the Bay” serves as a warm-up run for the Daytona 500, Larson’s participation stems from his love for the dirt track. He says that things at the East Bay Raceway Park are much more laid back than his usual race days and terms racing there “pure”. With the busy schedule that he has packed for himself, he could certainly use some laid-backness before things turn blurry at Daytona.

The upcoming Cup Series opener will be his 11th start in the Daytona 500 and he heads into it as one of the few active champions to never win the prestigious race. Frustration has already begun for Larson with him calling the menial practice run on Friday a waste of 50 minutes of his life. More discomfort could follow with dark clouds engulfing the coast. The Xfinity Series opener has already been pushed to Monday and the Daytona 500 could follow suit.

The post What Prompted Kyle Larson to Race at Tampa Before the Daytona 500? appeared first on The SportsRush.

Starting off with the notion of him not being a good superspeedway racer, Larson took up his case and emphasized that while he isn’t the best or the luckiest on plate tracks, he has certainly improved from before.

“On paper, it looks obviously super bad. I would say in the Ganassi days, I was a really, really bad superspeedway racer. But I feel like since joining Hendrick, when you really watch the film, I’m up in the top 6 to 8 in the final 10 laps most times,” he said ahead of the Daytona 500. “And then I just caught in that final crash, and don’t finish where you need to, or get a DNF or whatever.”

“I think we look like we’re the worst but really, we aren’t really as bad as we look.”

Kyle Larson has one top-5 in 41 drafting track starts. He told me I didn’t need to remind him of the stat. What he said about those results. pic.twitter.com/kziEdu3cJ0

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 17, 2024

Kyle Larson feels he’s not far away from winning the Daytona 500

As for what Kyle Larson needs to do to win the Daytona 500, he recently claimed he just needs to make that one “small decision” at the right time to make the right move to get on the right side of the victory lane.

“It’s like if I can just – I don’t know – just kind of at times be more patient but at times I think you need to be more aggressive as well,” he said as per Motorsport. “I think there’s times where I’m, like, half a step behind.”

Larson also emphasized that he wants to win the 500 “really bad”, just as everyone else on the grid. But what winning the Great American Race would do to his legacy wasn’t lost on Larson. “I’ve always accomplished a lot of good things in my career. I’m not anywhere close to being done,” he claimed.

So heading into the main event, Kyle Larson is pumped for the Daytona 500, adding that he loves trying to win it, that he loves the big races, and that it doesn’t get any bigger than the Daytona 500.

The post “It Looks Super Bad”: Kyle Larson’s Honest Self-Assessment Ahead of the Daytona 500 appeared first on The SportsRush.

Topping the list is 3-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. The icon has made 17 starts in the Daytona 500 and never visited victory lane. The closest he ever came to it was in 2004 when he finished second next to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Though he is one of the best to grace NASCAR, the Daytona 500 checkbox is one that he couldn’t tick off.

Mark Martin is widely regarded as the greatest driver to never win a championship. However, a championship isn’t the only thing that Martin did not win. The Hall of Famer ran in the Daytona 500 29 times and failed to make it to the victory lane on all tries. The closest he came to a win was in 2007 when he finished runner-up behind Kevin Harvick.

Some of the other big names that never won the event but are past the stage of competing in it anymore are Bobby Labonte, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, and Rusty Wallace. Coming to the drivers who are active in the competition for honors in the 2024 Daytona 500, six names stand out from the rest.

The greatest active drivers who can still win the Daytona 500

Joe Gibbs Racing star Martin Truex Jr. has the most number (19) of Daytona 500 starts in the current field. His closest finish to glory was in 2016 when Denny Hamlin beat him over a margin of 0.01 seconds. The driver with the second most starts is 2X Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (18). Heading into his second season in the colors of Richard Childress, he will be wanting to do better than his runner-up finish in 2019.

RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski will have the chance to beat his best finish of third (2014) this Sunday. The icing on the cake, he will also be ending his 92-race win drought should he win. Clearing space at the bottom of the line are Hendrick Motorsports stars, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. The former’s best finish was second in 2021, while Larson’s was seventh in 2016 and 2019. All these drivers are at the prime of their careers and will no doubt love getting a taste of victory this weekend.

The post Best NASCAR Drivers to Never Win the Daytona 500 Ft. Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Others appeared first on The SportsRush.

Talking on the recent episode of Dale Jr. Download, Gordon heaped praise on the #5 driver, saying, “He [Mario Andretti] could get into anything and win, right? I think that’s the true sign of the best. I think Larson has shown that he can do the same thing.” 

With wins in Rolex 24 Hours, sprint cars, and NASCAR already in his belt, Larson will have a solid shot at winning the Indy 500 this year. For all of the driver’s pursuits, several from the racing world admire him. Gordon said on Netflix’s Full Speed: “When you have people praising you for your talent you feel like you have to live up to that. He wants to be known as one of the greatest of all time.”

.@DaleJr asks @JeffGordonWeb where he ranks Kyle Larson on his all-time drivers list 5️⃣

https://t.co/ltL79vTMp5 pic.twitter.com/KCsVdgL1WW

— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) February 15, 2024

Mario Andretti is the only driver in the history of motorsports to win the Daytona 500, the Indy 500, and a Formula 1 world championship. Being compared to the likes of the legend will only add fuel to the already burning drive in Larson’s heart. Coming out on top of the Hendrick1100 challenge in 2024 will be a massive step for him towards living up to Gordon’s comparisons.

