William Byron buoyed by last year’s Martinsville moxie as elimination race looms

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- At the time, William Byron described last year's internal struggle to advance in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Martinsville Speedway as "hell in a bottle," he said. "I’ve never been so mad at a race car." Byron wrangled an ill-handling No. 24 Chevrolet to a hard-fought 13th place, dropping to the pavement in an exhausted heap after the checkered flag. A year later, the moment that launched Byron to his first Championship 4 appearance is looked back on as a character-builder, but one that his Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 team has no inclination to repeat. "It was miserable last year," Byron said Saturday at Martinsville, flashing a smile he can now muster. "So we learned a ton as a team. I learned a lot about myself and how I could change my approach and improve and yeah, that's probably what fuels the mentality this year is knowing what we went through last year and some of the things that we've done throughout the week to be in a different spot." Byron aims to return to the final four in Sunday's Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), starting third in an elimination clash that will chop the eight-driver playoff field in half for the Nov. 10 season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick have qualified for the Championship 4 with wins from earlier in the Round of 8, leaving two title shots up for grabs Sunday at Martinsville. RELATED: Sunday's starting lineup | At-track photos Byron is currently slotted as the final driver ahead of the provisional elimination line, holding just a seven-point margin above the bubble. Last year, that gap was a 30-point cushion entering the Round of 8 finale, and he escaped Martinsville with just eight points to spare. No. 24 crew chief Rudy Fugle remembers the difficulty of last fall's Martinsville visit, noting how Byron overcame being blanked at the stage-point pay window and how the team was forced to adjust after the handling went awry. "Just overcoming the adversity of having a car that wasn't very good to start with, and the team taking lots of chances," Fugle said. "We made changes that we would never make during a normal race to get the car more competitive, and then him digging super-deep to be able to keep going in that third stage, get the points we needed and really give us the confidence that we can overcome a lot of things." Fugle said he also learned plenty about his driver's resilience in willing his car to the finish. "It just reassures you how bad he wants it," Fugle said. "... It's easy to quit, it's easy to shift the blame, or say that this was bad or that didn't work, but he didn't do that. He dug deep and gave it everything he had and that's what it takes." MORE: What to Watch: Martinsville | Cup Series standings Byron won't have as much padding in the standings to rely on this year, just seven points above teammate Kyle Larson -- the provisional first driver out. He says he's coming in with winning as the prime focus, with less reliance on points being his Phoenix ticket. Byron is a two-time Martinsville Speedway winner, with his most recent triumph here back in April, when he topped a 1-2-3 finish for team owner Rick Hendrick as the organization celebrates its 40th anniversary season. Another victory Sunday would make him the first to secure a Martinsville season sweep since Denny Hamlin's double-up in 2010, but it would also assure him a clear-cut road to another championship bid. "It's a combination of all the factors, but just how close the points are," Byron said. "We saw here last year, we came in thinking we could just have a lead-lap finish day and based on a couple of circumstances, could've ended up out. So for us, if you're up front competing for the win, you're going to have a shot to score a bunch of points, and that's going to be the best defense you can play. So you've just got to be aggressive. It's going to take that to do well here on Sunday and get through."