With the Championship 4 solidified, all eyes head westward as the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs — and 2025 season — conclude with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, William Byron and Kyle Larson will battle for the coveted Bill France Cup in the desert during Championship Weekend, with three of those pilots — Briscoe, Hamlin and Byron — looking to claim their first Cup Series crown. Larson, meanwhile, will aim to win his second Cup championship; his first since 2021. Through Briscoe and Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing will vie for its first driver title since the 2019 campaign, while Hendrick Motorsports — via Byron and Larson — will look for its first since 2021.
Casey Mears closes the 2025 campaign as driver of the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford. The 47-year-old Mears has competed in four Cup Series races this season with the team, most recently finishing 33rd at Martinsville Speedway last weekend.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — William Byron said his course through the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs could have simply taken one of two forks. One path would have been to dwell on the outcome of the last two weeks and the pair of dissimilar incidents that had carved out a cavernous 36-point deficit for him in the final cutoff round.
Entering Sunday’s showdown at Martinsville Speedway and faced with near-certain elimination without a win, he took the alternate route.
Byron launched into his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance with a clutch fall flourish, prevailing in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 with a flash of dominance when he needed it most. Points virtually didn’t matter, but he maxed those out anyway with a sterling sweep of the stages from the pole position. That included the lone bonus point for turning the race’s fastest lap, which notably came on the 494th of 500 circuits, when he nailed all the Martinsville nuances down the stretch to keep a hard-charging Ryan Blaney out of Victory Lane and cemented the title-eligible field in the Phoenix Raceway finale come Sunday.
It was enough to impress Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice chairman and Byron’s Hall of Fame-caliber predecessor in the team’s No. 24 Chevrolet. Gordon won nine times at Martinsville, including what would be the last of his 93 Cup Series triumphs 10 years ago. Sunday, he soaked in some of those familiar cheers by association, responding post-race when fans called out his name with a fist pump and signaling the car number twice with his fingers — two, four, two, four.
That famed number is currently in Byron’s care, and he’s doing more than his share to continue its legacy.
“Unbelievable,” Gordon said post-race. “I mean, these guys have just been building something special all year long, the last several years, but this year, when you look at the ups and downs that they’ve been through — big wins, the Regular Season Championship and yet they’ve also had some struggles. And I think the way that they’ve overcome that, come together, the effort, and then to come here and perform like that, I mean, that is the best race I think I’ve ever seen this 24 car run, and couldn’t be better timing than to go next week and go for a championship.”
Martinsville has been a welcome place for Byron over the years, and his three wins here have all held greater personal significance. His first in 2022 marked a moment of reflection for his family after a recent health scare at the track for his mother, Dana. Byron’s second came last year during the zenith of Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary season, with his ruby-red No. 24 Chevy leading a dramatic 1-2-3 sweep for the organization.
Sunday, the postseason stakes sweetened the pot. The dire prerace circumstances stemmed from a pair of disruptions the previous two weekends — an odd pit-cycle crash that erased his points edge at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and then a final-lap spin that landed him in must-win territory after Talladega Superspeedway.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Byron called the emotions from the immediate wake “depressing” and that he was “almost numb to the result” after those two weeks. Heading to Martinsville, he made the choice not to spend much time in that headspace.
“We’re like, whatever happens, happens,” Byron said. “Yeah, I do think from start to finish, it’s the best I’ve ever felt in the race car. That’s a damn good feeling. Yeah, I think it’s been a lot of work, a lot of heartbreak this year. The (Coca-Cola) 600, different races. You just channel those things, learn from ’em. If you can learn from ’em, they become positives. They become things you lean on in the moment. For some people, they become scars and things you can’t get past. For me, I found a way to flip that script either this week or sometime during these playoffs. It went the other way.”
That feeling wasn’t just Byron’s. It was shared from veteran crew chief Rudy Fugle and the rest of the No. 24 team, which sprang over the pit wall to celebrate after the checkered flag. Fugle said worrying about what had happened in Vegas and Talladega would have been a fruitless distraction. Instead, he stoked his team’s focus to Sunday’s opportunity.
