Byron Wins Martinsville; Punches Ticket to Championship 4

William Byron and the No. 24 Cincinatti Chevrolet team executed a perfect weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway--winning the pole, leading the most laps, winning both stages, before earning their third victory of the 2025 campaign. The win locked Byron into the Championship 4, this Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, 3 p.m. EST on NBC.

SPEED READ

• After practice and qualifying on Saturday, William Byron secured his third pole award of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, and his first at Martinsville Speedway.

• Byron flexed his muscles winning both stage one and stage two Sunday at the half-mile track.

• Battling back from differing pit strategy, Byron maneuvered his way to the lead in the closing laps and never looked back, picking up the win Sunday evening. 

• With his win at Martinsville Speedway, Byron locked into his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance.

RECAPPING THE RACE

Showing speed from the beginning of practice, William Byron went on to capture his third pole award of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. When the field went green on Sunday, Byron took over the top spot and never looked back during the opening stage. With the first caution of the day coming out on lap 28, crew chief Rudy Fugle called his driver down pit road under the yellow for four tires and fuel. Lining up in second, but on the front row, Byron quickly took the top spot back over and once again paced the field for the remainder of the stage, picking up the stage one victory. Under the stage break, Byron radioed that he was a “little tighter” and came down pit road for four tires and fuel.

Starting stage two from the front row, Byron powered his way back to the lead. He paced the field during the long green-flag run while managing to work through lap traffic as the stage went on. The caution finally came out on lap 216 and the Charlotte, North Carolina, native mentioned that while he was “snug” that is was due to heavy traffic. He came down pit road for four tires, fuel and a minor air pressure adjustment. Byron restarted from first and didn’t give it up through two quick cautions. Going back green with 11 laps to go in the stage, Byron once again kept the top spot, scoring the stage two victory as well. Under the stage break, Fugle made the call for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to compensate for running back in traffic on the next run.

For the start of the final stage, Byron lined up in the fifth position but ultimately moved into fourth with 200 laps to go. Continuing his march back to the front, the 27-year-old driver made the pass for third on lap 317 and then took over the runner-up position just 18 laps later. As the run continued to go green, Fugle called the driver of the No. 24 down pit road under green on lap 377 for four tires and fuel. Just as Byron rejoined the field, the caution came out, resetting the field. Restarting on the outside of the front row with 111 laps remaining, Byron maintained the second position, just within striking distance of the leader. Continuing to close in, Byron made his move with 44 laps to go, re-taking the lead. He began to build the gap between himself and second until the caution came out with under 20 laps to go, Fugle made the strategy call for the No. 24 to come down pit road one final time, for four tires and fuel. Restarting on the inside of the front row with only 11 laps remaining, Byron took the lead and never looked back, scoring his third win of the season and locking himself into his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance.

Byron battled to pick up his third win of the 2025 season at Martinsville Speedway Sunday evening. Chase Elliott also scored a top-five result, crossing the line in third. Kyle Larson rounded out the top five, picking up a fifth-place finish. Alex Bowmn ultimately finished Sunday’s race in 23rd.

QUOTING THE NO. 24 TEAM:

William, could you pick a better spot for your first-ever walk-off win?

“No. Damn, I got a lot to say (smiling). Things have a way of working out. God really tests your resilience a lot of times. We've been tested. Just unbelievable. I watched my first NASCAR race up there just before the start/finish line. Man, I am just so thankful, excited to see my family and just celebrate this one.”

You mentioned all that you have been through and this team has been through. Have you ever been through more emotional swings in 10 weeks to get to this point?

“No. I mean, we just worked so hard, all these guys work so hard. You put everything into Sunday’s. Sometimes you don't get anything in return. That's been the last couple weeks. Honestly, throughout the year, we had some close calls. But sometimes life is that way. You just have to keep being resilient, and this No. 24 team did that.”