Although not in the championship conversation, William Byron has been bound and determined to return the No. 24 Chevrolet to Victory Lane, before the conclusion of what has been a very difficult season for his team.
So, for the fourth time in the last five years, Byron parked his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway, winning the XFINITY 500 in dominant fashion, leading an incredible 362 of 500 laps.
“We’re always pretty good here,” Byron said post-race on the front straightaway. “Man, it’s been a fricking long road this year. The team’s worked really hard. Just appreciate them. We had our struggles, but man, today feels damn good. Just feels really good. Thanks to Mr. Hendrick. Thanks to everyone working really hard at the shop. Man, we never quit. There’s something to be said about that.”
Byron, in the first 34 events of the season, had only paced the NASCAR Cup Series field for 178 laps total, but, Sunday alone, the driver of the Liberty University-sponsored machine led double that. It’s the most laps Byron has ever led in a race at NASCAR’s top-level, exceeding his mark from last Fall (304).
“I think this place is special for me personally, special for my mom. Special for my mom and dad for what my mom went through here,” Byron added. “Special for Mr. Hendrick. It’s always a really unique and important opportunity when you drive for Hendrick Motorsports to come here and try to do well. Yeah, just all came together for us. Pretty happy.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-native snagged the win by more than two seconds over teammate and Spring Martinsville winner Chase Elliott, with Ty Gibbs in third, a whopping 13 seconds behind the leader. Josh Berry and Shane Van Gisbergen rounded out the top-five.
Denny Hamlin was the highest finishing of those who entered Sunday’s event mathematically eligible to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship, coming home sixth, but didn’t make a lot of ground on points leader Kyle Larson, who finished three spots behind him in ninth. Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace were between them in seventh and eighth. Christopher Bell completed the top-10.
Over the course of 500 laps, though, there were some fluctuations in the points that made for a edge-of-your-seat watch.
In Stage 1, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson were among the teams that elected to run the 130-lap segment without making a pit stop. That backfired tremendously, as those that split the run in half and got new tires in the middle, blew right by them. Hamlin dropped outside the top-15, while Larson fell off the lead-lap and out of the Lucky Dog position.
Had it have not been for a rash of cautions during the second-half of the second stage, the first of which was in the middle of a pit cycle, things could have looked very different, as the number of lead-lappers quickly dwindled.
However, Christopher Bell got points in the first stage, and was going to cycle perfectly into the lead after that caution interrupted the pit cycle at the moment he was on pit road, but, the driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE sped. Then, after getting kicked to the tail-end of the lead-lap, Joey Logano got into him and turned both him and his teammate Denny Hamlin.
From there, that put Bell, Hamlin, and Larson all on equal ground – with the caution for the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates spinning giving the No. 5 the free pass.
Hamlin would rebound to sixth, Larson to ninth, and Bell to 10th. With no major gains in points, Larson heads to Homestead with a 67-point advantage over Bell, who moves into second, and a 70-point advantage on Denny Hamlin, who is still mathematically eligible, in third.
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead will take place on Sunday, November 8 at 3:00 PM ET on NBC.
