4 Takeaways From William Byron’s Martinsville Win; Kyle Larson On Brink Of Title

Martinsville Speedway (Martinsville, Va.) — William Byron somewhat salvaged his season with a victory Sunday at Martinsville. Kyle Larson somewhat punctuated his now that his third Cup title is firmly in his sights. Byron snapped a 35-race winless streak, dating back to his win at Martinsville a year ago. He led 362 of the 500 laps on his way to the win. Byron entered the race 11th in the standings and was already eliminated from championship contention. He now has a trophy to remind him that this is a good time of year. “This definitely gives us that feeling that we know we can achieve,” Byron said in his post-race news conference, as he won a race for the seventh consecutive year. “Honestly, I know this group are winners. “There’s a lot to be said about going and winning a race every year. It’s a really hard thing to do.” Meanwhile, his Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson finished 10th and enters the season finale next Sunday at Homestead needing just eight out of a possible 20 stage points or a 28th-place finish (with no stage points) to win the Cup title. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin must win at Homestead and earn significant stage points to have a shot. Here are my takeaways: 1. Kyle Larson Eyes Title Larson had a nerve-wracking day, as he and Hamlin tried to go the entire 130-lap opening stage without pitting for tires. That proved to be the wrong strategy and Larson ended up getting lapped. He eventually got back on the lead lap on Lap 216 but never got back to the leaders. He finished ninth while Hamlin placed sixth. Christopher Bell was 11th. Larson has a 67-point lead on Bell and a 70-point lead on Hamlin heading into Homestead, where Larson has won two of the last four races. “I trusted we’d get back on the right side of things if we could ever get back to the lead lap and fortunately we did,” Larson told me and other reporters after the race. “I could tell Denny wasn’t normal Denny [at Martinsville]. And Bell, I could tell, had better track position than us but wasn’t very good. … Once I just settled in being on the lead lap, I felt OK.” 2. Denny Hamlin Had Best Car, Not Best Strategy Hamlin led 40 of the first 83 laps, but losing the track position — thanks to the strategy of not pitting in the first stage — doomed his chances. He was also collected by Bell when Joey Logano got into the back of Bell on Lap 216, the caution that allowed Larson to get the free pass. It was just another day for the regular-season champion to wonder what could have been. “The killer, by far, was Stage 1,” Hamlin told me afterward. “Obviously, pitting was the best strategy to do it and we chose not to. We go from leading or second to 15th. … It was just an impossible task when we lost that track position.” Hamlin would need to win at Homestead and earn 17 stage points (or 16 stage points and the fastest lap point) for any chance to win the title. 3. Christopher Bell Couldn’t Capitalize Bell lost his track position when he ducked down pit road anticipating a caution and didn’t read his lights correctly that signify what RPM he needed to maintain to remain below pit road speed. But he admitted he had a car that probably was top 10 but not a top-five car, so finishing 10th was pretty fair. “We had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Bell told me and other reporters after the race. “Same thing at Homestead. … It is what it is. We shook out where we should have.” Bell would need to win at Homestead and earn 14 stage points (or 13 stage points and the fastest lap point) for any chance to win the title. 4. Carson Hocevar Not Sweating Austin Cindric Contact Carson Hocevar appeared to ruthlessly brake check Austin Cindric a couple of times, ending Cindric’s day early. Cindric had gotten into the back of Hocevar a little bit prior to the exchange, but Hocevar appeared to take advantage of the changes NASCAR made this summer to the cars for short tracks — changes that weakened the front bumper so drivers wouldn’t run into each other as much. Cindric was irate on his radio, asking NASCAR to take action. NASCAR didn’t take action and Hocevar didn’t seem to sweat it too much afterward. “It’s just Martinsville,” Hocevar told me and other reporters. “Everybody’s running hard and making moves and stuff. … Sometimes you’re getting hit and sometimes you’re causing it and vice versa. “I had fun.” 4 ½. What’s Next: Homestead The season concludes with the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a 1.5-mile oval that Cup teams last raced at in March 2025. It replaces Phoenix as the championship site and will do so again next year. Larson is the defending winner of the event, which Tyler Reddick won in 2024, Chirstopher Bell won in 2023 and Larson won in 2022. “I love Homestead,” Larson said. “It’s a great venue to host the championship.”