“It’s a great team win, right? It’s a testament to everybody,” said No. 24 tire carrier Ryan Patton, a multiple Cup Series champion crewmember dating back to his time on the No. 48 team with Jimmie Johnson. “We had cars capable to win the last two weeks, and it just wasn’t meant to be, and so everyone dug in and kind of took pride on the fact that the cars are prepared well from everyone back at the shop. … So to come here and to be able to do this tonight, a lot of momentum into next week. So it takes everybody, right? It takes everybody back at the shop, and then just belief all day long.”
Byron made good on that belief down the stretch, summoning a late-race surge and a winning pass on Blaney with a smidge of short-track contact with 43 laps to go. Patton called it a “career-defining win,” and Byron’s performance was among the top four in all performance metrics — passing, defense, speed and restarts — from NASCAR Insights analysis.
But beyond the purely statistical view, Byron’s ability to push through in a high-pressure situation stood out. No matter how bleak his Sunday scenario seemed, the 27-year-old ace tuned out any negative chatter and moved another step closer to reaching his season-long goals in his third try at the Phoenix finale.
Another career-defining moment is now within reach.
“I have a friend of mine that told me this week, he said, ‘No moment has ever been too big for you.’ As a competitor, you don’t really realize that,” Byron said. “Like, you only view it in your eyes as every opportunity. You only kind of look at it as missed opportunities, things you could get better at. Yeah, I feel like this week, this weekend, it’s just trying to maximize the chance you have in front of you ’cause you never know when the next one’s going to come. Even though you think you’re going to be there all these times, you never know.
“You want to give everything you can to it. I felt good coming into here that I had given everything. Once you get in between the lines, in between the walls, you’re going to give everything. You’ve just got to go out there and do your thing.”
With the NASCAR Cup Series Championship roaring into Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2, the adrenaline is building — drivers battling for the ultimate title, cars hitting top speeds and fans ramping up the excitement, whether from the stands, at home or placing legal bets on the high-stakes finale. It’s the pinnacle of strategy and smarts, where every decision counts, on and off the track.
Just like the pros pushing their high-tech machines to the limit in this championship showdown, you can borrow their winning mindset to keep your gaming enjoyable and balanced. After all, the best drivers aren’t just fast; they’re focused, resilient and always in control — especially when the title is on the line.
As a NASCAR fan gearing up for Phoenix, you already admire how drivers handle championship-level pressure with precision and poise. Why not apply those same tactics to your betting habits? It’s all about keeping your mind sharp so your money stays in check. Below, we’ll take a lap through four elite driver techniques that can help you stay on track, keeping responsibility to yourself and your finances top of mind as you bet on the big race. Think of it as your personal pit stop for smarter, more fun play, boosting your odds of a great championship experience.
Visualization: See your route before you begin
Top NASCAR drivers swear by visualization to prep for high-pressure races like the Phoenix finale. They mentally rehearse every turn, pass and start/finish line — Phoenix’s tricky layout included — often using high-tech simulators to assist. This visualization builds confidence and sharpens focus, helping them anticipate challenges and stay ahead in the championship hunt.
So why not apply this to your gaming? Before placing a bet, always picture your plan. Visualize setting a budget — just like mapping out your fuel stops — and visualize sticking to it.
Imagine walking away happy, win or lose, because you’ve stayed in control. It’s a simple mental warm-up that keeps gaming fun and prevents impulsive moves.
Mindfulness: Stay present in the driver’s seat
In the heat of a championship race, drivers use mindfulness to stay calm and locked in. They focus on the moment, breathing steadily to manage heart rates and keep emotions regulated amid the roar of the engines at Phoenix. Techniques like quick mental resets help them shake off a bad turn and get back in the groove, crucial when every point matters.
When it comes to gaming with responsibility in mind, try a similar approach. Remember to pause and breathe when the excitement builds — inhale deeply for four seconds, hold for two, and exhale for six. Repeat a few times and clear your head, just like your favorite driver does.
This tactic keeps you present, so your betting remains entertainment instead of an escape. It’s like hitting the reset button during a caution flag, helping you maintain balance and enjoy the championship ride without letting stress take the wheel.
Choose tracks with guardrails: Opt for safe, regulated play
NASCAR tracks like Phoenix Raceway are equipped with advanced safety features like SAFER barriers to protect drivers at high speeds. Pros wouldn’t race without them — smart, secure environments let drivers’ talent shine, especially in a title-deciding event.
