Sunday's return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval is an important event for the entire Cup Series field. For William Byron and the No. 24 team, it's a pressure-filled opportunity to keep a historic streak alive.
Every time Cup teams have competed on the 2.5-mile oval in a year ending in four, Jeff Gordon has won. He won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, his first of five wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gordon also won the crown jewel race in 2004 and 2014.
This statistic automatically increases the amount of attention on the No. 24 team as it prepares for Sunday's Cup race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC).
"It's great," Rudy Fugle, Byron's crew chief, said during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "It's good pressure to be able to represent Hendrick Motorsports, represent the 24 car."
The No. 24 was synonymous with Gordon from 1993 until the end of the 2015 season, and for good reason. Gordon won 93 races and four Cup championships in the car while spending his entire career with Hendrick Motorsports. He won all four crown jewel races -- Southern 500, Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Brickyard 400.
AN UNBELIEVABLE SITUATION IN INDIANAPOLIS 😱
30 years later, we're still thinking about the first #Brickyard400.#NASCAR | @JeffGordonWeb
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) July 17, 2024
While Chase Elliott drove the No. 24 in 2016-17, he is better known for driving the No. 9. This is the number he has used to win 19 races and a championship. It's also the number his father Bill used for the majority of his Hall of Fame career.
Byron, for comparison, has shined behind the wheel of the No. 24. He has won 13 races, including the prestigious Daytona 500. He has reached the playoffs multiple times and the Championship 4 once. Byron has taken the No. 24 to more than 100 total Cup wins.
Now it's up to Byron and his team to put the No. 24 back in victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway while keeping the "four" streak alive.
"If they are not (thinking about it), I'll remind them of it," Gordon joked in response to a question from AltDriver.
"...I think when there's a big event, when they know that you're either celebrating history or Indianapolis Motor Speedway, they put in extra effort. So I'm sure if William and Rudy and the team are aware of it then that's only going to add to the pressure."
Not that pressure is a bad thing.
Gordon spends an equal amount of time with all four Hendrick Motorsports teams, but he knows the pressure Byron and Fugle face each week because of the number on the car and its history.
Gordon also knows that Byron and Fugle have a considerable amount of pride in being able to represent the 24 and its fanbase. Winning The Brickyard 400 in the 30th anniversary season would only be another big moment for this duo.
"I think they know they're going to feel a little bit of added pressure this weekend because of what happened 30 years ago, but I also know that's just motivating them to deliver because they want it themselves just as bad as anybody else does."