Jeff Gordon 'in full support' of William Byron breaking his records

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As William Byron sat next to Jeff Gordon following his Daytona 500 victory Sunday night, he did so knowing he had broken one of Gordon’s coolest, most unique records.

Byron became the youngest driver (by about four months) to ever win two Daytona 500s, as the 27-year-old captured his second Daytona 500 trophy in back-to-back years.

"I hope he breaks them all.," said Gordon, now a vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. "I'm in full support of that."

Byron had already established himself as a key member of Hendrick history when he won NASCAR’s biggest race a year ago. Now he has the ninth and 10th Daytona 500 wins in the team’s record books.

The team owner didn’t witness it in person. Rick Hendrick flew home to North Carolina during the rain delay and watched from his home. Hendrick returned to Florida early Monday morning for the champion’s breakfast and celebration.

As they stood on a stage to receive jackets and more trophies, Hendrick laughed about the record being broken.

"Jeff's got records, and you think those records … they're going to last forever," Hendrick said. "It was just funny that that was a record that Jeff had, that William broke in the 24 [car].

"He’s got a long ways to go to have the wins Jeff Gordon had, but anytime you can do something like that and be a little bit younger, it's good."

Gordon won 93 times during his career. For Byron, this marked his 14th career victory.

"William is different," Hendrick said. "He's a lot like [seven-time Cup champion] Jimmie Johnson. He thinks a lot. He's very smart, and he tries to understand everything.

"He’s so laser-focused. ... When you got somebody that smart that's been able to accomplish what he has that fast. Some guys just have talent