Question : Why is default gateway not 1st top of tracert

I have nic card setup like

IP address: 24.98.155.120
Subnet Mask: 255.255.254.0
Default Gateway: 24.98.154.1

When I do a tracert to any internet address I get
1   10 ms   10 ms    10 ms   10.238.0.1

Why is the 1st hop not to the default gateway?  Doesn't all traffic go to the
default gateway before going anywhere else.  Where does the system get
the 10.238.0.1 address?

Thanks

Answer : Why is default gateway not 1st top of tracert

They dont (unless you have layer 3 switching) they operate at a lower level (Network Layer) and as such cant send an ICMP echo, ICMP operates at a higher level which is why your tracert command dont show your default gateway.