MARTINSVILLE, Va. — A look at the winners and losers after this weekend’s racing at Martinsville Speedway:
WINNERS
Hendrick Motorsports — Becomes the first Cup team to sweep the top three spots in a race at Martinsville Speedway. William Byron won and was followed by Kyle Larson in second and Chase Elliott in third. Hendrick Motorsports has won four of the first eight races of the season.
William Byron — He just keeps collecting victories. Sunday’s win was his ninth in the last 44 races — that’s a 20.5% winning percentage. He has 11 wins since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022. That’s the most wins of any driver. Of his three victories this season, Byron has won on a superspeedway (Daytona 500), a road course (Circuit of the Americas) and a short track (Martinsville). Oh, by the way, the Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. Byron won last year’s playoff race there.
Bubba Wallace — His fourth-place finish Sunday was his best result in 13 career Cup starts at Martinsville Speedway. He scored 18 stage points at Martinsville. Wallace had scored only 24 stage points in the first seven races this season.
Ryan Preece — His ninth-place finish is his first top 10 of the year.
Carson Kvapil — 20-year-old finished fourth for JR Motorsports in his debut in the Xfinity Series at Martinsville Speedway. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was thrilled with Kvapil’s performance in the race, which was won by Aric Almirola.
LOSERS
Harrison Burton — His 33rd-place result is his fourth consecutive finish of 30th or worse.
Austin Dillon — Placed 34th on Sunday in his first race back with Justin Alexander as crew chief. Dillon has not finished better than 16th this season.
Corey LaJoie — After finishing a career-best fourth in the season-opening Daytona 500, LaJoie has finished 30th or worse four times this season, including Sunday’s 32nd-place result at Martinsville.
