Hendrick Drivers Complete Championship Four Field
On a day when the four drivers who sat outside of the Championship Four needed to win, one did. William Byron led over 300 of the 500 laps at Martinsville Speedway in his win that punched his ticket to the Championship Four. Byron, who has won the past two Daytona 500s and the 2017 Xfinity Series Championship, will now have a shot to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title. He will join his teammate Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe in the quest for the crown.
A Perfect Day for the 24
Although he didn’t lead every lap in the race, Byron did all he needed and more. The day started from the pole position for Byron, who entered the race 36 points below the cutline. It was mathematically possible for him to gain the points, but with the other playoff drivers running well, it became a must-win scenario. Byron won the first stage with relative ease and followed it up with a win in stage two. Late in the stage, a caution came out, which separated Byron and Blaney, who were running in the front two positions. The split kept Byron out front to win the stage, but he restarted further back in the top 10 to begin the final stage.
Byron rode around and slowly made up ground in the final 240-lap stage of the race. Eventually, Byron ran down Blaney again and made his move with 44 laps to go. Byron darted to the inside and made contact with Blaney to complete the move. From there, he set sail. With 18 laps to go, the caution came out, forcing the two to pit. Byron entered before Blaney and won the race off pit road, even with pitting for four tires compared to Blaney’s two-tire stop. Byron took off on the final restart with 11 laps to go, built a gap, and won his way to his third-straight Championship Four appearance.
Penske Left Out
For the first time in the history of the Next Gen car, a Team Penske driver will not win the championship. Joey Logano won the title in 2022 and 2024, while Blaney took it home in 2023. Now, it will be Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing that will win its first title as a team in this car. Logano and Blaney each had to win and ran near the front all day, but it wasn’t enough in the end.
The day for Blaney was full of ups and downs. He had to win the race to clinch a spot in the championship, but starting the race in 31st meant he had a lot of work to do. Through the first stage, Blaney made his way through at a steady pace and ended up finishing seventh. The second stage saw Blaney move up more, all the way to second with 21 laps left in the stage. Blaney overtook the lead of the race on the restart that began the final stage after out-gaining Tyler Reddick, who restarted on older tires. Once he got the lead, Blaney maintained it until the 24 woke up again. When Byron moved Blaney for the lead, the 12 car never saw it again and was eliminated.
Championship Four Set
The four drivers who will race for a championship Sunday in Phoenix offer a mixed bag of drivers at different points in their careers. Larson is the only one looking to become a multi-time champion, as he won the 2021 title. Hamlin is in year 20 and is still chasing that elusive first title despite having 60 career wins and three Daytona 500 wins. Byron has been in the past two Championship Fours but has never gotten the job done. The Martinsville win might be the momentum boost he needs to get it done this season. The final driver, Briscoe, is in his first Championship Four in his first year with his new team.
All four drivers lead at least one stat category entering the final race. Hamlin has the most wins with six, Briscoe leads top-fives with 15, Larson leads laps led with 1,106, and Byron has scored the most points of any driver this season. The question will be who wants it more and is willing to move someone to become a champion. Keep in mind, Bell, a Joe Gibbs Racing driver, won the spring race at Phoenix.
