MARTINSVILLE, Va. — William Byron has capped off a storybook weekend for Hendrick Motorsports by winning Sunday’s Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.
Byron, who started 18th, won his third race of the season on the day Hendrick Motorsports celebrated its 40th anniversary. Martinsville Speedway is the site of the organization’s first win.
MORE: Martinsville Cup results
Byron led a one-two-three Hendrick Motorsports finish, the first in Martinsville Speedway history, with Kyle Larson in second and Chase Elliott in third. Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five. Alex Bowman, the fourth HMS driver, ended the day eighth.
The race went to overtime when John Hunter Nemechek had a right-front tire issue and hit the outside wall. This erased Byron’s lead and forced the field to line back up for a two-lap dash to the finish line.
Hamlin headed to pit road from fourth while Byron, Larson, Elliott, Blaney, Wallace, Bowman and several others stayed out on the track.
Once the green flag waved, Byron jumped to the lead ahead of Elliott. He led the final two laps of the race and took the win in his ruby red No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro.
Byron now leads the series with three wins this season. He has a superspeedway win (Daytona 500), a road course win (Circuit of the Americas) and a short track win.
Stage 1 winner: Kyle Larson
Stage 2 winner: Denny Hamlin
Who had a good race: William Byron led 88 laps and won his third race of the season. ... Bubba Wallace started the race on the front row, his best starting position at Martinsville. He scored 18 stage points and finished fourth, his best finish since Atlanta in February. ... Kyle Larson started from pole and led 86 laps. He finished second. ... Chase Elliott 64 laps and finished third, his best finish of the season. ... Ryan Blaney had to make an extra pit stop after stage 1 to tighten a wheel. He worked his way through the field and finished fifth. ... Joey Logano gambled with a two-tire stop at the start of stage 2. He led 84 laps and ended the day sixth.
Who had a bad race: A tire issue in stage 2 sent Christopher Bell down pit road. He lost three laps before rejoining the field. He then spun on Lap 202 and had to make another pit stop. Bell finished 35th. ... Days after reuniting with crew chief Justin Alexander, Dillon spent the entire Martinsville race outside of the top 30. He finished 34th after losing power steering. ... Josh Berry fell two laps down in the final stage after serving a penalty for an uncontrolled tire. He finished 25th.
Next: Cup teams head to Texas Motor Speedway for a Sunday afternoon race on April 14. FS1 will provide coverage for the race.
