William Byron is trying to downplay and keep the possibility out of his mind, but there’s no denying he has the potential to make Daytona 500 history on Sunday.

Having won the last two season-opening editions of the 500, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Sunday can become the first driver in 500 annals to win the Great American Race three times in a row.

Some of NASCAR’s greatest drivers – many who have already been inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame to honor their overall racing careers – never won even one edition of the 500.

That list includes Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Terry and Bobby Labonte, Chase Elliott, Ricky Rudd and Ned Jarrett.

But Byron has outmatched all of them by not just winning the 500 once, but doing it twice in a row, no less.

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The Team Hendrick driver knows what’s on the line Sunday. When asked how much he’s thought about winning again, Byron demurred somewhat.

“Not much, to be honest, some here and there,” he said. “Obviously that’s the goal.

“It’s great career-defining moments that we’ve had. It’s awesome. It’s special. But I don’t really think ahead too much. I just think about kind of what it’s going to take … leading up to (race day).”

No driver has ever won three straight editions of the Daytona 500, but five drivers have won two in a row, including Byron: Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84), Sterling Marlin (1994-95), Denny Hamlin (2019-20) and Byron (2024-25).

Petty also has the most overall wins in the Great American Race: seven times.

“It does surprise me in that I feel like there’s been some drafting packages that were honestly easier to win three in a row than this one currently,” Byron said. “I’m a little surprised that there wasn’t a run by somebody like a Dale Jr. or something.

“He and his team had a pretty good hold on what it took to be competitive and he made great decisions. It just shows how hard this race is and how much pressure there is.”

Going for three straight is enough pressure in and of itself, but Byron will take the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday literally behind the eight ball: he’ll start in the second-to-last row, in 39 position in the 41-car field.

That means, if he’s going to win a third straight 500, Byron will have to work his way up through the field and pass each of the 38 drivers who start higher than him, as well as stay out of Daytona’s always challenging “big one” multi-car wrecks, to put his name once again on the Harley J. Earle Trophy.

Ironically, in his first six starts in the 500, Byron failed to finish no higher than 21st. The last two times have ended up in victory lane. What’s been Byron’s secret at conquering Daytona the last two seasons?

“I don’t know,” he said. “My goal is to be good at all styles of racing. I don’t put an emphasis more on this than others.

“If anything, kind of less in some ways because I feel like some of it is out of your control. But I do feel like I have a good instinct for making good decisions on the track.”

Even with good instincts in the past, this year’s edition of Speedweek has not been easy for Byron. In addition to his poor qualifying spot, he finished 22 (next-to-last) in Thursday’s Duel No. 1, due primarily to being involved in a wreck during that event, forcing him to start Sunday’s race in a back-up car.

“It’s not like going to Martinsville and just having it figured out; having a rhythm, leading a bunch of laps and winning,” Byron said of racing at Daytona. “It’s definitely a very circumstantial … split-second race. I think that’s probably what makes it entertaining, too.”

Even with his disappointing Speedweek, Byron isn’t worried about his effort on Sunday.

“We’ve won this race with a backup car, so I’m not super worried on that aspect,” Byron said, having done so in 2024. “But it does suck that you put a lot of work into the primary and you don’t get to race it.”

In a sense, the 28-year-old Charlotte, N.C. native actually has more than just two wins in the 500. A lot more, in fact, like well into double digits.

Unfortunately, those triumphs didn’t count, as those wins came while racing on a computer during his teen years, when he first discovered he had the talent and ability to transfer from online to in-person.

But he readily admits that all those races staring at his computer screen while racing simulated versions of the 500 definitely helped him when it came to taking part in the real thing.

Win or lose Sunday, the biggest key for Byron is to start and finish the season strong, potentially ending the 36-race schedule with his first career Cup championship.

“I feel really excited,” Byron said. “I’m ready to get racing again. I feel like I had a great off-season, but I found myself in the off-season feeling like I actually wanted to get back in the car.

“I wanted to experience those emotions again. I kind of missed that.

“There’s a lot of aspects I didn’t miss, but the aspect of racing and being in the car with my guys and everything, that I really missed as the off-season went on.”

That off-season wait is now over. It’s time for the real thing.