For the second year in a row, Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron found himself standing in victory lane at Daytona International Speedway to open up the NASCAR Cup Series season.
The victory made the 27-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native the 13th driver to win the Daytona 500 more than once, and it made him the fifth driver to win it in back-to-back years in the 67-year history of the event. He became the youngest driver to get his second "Great American Race" win.
For all intents and purposes, the win locks the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet into the playoffs for the seventh straight season.
However, it's not technically a mathematical lock.
The 16 playoff spots go to the regular season points champion, whether he wins any of the 26 regular season races or not, and the 15 drivers who rank highest in wins. If there are more winners than playoff spots, the tiebreaker to determine which single-race winners get in and which don't becomes points.
So because there can be more than 16 regular season race winners, one win isn't enough to mathematically secure a driver a playoff spot this early in the season.
Two wins, however, is enough, given the fact that there can be no more than 13 multi-race winners during the regular season.
But even without two wins, Byron still should have nothing to worry about. Since the modern playoff format was introduced in 2014, there has never been a regular season in which there were more than 16 winners. And even if that changes in 2025, it's unlikely that Byron would be the odd man out.
Byron has become a perennial championship contender. He has been in the playoffs every year since 2019, and he has been in the Championship 4 two years in a row. The 2025 season is also his sixth straight winning season, and he entered it having won multiple races in three consecutive years.
So while he may not be mathematically locked into the postseason, Byron has indeed effectively punched his playoff ticket for a seventh straight year.
Even if there end up being more than 16 winners and Byron stays at one win, it's highly unlikely that he would be the lowest positioned winner in the standings.
Will the second race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season produce a second winner? Atlanta Motor Speedway is scheduled to host the Ambetter Health 400 this Sunday, February 23, with live coverage set to begin on Fox beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!