The same goes for betting: Stick to licensed, regulated platforms that prioritize player safety. These sites follow U.S. standards, offering tools like deposit limits, time-outs, and easy access to support.
Licensed, regulated platforms invest in technology to detect risks and promote healthy habits, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable experience — even during the intensity of championship weekend.
By choosing these “guarded” tracks, you’re setting yourself up for responsible entertainment with built-in peace of mind.
Build your pit crew: Team up for support
NASCAR fans know that no driver wins alone — especially not a championship. They all will have a top-notch pit crew handling quick fixes, strategy, and getting them back on track fast at Phoenix.
These specialists train rigorously to perform under pressure, turning potential setbacks into comebacks.
To prioritize responsibility to yourself and your wallet, assemble your own “pit crew” of experts. For example, our trusted partner Kindbridge Behavioral Health is here as America’s leading support for keeping gaming in check.
Whether it’s a quick chat about habits or specific tips to restore balance ahead of the big race, Kindbridge’s team of pros is always ready to help. Connect confidentially for assessments and personalized plans that fit your life, just like a driver trusting their crew to fine-tune the car for the finale.
The takeaway
In the worlds of both NASCAR and betting, success isn’t about luck — it’s about preparation and mindset, nowhere more evident than at the Cup Series Championship.
Drivers train their brains to handle the highs and lows, and you can do the same. By borrowing these tactics, you’ll keep your mind sharp, your money managed, and your gaming as another entertaining part of the NASCAR experience.
Bottom line: Play with focus and guard your wellbeing to keep the fun rolling.
If you’re looking for ways to level up your RG game or just want to chat, reach out to Kindbridge Behavioral Health at 1-877-426-4258 or visit kindbridge.com.
You can count on Kindbridge to fuel your best race yet.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR, in partnership with Emmy® Award-winning studio Words + Pictures, today announced RISING, a new multi-part documentary series offering an unprecedented look inside the lives of three young, up-and-coming NASCAR drivers as they’ve established their identities both on and off the track this past season. The project was produced by FULL SPEED ENTERTAINMENT, the production partnership between NASCAR Studios and Words + Pictures which focuses on elevating the cultural footprint of NASCAR, its drivers, and teams through bold storytelling, talent-driven initiatives, premium content and large-scale specials.
Premiering Nov. 17-21, 2025, on NASCAR’s YouTube Channel, RISING follows Carson Hocevar (22, Cup Series), Jesse Love (20, Xfinity Series), and Rajah Caruth (23, Craftsman Truck Series) through a key season in their careers. Each of the five episodes captures the pressure, sacrifice and ambition that have fueled these talented stars, part of the next generation poised to help carry NASCAR into the future.
“RISING explores the ups and downs of trying to make it at the highest levels of our sport,” said John Dahl, NASCAR SVP of Content. “We’re providing an inside look at the vulnerability and hunger of these young drivers to prove themselves. It’s a series for anyone who can relate to that daily struggle of striving to reach your dreams, and premiering the series on our NASCAR YouTube Channel allows us to meet fans exactly where they are, offering free, global access and bingeable storytelling on a platform that’s already home to one of the most engaged communities in the world.”
The series, in partnership with Words + Pictures (The Last Dance, 30 For 30, Court of Gold, Full Speed), continues NASCAR’s commitment to authentic storytelling and reaching new audiences in a variety of formats, including documentary-style content. Shot across multiple circuits and personal settings, RISING balances the thrill of speed with the human stories that define the sport’s evolution.
“We wanted to strip away the helmets and let viewers meet these young men as people first,” said Aaron Cohen, Chief Creative Officer, Words + Pictures. “They’re competitors, but also sons, friends, and dreamers. RISING gives a raw, unfiltered look at how much heart it takes to make it in NASCAR. YouTube is the natural home for these stories, allowing us to connect these personal journeys directly with the passionate fanbase that already lives on the platform.”
With more than 2.5 billion active users globally, YouTube is the largest streamer in the world. Additionally, more people in the U.S. are watching YouTube on their televisions than their mobile devices and users now stream over 1 billion hours of content on their televisions. Debuting RISING on YouTube underscores NASCAR’s commitment to growing on the platform and reaching a massive digital-native audience as part of its content strategy.
