Byron Claims Martinsville Win as Larson (9th) Fails to Lock Up Title

William Byron took a dominant win in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway after he was able to successfully able to hold off Chase Elliott, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, in the closing laps of the race.

For Byron, this is his first win of the season and his 17th career NASCAR Cup Series win, and it comes in his 323rd start. The win allowed Byron to extend his consecutive seasons with at least one win streak to seven seasons.

Byron, 28, was proud that he and his team were able to perservere to nab the Martinsville win.

"Man, it's been a fricking long road this year," Byron admitted. "This team's worked really hard. Yeah, just appreciate them. We had our struggles. But man, today feels damn good."

Byron continued, "...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."

In all, Byron led a race-high 362 laps in the 500-lap contest. As part of his dominant path to the victory, Byron scored the wins in Stage 1 and Stage 2, and he also turned the Xfinity Fastest Lap of the race to complete a maxiumum point day.

As Byron scored his fourth career win at the 0.526-mile short track, Kyle Larson, the championship point leader, finished ninth, and was unable to officially lock up the championship a week early. While Larson will hold a major advantage in the championship standings, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin will remain mathematically in the championship hunt going into the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

While Larson was bummed to not lock up the title on Sunday, he was happy that his point lead was able to survive the day, which, at points, didn't look to be going his way.

"Yeah, I'm surprised that it's that good," Larson said of his point lead. "Yeah, I mean, I'm happy, but I'm also bummed because there's a lot of opportunities there in the stages. Yeah, we were just on the wrong side of the strategy. I think kind of just playing off Denny, probably mostly Denny, but I'm sure the 19 as well."

Bell, who finished 10th on Sunday, sits 67 points behind Larson, while Hamlin, the sixth-place finisher in the Xfinity 500, will sit 70 points back going into Homestead.

Chase Briscoe (14th), Joey Logano (18th), Tyler Reddick (12th), and Ryan Blaney (35th) were officially eliminated from championship contention on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

Ty Gibbs finished third in the race behind the pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates, while Josh Berry, who ended Ryan Blaney's bid at a championship with a brake-checking incident mid-race, came home solidly in fourth.

"I barely got him, and it was on accident. We just kind of came together. It wasn't even enough to move him up the track to where I had position, and he just decided to end our day," Blaney said after the race. "I don't appreciate that."

Shane van Gisbergen, who has shown incredible growth on oval tracks this season, continued the trend with a fifth-place effort Sunday at Martinsville.

Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Larson, and Bell rounded out the top-10 finishers in the race.

Carson Hocevar, who finished 21st, found a way to be a topic of conversation once again this week. This time, Hocevar will be talked about for an on-track squabble with Austin Cindric, which resulted in Cindric retiring from the race after 222 laps.

Cindric's view of the incidents with Hocevar. pic.twitter.com/wByqF9DclY
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) November 1, 2026

Hocevar, who seemed enraged by Cindric, chose to attempt to brake check Cindric numerous times over a handful of laps, and finally achieved his desired goal by destroying the front end of Cindric's No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with the rear bumper of his No. 77 Chevrolet.

"Yeah, I mean, that's just Martinsville," Hocevar said after the race. "Everyone is running hard and making moves and stuff. So, yeah, I don't know. That's just Martinsville. Sometimes, you're getting hit, and sometimes you're causing it and vice versa. I don't know, I had fun."

Updated Chase Grid (One Race Remaining)

1. Kyle Larson, 2,469 points
2. Christopher Bell, -67
3. Denny Hamlin, -70
--Mathematically Eliminated--
4. Chase Briscoe, -84
5. Joey Logano, -103
6. Tyler Reddick, -125
7. Ryan Blaney, -133
8. Ty Gibbs, -160
9. William Byron, -166
10. Chase Elliott, -201
11. Austin Cindric, -206
12. Carson Hocevar, -210
13. Bubba Wallace, -212
14. Ryan Preece, -255
15. Daniel Suarez, -259
16. Chris Buescher, -270

What's Next?

Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 8. That race will be televised on NBC and coverage of the event is set to kick off at 3 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of the NASCAR Cup Series championship-deciding race.

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