MARTINSVILLE, Va. – William Byron's win on the 40th anniversary weekend for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway capped off a memorable weekend for the organization. Byron had to hold off teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott in a NASCAR Overtime finish to win.
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In addition, with Larson finishing second and Elliott completing the race in third, the team finished 1-2-3 for the first time at Martinsville and for the fourth time in team history. Alex Bowman's eighth-place run gave the team all four cars in the top 10 for the sixth time at Martinsville and the first time since last year's Phoenix Raceway spring event. The 1-2 finish is the sixth such result for Hendrick Motorsports at its winningest track – 29 victories.
"You can’t script it like this," team vice chairman Jeff Gordon said after the race. "I knew we had good race cars when they showed up here yesterday. The race, the way it played out, to get that green flag stop was it. Our cars were so good on the short runs. We just needed to get that track position.
"These guys, these three guys, as well as Bowman, they drove their butts off. How about that William Byron, the 24 car? Every time we have a milestone day or opportunity or moment, he steps up. He got number 300. This is going to be a huge win for him and the whole organization."
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For Byron, the win is his NASCAR Cup Series-leading third of the season, the 13th of his premier series career and the 106th victory for the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet. The triumph is the 305th for Hendrick Motorsports and the fourth of the season for the 14-time Cup Series championship-winning organization.
"So proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports," Byron said. "Grew up a big Hendrick fan. To be here for the 40th anniversary, all that goes into just this organization and all the people. It’s all about the people. Just want to thank Mr. Hendrick and Linda and everyone involved."
Driving the No. 24 Axalta 40th Anniversary Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Byron started the race from 18th. At the midpoint of the 80-lap opening stage, he entered the top 10 before finishing the stage in eighth. Byron spent the bulk of the second stage in the back half of the top 10 and reported that he was “a little tight center” before finishing eighth.
A close call leaving pit road placed Byron ninth for the start of the final stage and he methodically worked his way up to the top five with a pass of teammate Bowman on lap 232. Crew chief Rudy Fugle was the first to call his driver to pit road on lap 297 for a green-flag stop. That kicked off a round of green-flag stops and allowed Byron to be on fresher tires quicker than his competitors. The 26-year-old driver passed teammate Elliott for position on lap 310 (which would be the lead when pit stops cycled through) and then took the lead on lap 327 from Daniel Suarez. He kept that position through the caution with two to go in regulation as Fugle kept his driver on the track. Choosing the inside lane for the overtime restart, Byron battled his teammates but was able to build a nice margin to secure the victory.
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"That was a great call," Byron said of Fugle's move to bring him to pit road first. "It didn't get us the track position right away but we had a little bit more heat in our tires. It seemed like it fired off a little bit faster than those guys and we were able to get ahead of 'em. We had a great car in the third stage."
In turn, Fugle downplayed his contribution and gave all the credit to his driver.
"I appreciate everyone saying it’s the pit call, but I look at it as William driving first to fifth in the first (while the pit cycle was ongoing) couple laps after the tire change," Fugle said. "He’s just on it. He was on it today."
Larson was the pole sitter for the race in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com 40th Anniversary Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. He led all 80 laps of stage one to earn his series-best fourth stage win of the season. Restarting from second for the second segment as the leader (Joey Logano) took two tires in the pits, Larson spun the tires on the restart and fell back to fourth. While battling a "tight center" condition that was "building freer," Larson finished the stage in third.
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In the final stage, Larson restarted fourth and maintained a top-five position through nearly the entire segment. He worked his way around Denny Hamlin after a green-flag pit stop for what would be third place after pit stops cycled through. The 31-year-old driver maintained the spot until the overtime finish. Choosing the inside lane behind Byron, Larson got around his teammate Elliott for second and his fourth top-five finish of the season (tied for the most in the series with Ryan Blaney).
"We had great track position from qualifying, so I was able to maintain that and get that stage one win," Larson said. "We kind of just lost a few spots there in stage two and were never really able to overcome that small track position loss. William (Byron), he did a really good job. Kind of schooled us all and deserved to win. That was really cool to see him win."
Elliott took the green flag from third in his No. 9 UniFirst 40th Anniversary Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and that is exactly where he finished stage one. He enjoyed a spot in the top five throughout stage two and reported that the car was better than the first run before finishing in fourth. A strong pit stop ahead of the final stage set the 28-year-old driver to restart on the front row next to Hamlin on lap 194. He wasted no time getting to the lead as he drove to the outside of Hamlin for the point position and proceeded to lead the next 59 laps. Eventually, Hamlin caught him and the two went back and forth over the next six laps in a fight for the top spot.
