Byron and Larson to the NASCAR Final: Last Spots to the Championship!

William Byron Secures a Spot in the Championship 4 After Thrilling Race at Martinsville

In an adrenaline-fueled race at Martinsville Speedway, William Byron took the victory, securing his place in the coveted Championship 4 of the NASCAR Cup Series. Byron, demonstrating exceptional handling, overtook Ryan Blaney in a key maneuver in turn 1, taking the lead with 43 laps remaining. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led the rest of the race, withstanding Blaney’s attacks on a restart with 11 laps to go. Byron, starting from the pole position, dominated the race leading 304 of the 500 laps, obtaining his third victory of the season aboard the No. 24 Chevrolet.

“I think William had the race of his life,” commented Jeff Gordon, Hendrick’s vice president and nine-time winner at Martinsville.

Jeff Gordon

This victory marks Byron’s first in 11 races since August at the Iowa Speedway, and his first in a playoff elimination race. Byron himself, visibly moved, expressed his feelings after the victory.

“Damn, I have a lot to say. Things have a way of working out. God really tests your resilience many times. We have been tested. Simply incredible. We work very hard and give it our all on Sundays. Sometimes you get nothing in return. That’s how the last few weeks have been 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

Blaney, who also needed the victory to advance, was one step away from the final round, despite qualifying 31st and leading 177 laps on the 0.526-mile oval. On the podium, Blaney congratulated Byron, showing sportsmanship after the intense battle.

“It’s just two guys battling for it, I don’t blame him for doing that,” Blaney said about the contact with Byron. “I would have done the same thing. I knew it was going to be tight. I tried to harass him as much as I could. Just 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

The last contender for the NASCAR Cup title will be Kyle Larson, who secured his place by points, joining Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Briscoe. Kyle Larson, Byron’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, secured the final spot in the championship final with a fourth-place finish, surpassing Christopher Bell by seven points.

“What a performance by William,” Larson said. “Happy for Hendrick Motorsports. This win is as good as it could have been for us to score more points than Christopher and then also William wins. Hopefully one of us can win it.”

Kyle Larson

Bell, for his part, was satisfied with the result, acknowledging the validity of the four remaining contenders. Byron and Larson will face Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe in the final round on November 2 at Phoenix Raceway, where the championship will be decided by the best result of the four drivers, divided between Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick. In addition to Bell and Blaney, Chase Elliott, who finished third, and defending champion Joey Logano (eighth) were also eliminated from the playoffs. The race was also marked by mechanical problems for Hamlin and Briscoe. Hamlin, who started the third round with a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was forced to retire from the race due to an engine failure. Briscoe, for his part, also suffered an engine failure, finishing last. Despite this, he had already secured his place in the Championship 4 thanks to his victory at Talladega Superspeedway. Briscoe, who had already secured a place in the Championship 4, commented after the incident.

“I upshifted and something happened,” Briscoe said. “I’m really not sure, but next week is what it’s all about.”

Chase Briscoe