Take 5 story lines: Byron, the No. 24 and a Daytona ruckus in the regular-season finale

The chaotic regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway is in the books with a first-time NASCAR Cup Series winner in Victory Lane and the 16-driver playoff field set for the 10-race run to the season's end. The frantic finish left plenty to dissect, especially these five takeaways from the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

BIG ON BYRON: William Byron's overtime victory at Daytona added him to the long list of winners in NASCAR's highest division, but the triumph added another page to the history for his car number. Before Saturday night's show, four-time series champ Jeff Gordon was the only driver to win with No. 24, a number he made famous. Now that number's portfolio has two winners: Gordon's 93 big-league victories, plus Byron's first. The triumph also ended a dry spell that spanned nearly three years for Byron, who had last won a points-paying race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Nov. 11, 2017. He had also won a Daytona Duel qualifying race earlier this season.

"That feeling of coming off (Turn) 4, it's just a shot of adrenaline right into your arm, it really is," Byron said. "It's just an incredible feeling. I can't describe winning a race in NASCAR. It's been a while, so it just is an awesome feeling."

BET THE HOUSE ON KNAUS: As landmark an event as Saturday night's race was for Byron, his crew chief also had a weighty streak on the line. Chad Knaus -- who was paired with Byron before the 2019 season after a long run of success with Jimmie Johnson -- has made the playoffs every year since the inception of the 10-race postseason in 2004, as if his status as a future NASCAR Hall of Famer had any doubt. After claiming seven titles with Johnson, he's now eligible to chase an eighth with the 22-year-old Byron.

"Obviously it's an honor to be able to be in this position, battle year in and year out for the championship," Knaus said. "Some of them better than others obviously. But I do feel that some of the guys that I've seen come and go through our sport were better crew chiefs than myself. I maybe just had a little bit of luck on my side from time to time to get us to this position. It's pretty cool. Hopefully that will go on my plaque one day when they hang it on the wall. Who knows."

BUBBLE BURST: Something had to give in the clash for the playoffs. Byron's win ultimately left just one spot between Johnson and Matt DiBenedetto to qualify on points, and their ability to thread through the late-race mayhem ultimately smiled on Matty D. The most decorated driver of NASCAR's playoff era is out for a second straight year; the well-traveled DiBenedetto qualifies for the playoffs for the first time in his career, what he called a crowning achievement.

"I think I put them all in a pretty similar ballpark," DiBenedetto said, nodding toward his handful of emotional finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway in years past. "Each step of the way I feel like is kind of proven myself and my worth in the sport and scratching and clawing to do the best job I can for the team. I am so lucky to have each one of these opportunities. Making the playoffs and doing it for the Wood Brothers is huge. This goes at the top."

NEW TIME SLOT: Shifting Daytona from its Independence Day weekend spot on the schedule injected the regular-season finale with the intended superspeedway drama, with the playoff hopefuls dodging multi-car wrecks and riding large waves of momentum throughout. Each of the three bubble drivers -- Byron, DiBenedetto and Johnson -- rotated out of the playoff shuffle at certain points of the final stage, as the running postseason tracker swung wildly in the closing laps. Daytona events often create a frenzy, but the playoff subplot added just another layer.

"If you would look at this race historically, as well, it typically is a wild and crazy race," said Denny Hamlin, who drove home third in Saturday's 400. "When you have everyone kind of fighting for those spots in the playoffs, it's going to be even crazier it gets down to the last 10 laps."

HITTING HIGH NOTES: The nature of superspeedway racing often throws new names into the mix, and a handful of drivers capitalized on picking their way through the worst of the late-race crashes. Bubba Wallace was among them, driving away after a late scrape to finish fifth -- his first top-five result of the season.

"A win was there, and then it wasn't," Wallace said. "On to the next one."

Add to the list: 45-year-old Brendan Gaughan, who finished eighth as part of his farewell tour from Cup Series competition. Seemingly all Gaughan does is claim top-10 finishes at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway. His final Daytona start netted another one.

"Two top 10s this year at Daytona – what a way to go out," said Gaughan, who plans a final appearance at Talladega on Oct. 4. "It was so much fun. We will see everyone in Talladega and we’ll actually be able to take the same race car because it’s in one piece.”