It was a good day in southern Virginia for Hendrick Motorsports as William Byron ended a year-long drought, winning his first race since last year’s fall race at Martinsville Speedway, while teammate Kyle Larson inched one step closer to taking home his third Bill France Cup.
Here’s where we stand in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 after the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville and before the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: Martinsville results | Cup Series standings
Chase Changer
The decision not to pit in the middle of the first stage severely limited Denny Hamlin’s chances to make significant gains on championship leader Kyle Larson. Entering Martinsville, Hamlin was 73 points down and seemed to get off to a good start after winning the pole Saturday, before things unraveled for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
During the 130-lap opening stage, many teams split it in half and made a pit stop as Martinsville Chase race winner William Byron did by pitting on Lap 65. Hamlin, however, stayed on track and lost the lead to Ryan Preece on Lap 84. From there, the No. 11 Toyota faded down the running order as multiple drivers on fresh Goodyear tires sped past Hamlin. Larson, on the same strategy as Hamlin, also dropped like a rock in the running order. At the end of Stage 1, Hamlin fell to 17th. Larson was 23rd, one lap down. Both drivers missed out on stage points in both segments, while title rival Christopher Bell earned eight stage points in the first two stages.
Despite earning more stage points than his title rivals, Bell faced adversity of his own with a pit-road speeding penalty during Stage 2 before contact from Joey Logano sent him spinning into JGR teammate Denny Hamlin entering Turn 1 on Lap 216, bringing out the caution that helped Larson return to the lead lap. The top three Chase drivers battled back, with Hamlin finishing sixth, followed by Larson and Bell in ninth and 10th, respectively. Larson earned 28 points at Martinsville, while Hamlin only gained three points, leaving him at minus-70. Bell gained seven points to put him at minus-67 entering the season finale. With the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet not at its best, Larson’s title rivals missed a golden opportunity to significantly narrow the gap heading into Homestead.
The Chase Board
Only seven Chase drivers remained mathematically eligible for the Cup Series championship entering “The Paperclip.” With many needing a clutch performance and Kyle Larson to struggle at the 11th hour, four more Chase drivers were eliminated from title contention after Martinsville.
Chase Briscoe had a quiet day at the Virginia short track, finishing 14th and losing five points to championship leader Larson, putting the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver 84 points back. While Logano’s contact with Christopher Bell — which also sent Denny Hamlin spinning — did not derail his race, everything started to trend downward after late-race issues on pit road en route to an 18th-place finish. This cost the No. 22 Team Penske driver three points to Larson. Ryan Blaney’s title hopes ended after contact with the rear of Josh Berry with eight laps remaining in Stage 2, as the No. 12 driver lost 26 points to Larson and finished 35th. Briscoe, Logano, Reddick and Blaney join Ty Gibbs, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suárez and Chris Buescher as the 13 Chase drivers who will not have a shot at winning the championship at Homestead.
| Rank | Driver | Points behind | Gained/lost to leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson | — | Lost 6 |
| 2 | Christopher Bell | -67 | Gained 7 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | -70 | Gained 3 |
| 4 | Chase Briscoe | -84 | Lost 5 |
| 5 | Joey Logano | -103 | Lost 3 |
| 6 | Tyler Reddick | -125 | Gained 1 |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | -133 | Lost 26 |
| 8 | Ty Gibbs | -160 | Gained 23 |
| 9 | William Byron | -166 | Gained 48 |
| 10 | Chase Elliott | -201 | Gained 17 |
| 11 | Austin Cindric | -206 | Lost 23 |
| 12 | Carson Hocevar | -210 | Lost 12 |
| 13 | Bubba Wallace | -212 | Gained 6 |
| 14 | Ryan Preece | -255 | Lost 6 |
| 15 | Daniel Suárez | -259 | Lost 19 |
| 16 | Chris Buescher | -270 | Lost 15 |
Source: Racing Insights
Next Up
While Kyle Larson did not clinch his third Cup Series championship at Martinsville, he is sitting in a pretty comfortable position entering this Sunday’s season finale at Homestead.
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Leading Christopher Bell (minus-67) and Denny Hamlin (minus-70) in the standings by a sizable margin, Larson needs to score nine points at Homestead to lock up the title, regardless of what his rivals do. If Larson does not score stage points, a 28th-place finish will be good enough to claim the championship in South Florida.
The championship hopes for Bell and Hamlin are slim with one more race remaining, but it’s not over until it’s over. In order to have a realistic shot at blocking a layup from the No. 5 team, one of the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers will need to score maximum points, and Larson will need to have an early nightmare in Florida before the sun starts to set on the 2026 season Sunday.