FOX Sports will air RISING on FS1 beginning in December with a special five-week programming schedule, providing its viewers with premium NASCAR content leading up to FOX’s telecast of the 2026 DAYTONA 500 on Feb. 15.
RISING is executive produced by Tim Clark, John Dahl and Tally Hair from NASCAR Studios, Connor Schell, Libby Geist and Aaron Cohen from Words + Pictures, and directed and produced by Matthew Chase from Words + Pictures.
ABOUT THE SERIES
• Title:RISING • Format: 5 episodes (44–45 minutes each) • Platform: NASCAR’s YouTube Channel • Premiere Dates: Nov. 17–21 (one new episode every night) • Produced by: FULL SPEED ENTERTAINMENT
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — If Joey Logano wanted to defend his 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship, he first needed to win Sunday at Martinsville Speedway to advance from the Round of 8.
His No. 22 Team Penske Ford was strong but not enough to contend for the victory, leading Logano to an eighth-place finish in the Xfinity 500, eliminating him from the NASCAR Playoffs and ending his title reign.
Team Penske had won each of the last three Cup Series championships — two with Logano (2022, 2024) and one with Ryan Blaney (2023). Both fell short at Martinsville despite an impressive drive from Blaney, leaving Team Penske out of the Championship 4 for the first time since 2021.
“What we did was great,” Logano said. “Unfortunately, none of us are going to win it this year. That sucks. I don’t know how to put it any other way. It hurts. It is what it is. It hurts because we care.”
Logano was one of the day’s best drivers, averaging a fourth-best running position of 6.07 in Sunday’s 500-lapper. But an earlier restart in which Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott cooperated to allow one to slot in front of the other entering Turn 1 left Logano trapped.
“I feel like I lost control when the Hendrick cars pulled the okie-dokie in front of me and I chose the inside lane, which put me third and that’s what let the 12 (Blaney) get up there,” Logano said. “And then you just kind of get stuck in dirty air. I’m kicking myself on that decision, but outside of that, we just weren’t fast enough. That’s the bottom line. We weren’t good enough to drive back through either way, but I thought I would have had a chance if maybe I could have made that better earlier in the race.”
Those moments highlight the intensity of what Sunday’s race brought. All four of Logano, Blaney, Elliott and Byron needed to win for a chance to advance to the Championship 4, and all four were running first through fourth on the race track. That was no surprise to Logano.
“I mean you kind of expected it,” Logano said. “You get to this part of the year in the Round of 8, you’ve got eight of the best cars and that’s what you see.”
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media
A caution at Lap 398 brought Logano to pit road with fellow playoff contender Christopher Bell, with only four others deciding to pit. Neither were able to carve through the field on their fresher tires, though, stagnating in the back half of the top 10.
“It seemed like right at the end of that run, the top five cars started tanking,” Logano said, “but it seems like the tires would fall off and then they’d kind of maintain for a while, and then they’d run out of rubber and they would fall off huge. They’d tank and by the time we passed a couple of cars — you use up a lot of tire to pass cars, then everyone is the same speed and then they started tanking right at the end, and then the caution came out. You’ve got to do something different. You can’t do the same.”
This year marks the end of an era with no Fords and no Team Penske entries in the Championship 4, with the guarantee that either a Hendrick or Joe Gibbs Racing car will take home the 2025 crown.
“Bummed. I don’t know if there’s another word for it,” Logano said. “I’m just bummed that one of us didn’t make it. Everyone works hard enough to deserve to be there. We just couldn’t get the job done today, or really the last three races. That’s what it comes down to.
“The four there deserve to be there. That’s how I always look at it and this year we didn’t deserve to be there.”
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell entered Sunday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway well aware of the objective: Be quicker than the other guy, and you’ll have a great chance to advance to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4.
Larson did exactly that in Sunday’s Xfinity 500, keeping his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet ahead of Bell at both stage breaks and at the checkered, advancing Larson back to the Championship 4 for the third time in the past five seasons by a slim seven-point margin. Bell, on the other hand, was ousted from title contention in the final race of the semifinal round for the second consecutive year.
