Hendrick Motorsports announced Friday that the organization and No. 24 Chevrolet driver and two-time defending Daytona 500 winner William Byron have agreed to a four-year contract extension that runs until 2029.
Since his rise to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, the 27-year-old wheelman has emerged as one of the sport’s superstars, winning 14 races since the start of 2020. Thirteen of those have come with crew chief Rudy Fugle, and since the two paired in 2021, it is the second-highest victory tally at the Cup level over that span.
MORE: Byron through the years | Hendrick all-time winners
“We‘ve built something special with the No. 24 team,” said Byron in a team press release. “I‘m thankful for the opportunity to continue working with amazing people at Hendrick Motorsports who believe in me, especially Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick. We‘ve accomplished some great things that we‘re really proud of, but we have even bigger goals ahead. I‘m excited to go after them with this team and this organization.”
In February, Byron scored his second consecutive Daytona 500 victory, becoming just the 13th driver to win the “Great American Race” multiple times and the first to win the season-opening event back-to-back times since Denny Hamlin (2019-2020).
Byron has made the Cup Series Playoffs in every season since 2019, reaching the Championship 4 the last two seasons.
With his second Daytona 500 in February, he provisionally locked himself into the 2025 postseason and currently sits second in the Cup Series standings behind Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson.
Prior to his call-up in 2018, Byron won 11 races combined in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series, snagging the Xfinity championship in 2017 to cap a four-win campaign.
The contract extension comes on the same weekend as the annual Coca-Cola 600 crown jewel event in Sunday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET, Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), which sits just across the street from the Hendrick Motorsports shop.
“William is the real deal,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, in the release. “What makes him so special is that he combines natural ability with an unrivaled work ethic. You see it in the great ones — the drivers who could get by on talent alone but choose to outwork everyone anyway. That‘s William. On top of it all, he‘s a person of high character and embraces his role as a leader. We‘re proud to have him in our lineup and look forward to many more wins together.”
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