William Byron Snaps Winless Streak as Championship Picture is Set

William Byron won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, finally breaking through for his first victory of 2026. Meanwhile, the championship picture for Homestead-Miami Speedway was set with points leader Kyle Larson maintaining the bulk of his advantage.

Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott finished just over two seconds back in second place. Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, and Shane van Gisbergen rounded out the top five.

Over the final green flag run of the race William Byron proved impossible to catch. Building on three Martinsville wins prior to Sunday’s race, Byron capitalized on a stellar No. 24 Chevrolet to prevent his first winless season since 2019.

Forming the Championship Picture

Kyle Larson finished ninth, three spots behind Denny Hamlin’s sixth and one above Christopher Bell’s 10th. His points lead shrank from 73 to 67, making it far easier than it could’ve been for Larson to clinch a third NASCAR Cup Series championship at Homestead. Bell is now second in points, with Hamlin third at 70 pints back. No other driver is mathematically in contention.

Entering Martinsville, the race had to play out in a very specific sequence for Larson’s points lead to be eroded significantly. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team fumbled early with a poorly executed pit strategy in Stage 1, depriving them of stage points. Fortunately for the No. 5 team, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe also failed to collect any points.

Christopher Bell earned seven points in Stage 1, inching him closer to Larson and into the runner-up spot in the standings. He rebounded from a pit road speeding penalty to reach 10th in Stage 2, tacking on one more point. Larson, Hamlin, and Briscoe all missed stage points this time around as well.

Next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Larson’s clinch scenario is clear. He can lock up the championship by scoring nine stage points, preventing any possibility of Bell or Hamlin catching him. Even without any stage points, Larson can also clinch his third title with a finish of 28th or better.

Final Stages

The first non-stage caution of the race occurred on Lap 199, when Carson Hocevar spun by himself in Turn 4. A much more dramatic incident occurred on Lap 216, when contact from Joey Logano sent both Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin spinning up the track. Adding insult to injury for Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Larson received the free pass to regain the lead lap.

Ryan Preece initially seemed to have one of the dominant cars of the race. Having qualified sixth, Preece led 41 laps with hopes to secure his second career victory. That dream came apart as Preece’s wheel did; the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford’s right-rear wheel broke on Lap 225 causing a spin and another caution.

Just a few laps prior, tensions boiled over between two Chase drivers. Carson Hocevar appeared brake-check in front of Austin Cindric on multiple occasions, causing significant damage to the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Cindric went behind the wall and officially exited the race during the final stage. On the radio, he deemed Hocevar’s moves intentional.

A similar situation played out between Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry, who are teammates via affiliation. Toward the end of Stage 2, Blaney made contact with Berry’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Berry appeared to retaliate with a brake-check against Blaney, totaling the No. 12 Team Penske Ford.

“He decided to slam on the brakes and end our day,” Blaney said after the race. “Don’t really know why after a tiny little bit of contact, not even on purpose. Lost his mind and ended our day.”

“Obviously Ryan got into me pretty good there,” Berry said. “I got up out of the groove just trying to save it and we got together.”

Race Results