MARTINSVILLE, Va. — William Byron claimed his first victory of the season in Sunday‘s NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson put himself in prime championship position with one race to go in the 2026 season.
The 28-year-old Charlotte native Byron led a dominating 362 of the 500 laps at the historic 0.526-mile speedway, ultimately claiming a 2.049-second victory over the spring race winner, another Hendrick teammate, Chase Elliott. It was the most laps that Byron had ever led in a single race in his nine-year career in NASCAR‘s premier series and resulted in his fourth win at the track along with the 17th victory of his career.
His No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was so dominant that Byron swept both stage wins and was able to put all but seven cars in the 37-car field a lap down by the checkered flag.
RELATED: Official results | At-track photos: Martinsville
“We’re always pretty good here,” Byron said, smiling in understatement.
“Man, it‘s been a long road this year and this team‘s worked really hard and I just appreciate them. We’ve had our struggles, but today feels damn good. Man, we never quit, and there‘s something to be said about that.‘‘
Beyond Byron‘s pace out front to deliver the Hendrick team its 32nd Martinsville victory, the drivers still chasing down the 2026 championship trophy had an eventful afternoon. Polesitter and Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Denny Hamlin, who came into the race ranked second to Larson, finished sixth. Larson finished ninth and JGR‘s Christopher Bell was 10th.
Heading to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Larson now only needs to finish 28th or better — or simply gain nine points — to hoist his third career championship trophy.
He holds a 67-point lead on Bell and a 70-point advantage over Hamlin heading to South Florida. They are now the only three drivers still mathematically eligible for the title.
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“I absolutely will feel some pressure this week,” Larson conceded. “I know it’s a large gap. Crazy things can happen. Just got to go there and execute like we have all Chase, yeah, just be ready to capitalize.”
The reigning series champion Larson won the race held last spring at the Homestead 1.5-mile oval, and should he claim the title, the 34-year-old Californian would become only the 11th driver in NASCAR‘s 78-year history to win three championships or more.
An unsuccessful strategy call early in the race essentially forced Larson and Martinsville pole winner Hamlin to play catch-up early on.
Unlike most of the field, neither Larson’s nor Hamlin‘s teams opted to pit mid-stage in the opening 130-lap stage. But left on older tires, they could not keep the top-five pace they had shown in the opening laps, and their competition who did pit blew by on fresh Goodyear.
The loss of track position fundamentally forced a change to their strategy, with Larson going down a lap and Hamlin falling to the rear of the lead lap. And Hamlin said the setback really proved too much to recover from.
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“Just really came down to stage one with us running the no-stop strategy,‘‘ said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota. “Lost all of our track position there.
“Once we lost our track position, the strategy, it’s hard to drive back to the front,‘‘ he added. “Nobody else did. We obviously got some decent damage there.”
Bell, who steers the No. 20 JGR Toyota, was not immune from challenges either. After running top 10 for much of the early race, it looked like he would benefit from some fortunate pit stop timing — having been on pit road when a caution came out on Lap 198. But he was issued a speeding penalty on pit exit and dropped from what would have been the lead to 14th position on the restart.
Then only a handful of laps later, Bell collided with his teammate Hamlin after slight contact from Team Penske‘s Joey Logano in Turn 1 – all fighting for position. There wasn‘t any significant damage, and the two JGR cars returned to the track. Larson got his lap back on the yellow that came out for the incident.
RELATED: Read about Bell, Hamlin’s afternoon
“I think at least myself, I got tricked into thinking I was better than I was,‘‘ Bell said, mustering a slight smile. “My team, [crew chief] Adam [Stevens], did a great strategy call there in stage one to pit and got us a bunch of track position.
“On the Stage 2 start, I felt like I was pretty good. Adam came on the radio and said that William [Byron] was running part throttle. I’m at 100%, he’s at 80%. I don’t know; I was pretty close on the short run, then the long run I fell off.
“All in all, 10th is probably about where we stacked up. It was a really hectic day. It is what it is.”
The longest green flag run (230 laps) in nearly 40 years closed out the race, and all three were able to rally forward for their top 10 finishes.
JGR‘s Ty Gibbs ran among the top five for most of the day and finished third with Wood Brothers’ Josh Berry and Trackhouse Racing‘s Shane van Gisbergen finishing fourth and fifth — quite a tremendous showing for the New Zealander van Gisbergen, who started 29th.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon finished seventh, just behind Hamlin. 23XI Racing‘s Bubba Wallace, Larson and Bell completed the top 10.
