The Daytona 500 was not short of any drama and great storylines this year. It was already good enough that Hendrick Motorsports broke their decade-long win drought through William Byron. They also had a 1-2 podium finish as Alex Bowman beat out Christopher Bell and Corey LaJoie in the final laps. All of these were splendid gifts to Rick Hendrick as he and the team celebrate their 40th anniversary on the gird.

It felt like a storybook ending and Hendrick Motorsports were the protagonists with plot armour. Rick Hendrick let all his emotions out at Victory Lane as he saw William Byron and Alex Bowman take home the Daytona 500. He could not believe that their drivers had won, via Jayski's.

“I’m telling you, you couldn’t write the script any better,” he said. “When we thought about coming down here the first time, we didn’t think we should be here, felt so out of place. We win this on our 40th to the day, it’s just… and tied a record now, so that’s awesome,” he declared.

Even Byron, who had won at Daytona before, did not expect this triumph to overlap with Hendrick Motorsports' 40th anniversary.

“I’m just a kid from racing on computers and winning the Daytona 500. I can’t believe it. I wish my dad was here. He’s sick, but this is for him, man. We’ve been through so much, and we sat up in the grandstands together and watched the race (when Byron was younger). This is so freaking cool,” the Daytona 500 winner declared.

The last time Hendrick Motorsports got the top spot in Florida was a decade ago. Back then, it was still Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson who manned the show for the team. Amazingly, the last time they won was also a 1-2 podium finish.

Winning the Daytona 500

It took some time for the race to commence after it was postponed due to heavy rainfall. Byron was given the front-row spot after the crash and the white flag. He kept flooring the gas pedal on the final eight laps of the race which got him the victory. This netted him 51 points while Bowman had 42. Christopher Bell then ended up with 34 points to round out the top three. Their next conquest is the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 400.