William Byron Wins at Martinsville and Secures a Spot in the Championship 4
In an exciting race at Martinsville Speedway, William Byron achieved a crucial victory that secured him a place in the coveted Championship 4 of the NASCAR Cup Series. Byron, at the wheel of his Chevrolet No. 24, executed a bold maneuver on lap 43, overtaking Ryan Blaney and taking the lead. From that moment on, he dominated the race, leading a total of 304 of the 500 laps, and defending his position on a restart with only 11 laps remaining.This victory marks the 16th of his career in the Cup and the first in a playoff elimination race, as well as being his third at Martinsville.“Damn, I have so much to say,” Byron expressed after the victory. “Things have a way of working out. God really tests your resilience many times. We’ve been tested. Just incredible. We work so hard and give it our all on Sundays. Sometimes you get nothing in return. That’s how it’s been in the last few weeks and, honestly, throughout the whole year. But sometimes life is like that. You just have to keep being resilient. We were. It just feels really good.”
William Byron
Kyle Larson, Byron’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, secured the final spot in the Championship 4 by finishing in fourth place. Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe also qualified for the final round, despite suffering mechanical problems during the race. The final round will be held at Phoenix Raceway on November 2, where the championship will be decided among the remaining four drivers. Hamlin, who opened the third round with a victory at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to advance to the title race, was second on lap 334 when he took his No. 11 Toyota to the garage. Briscoe finished last when his No. 19 Toyota lost power after 295 laps, but the JGR driver had already secured a place in the Championship 4 with his victory on October 19 at Talladega Superspeedway.“That’s just two guys battling for it, I don’t blame him for doing that,” Blaney commented on the contact with Byron. “I would have done the same thing. I knew it was going to be tight. I tried to box him in as much as I could. I’m proud of the team’s effort. They gave 100% of what they had, and that’s all you can ask for. It wasn’t enough.”
Ryan Blaney