REACTIONS: Ryan Blaney | Chase Elliott | Carson Hocevar | Joey Logano
It all comes down to next Sunday‘s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where Larson arrives as the defending winner and all three championship-eligible drivers have previously hoisted trophies.
Stage 2 recap: William Byron sweeps the stages
William Byron won Stage 2 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Martinsville Speedway, leading every green-flag lap.
Chase Elliott finished second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Ross Chastain and Joey Logano. Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry, Todd Gilliland, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell rounded out the top 10.
MORE: Stage 2 results | Watch Byron sweep the stages
After winning Stage 1, Byron took four tires and fuel under yellow, refired to the lead on the restart and set sail.
The pit cycle began on Lap 191 with Denny Hamlin pitting from 13th and Chase Briscoe following suit. Bell pitted on Lap 199, just as the first caution for incident of the afternoon occurred. Carson Hocevar went for a spin exiting Turn 4, sliding up the track as Byron passed him to put him a lap down.
But Bell was too fast on pit road, pushing him to the tail end of the field for the next restart. He did, however, remain on the lead lap.
The rest of the drivers who hadn’t pitted in Stage 2, including leader Byron, came down for Goodyear tires and fuel during the yellow. Those who had already pitted took the wave around to return to the lead lap.
The race restarted on Lap 206 with Byron back in the lead and teammate Elliott behind him.
On Lap 215, Joey Logano contacted Bell entering Turn 1, which shot the No. 20 Toyota into teammate Hamlin, sending both cars around. The two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers entered Sunday’s race second and third in points, and while neither suffered major damage, the yellow came while Kyle Larson was in the free-pass position.
Kyle Larson did make a second pit stop under caution to tighten a potentially loose wheel, but it didn’t cause any penalty.
Also during the yellow, Austin Cindric came down pit road for repairs to the front end of his No. 2 Team Penske Ford. On the previous restart, Hocevar brake-checked Cindric, causing major damage. He ultimately went to the garage for more extensive repairs.
The race returned to green on Lap 222, and three laps later, Ryan Preece spun and lost a right-rear wheel. He was running inside the top five and led 41 laps earlier in the event.
With eight laps to go in the stage, Ryan Blaney and Berry made contact battling inside the top 10, resulting in heavy front-end damage for the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Blaney spun in the next corner, causing a caution that ended Stage 2 prematurely with Byron out in front — earning a dominant stage victory.
Stage 1 recap: William Byron wins opening stage
William Byron won Stage 1 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Martinsville Speedway, leading the last six laps.
Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, Christopher Bell and Josh Berry completed the top five. Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10 and points earners.
MORE: Stage 1 results | Watch Byron clinch Stage 1 win
Hamlin led the first two laps from the pole, but he missed a shift on Lap 3 entering Turn 3, letting his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Gibbs wrap the bottom and take the lead. Gibbs led the next 43 circuits in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, but as the leaders hit lapped traffic, Hamlin snatched the top spot back on Lap 45 with a pass in Turns 1 and 2. Ryan Preece seized the second spot from Gibbs soon after.
Green-flag pit stops began on Lap 62 with Bell coming in for service from 11th. Ryan Blaney pitted on Lap 65, with fellow Chase drivers Elliott, Reddick, Byron and a handful of others following suit. Connor Zilisch was hit with a speeding penalty, forcing an additional trip to pit road in his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
Ty Gibbs was the only driver among the leaders to pit, electing for four tires on Lap 76 while Hamlin, Preece and series leader Kyle Larson stayed on track, remaining intent on making it to the first stage break on the same sets of Goodyear Eagles. Hamlin and Preece navigated lapped traffic in reverse as cars on fresher tires passed them to regain their laps.
On Lap 84, Hamlin got stuck behind lapped cars on the top lane, allowing Preece to dart to the bottom and take his first lead of the afternoon. Preece extended his lead to over seven seconds over Hamlin, but the first cars who pitted had tracked the No. 11 Toyota down. Byron launched into second, with Gibbs passing Hamlin moments later for third. Logano, who was on the same strategy as Hamlin, passed him for fourth, and Hamlin eventually plummeted deep outside the top 10 along with Larson and Chase Briscoe.
Byron passed Preece with six laps to go to claim the segment victory. In the closing moments of the frame, Byron lapped his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson; the No. 5 driver was not in the free-pass position to start Stage 2.
Larson entered Sunday’s race 73 points ahead of Hamlin for the series lead and remains in a position to potentially clinch the championship following Sunday’s race.
The first 130 laps were completed caution-free.
NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed in the Cup Series garage with no issues, confirming Byron as the Martinsville winner.
Contributing: Staff report