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Elliott settled into running second and another strong pit stop on lap 298 got him ahead of Hamlin (who pitted a lap later). However, his teammate in the No. 24 Chevy passed him on lap 310 for the position (a position that would be the lead when the pit cycle was complete). After cycling out to second, Elliott couldn't quite reel in Byron, but a late-race caution gave him another chance. Choosing the outside for the overtime finish, the driver of the No. 9 Chevy couldn't get by his teammate and ended up third.
"I just burnt the rear tires off of it a little bit too much," Elliott said of the overtime restart. "I had an opportunity. I kind of got William (Byron) up off the bottom and I had a shot at him off of (turn) four, but I just couldn’t get the power down to get underneath him."
The result was Elliott's second straight top-five finish of the season and his third top-10 in the last four races.
"We’ve been working in a good direction," Elliott said. "Pit stops have been really good. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) has been calling really good races. All that stuff has been going in a really positive direction, in my opinion. I think if we can just keep producing that, we’ll get our turn one day."
PHOTOS: See the ruby red cars and firesuits from the Martinsville weekend
Bowman took the grid from the 10th position in the No. 48 Ally 40th Anniversary Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. In the opening stage, after finishing 11th, he reported that the car was too tight in the center and needed rear grip. Restarting the second segment in the top 10 thanks to a strong pit stop, Bowman spent all of the stage in the top 10, battling Logano in the closing laps for top-five stage points. Ultimately, the 30-year-old driver was sixth in the stage.
In the final stage, Bowman restarted fifth and maintained that position until his teammate Byron passed him for fifth on lap 232. He held that spot until pit stops began, where he pitted from second on lap 299. Cycling out to seventh, Bowman continued to run in that position before the caution came out to set up a NASCAR Overtime finish. With one car in front of him pitting, the driver of the No. 48 Chevy restarted sixth for the OT attempt and was the third car on the outside lane. On the ensuing two-lap sprint, he lost two spots to finish eighth. Bowman now has four top-10 results through eight races.
On the day, Hendrick Motorsports led 238 of the 415 laps – Byron led a race-high 88 circuits, followed by Larson's 86 laps out front and Elliott's 64. Leaving Martinsville, Larson is now atop the points standings by 14 points over Martin Truex Jr. Byron is in fourth, while Elliott is sixth and Bowman ranks 10th.
The spring Martinsville race weekend served as the team's 40th anniversary weekend, celebrating its first win in the Cup Series at the Virginia short track on April 29, 1984, with driver Geoff Bodine. Hendrick has previously said that the team would have had to close its doors without that victory. Now, the organization is the most decorated in NASCAR, with a series-best 305 Cup Series wins and 14 championships.
Gordon and Bodine served as the co-grand marshals for the race. The Rick Hendrick-owned squad sported ruby red paint schemes and red firesuits to honor that inaugural win. Over 1,500 employees, family and friends of Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group were in attendance in a spot overlooking turn two at the track.
"To see our folks rally behind this milestone, this moment and get on buses early this morning and come up here," Gordon said. "The music was going. They were partying up there pretty early. They had a good time. To be able to cap that off with the victory, like what this is going to do for our company is incredible, right? To be able to have them that engaged with a day like today, our history, but also making history at the same time."
Martinsville has a significant place in the history of Hendrick Motorsports. The team's 29 wins at the short track are the most by any team at any track on the circuit. Jimmie Johnson and Gordon each won nine times here, while Darrell Waltrip earned four victories for the squad. Byron now has two wins for the team at the 0.526-mile track. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bodine, Bowman, Elliott and Larson all have one win at the Virginia venue. It is the only track where the current driver lineup has all won. The team has also won the last three spring races at Martinsville and five of the last Cup races there (fall and spring). As a squad, they have crossed 10,000 laps led at Martinsville – leading 10,852 – and are the only team to have led over 10,000 laps at any track.
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Next up for the quartet of Hendrick Motorsports drivers will be Texas Motor Speedway. The 1.5-mile track has hosted 11 points-paying victories for the team and one All-Star Race victory. Among the active drivers, Larson (2021) and Byron (2023) have won there with Byron's victory serving as the organization's milestone 300th Cup Series win. Tune in to see the race on Sunday, April 14, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