Jeff Gordon admits that Kyle Larson is a better driver than he ever was

Gordon is widely regarded as one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers. With 4 Cup Series titles to his name and worldwide fame, he currently serves as the Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. Though many might not readily accept this take of his, he did mention back in October that he was glad he didn’t have to compete alongside Larson for he would have given him a tough time winning races.

Asked if he thought Larson was a better driver, he said, “Yes. I’m glad I didn’t have to race him. I got my butt kicked by one guy at Hendrick Motorsports as my teammate, I didn’t need to have two of them.” Gordon’s tall words came after Larson’s win at Las Vegas. He continued to express that he hugely admired the driver’s work ethic and that there wasn’t a lot more that he could be doing for Hendrick Motorsports that he already wasn’t.

The post Jeff Gordon Compares Kyle Larson to Mario Andretti to Make “Best Ever” Argument for NASCAR Driver appeared first on The SportsRush.

Well, Larson would like to differ. The Hendrick Motorsports driver recently addressed his jam-packed year of racing and why it isn’t as busy as it may seem to outsiders. “I think from the outside looking in, it probably looks busier and maybe more stressful, I guess at times, but my life to me anyways, feels like it stays pretty chaotic,” Larson said.

“So I don’t foresee any of these extra couple of things that I’m doing this year being a distraction.

Larson claimed he is excited about High Limit, the series he co-owns with Brad Sweet. He also predicted that running in the Indy 500 would be “a lot of fun.” 

It would appear this is a pivotal year for Kyle Larson and his racing legacy. Will his co-owning a national sprint-car series and doing the Indy 500-Coke 600 be too much of a distraction? What he said about taking on new challenges: pic.twitter.com/FqeJ7Xkfq4

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 14, 2024

For Kyle Larson, 2024 is a chance to take his legacy to the next level

Speaking ahead of the season-opening race in NASCAR, the Daytona 500, Kyle Larson pointed to how the year 2024 could be one where he takes his legacy to a whole new level, a legacy which is stacked with enough accolades that Larson is counted as one of the modern greats and even among the all-time greats in some circles.  “This season, there’s a lot opportunity to maybe take my legacy to the next level in a way with the series — hopefully that runs really well this year, and we start building on that,” Larson said.

“[And] the Indy 500 stuff, if you could have a good run there, and then, NASCAR as well, if you can win a lot more races and hopefully cap off the year with another championship.”

Having said that, Yung Money admitted that doing everything in 2024 won’t come easy, that it’s going to be a fine balance. “It’s just hard. Everything is ultra-competitive. You can’t predict anything. You can’t be too confident,” he said.

But still, Kyle Larson remained excited for all the opportunities that are to come his way in 2024, especially his role in growing sprint car racing, something he claimed he is “very passionate” about.

The post Could Kyle Larson Fall Prey to Burnout in 2024? appeared first on The SportsRush.

The Chiefs faced the 49ers on February 11, a week before the upcoming Daytona 500. This game was a rematch from the 2020 Super Bowl that the Chiefs won. That year, Chase Elliott won the Cup Series championship. But that’s not all.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been a part of three of the last four Super Bowls. And in all of those years, the NASCAR Cup Series champion was less than 30 years old. In 2023, the Chiefs beat the Eagles, and Ryan Blaney won the Cup Series championship at 29. The year before that, the Chiefs locked horns against the Bucs, and Kyle Larson, who was 29 then, won the Cup title. As mentioned before, Elliott won the championship the same year when the Chiefs beat the 49ers in 2020.

On that note, the drivers who will be 29 this year at Phoenix on November 10 are Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe. Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Erik Jones will be 28, while William Byron, Austin Cindric, and Noah Gragson will be 26.

Another way to see how the Super Bowl could predict the NASCAR Cup Series champion is that the three times the Kansas City Chiefs played the Super Bowls they were followed by three drivers winning their first-ever Cup Series championship. Indeed, good news for the Denny Hamlin fans.

Could 2024 be Denny Hamlin’s year?

The 23XI Racing co-owner has won 51 Cup races. He has made it to the coveted Championship race thrice in the last five years. Although Denny Hamlin doesn’t show any symptoms of slowing down, he indeed is 43, and not everybody is Bobby Labonte, who won the Cup Series championship at 45. But there is no reason to believe that Hamlin cannot replicate the feat at forty-plus age. After all, with an array of victories in the top-tier NASCAR series, we all know how competitive the #11 Toyota icon is.

After getting chucked out of the playoffs last year, Hamlin had said, “I know with the team I’ve got and the abilities that I’ve got on short tracks, intermediates, superspeedways, there’s nothing missing in the DNA to get it done. It’s just sometimes luck is not on your side, and with the format getting a smaller and smaller sample size, luck is a factor in it.”

But will luck favor Hamlin this year? His fans would argue that he started the season with a victory at The Clash. Although it wasn’t a point-paying race, a win is a win. That win came in a newly designed Toyota, which was a collaboration between Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing, and 23XI Racing. Only time will tell if the Pied Piper of Pocono will be able to add the title of a Cup Series champion to his resume this year.

The post Can the Super Bowl Predict Who Will Win the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024? appeared first on The SportsRush.