The No. 5 team’s advantage began in qualifying on Saturday, when Larson qualified third and Bell 12th. Larson used that track position to his benefit Sunday, finishing third in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2 to earn a combined 17 stage points. Bell wound up eighth in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 for a total of 11 stage points. What was a one-point deficit for Larson at the green flag was suddenly padded by adding those six extra points, all of which paid dividends late as Larson defended late, ultimately finishing fifth with Bell seventh.
Stoic as always, Larson was unfazed by the task at hand and managed his race to perfection en route to another Championship 4 appearance, joining teammate William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.
“It was a little less stressful because I recognized that we were better than Christopher in car performance, and we were just in front of him all night,” Larson said. “I knew when we got a good first stage that it was not gonna be easy, but the math was gonna be much easier. I just had to keep him kind of within my sights at that point.
“Our team just did a great job and we didn’t have any hiccups really. I definitely could have had some better restarts. But like I said, when I had outscored Christopher, I was just playing it a little bit easy and kind of wanted to just tuck in line and go from there. Happy to be in the final four. Really proud of William. That was a hell of a drive. So yeah, we’ve got two Hendrick cars going for a championship, and yeah, hopefully we can do it for Rick (Hendrick, team owner).”
The No. 5 team went through supreme highs and challenging lows this season, beginning by winning three of the first 12 races of the year, then riding a performance slump through the summer earmarked by off-track challenges like personal losses and personnel changes that have left Larson in the midst of a 23-race winless streak, his longest stretch outside Victory Lane since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021.
In each of Larson’s prior four seasons, he said Sunday, he spent the full year believing the No. 5 team was a Championship 4 caliber team. With so much adversity thrown their way this season, that wasn’t the case this year.
“We got so far off in the middle, I was like, we’re gonna have to get really lucky to make the final four,” Larson said. “But we’ve just continued to work really hard. I think most years, we’ve just kind of rode that high, and not necessarily that we’ve tapered off in the playoffs, but I think other teams have been where we were this year and they’ve had to work really hard. And the poor performance that we had throughout the summer just made everybody at the shop work really hard.
“Even when we started the playoffs and were really bad, they just took it a whole other couple levels of trying to figure out why we’ve struggled. It’s just really satisfying to see that. I didn’t think we could flip that switch in the playoffs, but I think it just proves 10 weeks is a long time.”
Left to deal with the heartbreak of missing the Championship 4 was Bell, who climbed from his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota knowing his title hopes were ending at the 0.526-mile short track for the second straight year. Simply put, Bell was unable to match Larson’s pace throughout the weekend, particularly in Sunday’s race. Larson averaged a third-best 5.13 running position according to NASCAR Loop Data, while Bell posted a sixth-best average running position of 8.03.
“We just weren’t good enough,” Bell said. “I mean, (whether it was) seven points, one point, it doesn’t really matter. We knew that the goal was that we were gonna have to outrun the 5, and he outran us. That’s all she wrote.”
The yellow flag waved at Lap 398 with Larson running ninth and Bell 10th. Crew chief Adam Stevens opted to bring Bell to pit road for fresh tires while Larson stayed out, the hope being that fresh Goodyear rubber would allow Bell to charge through the field. Larson restarted on the inside of Row 5 with Bell on the outside of Row 6, but while Larson charged forward, Bell said he “was just trapped back there.”
“We kind of got hung on the outside on that restart and actually fell back to 15th or so, and that hurt us,” Stevens told NASCAR.com. “I don’t think it was going to make a difference. At the end of the day, we had to finish five or six spots ahead of them, and even if we had a fantastic restart, I don’t think that was going to happen.”
Bell, a Championship 4 contestant in 2022 and 2023, said he lacked the long-run pace necessary to contend Sunday at Martinsville, the site of his walk-off win in 2022 that propelled him to his first title-race berth. It was also the site of a heart-wrenching ousting last year, when a 27-minute post-race wait was needed to sort out the results, and a last-lap wall ride left Bell out of the title quartet.
“It feels a lot better than last year, for sure,” Bell said. “I genuinely feel like the four going there are very deserving, and it is what it is. We knew coming in here we were gonna have to outrun the 5, and we didn’t.”
Joining Bell on the championship outskirts are defending series champion Joey Logano, 2023 champ Ryan Blaney and 2020 champion Chase Elliott.
The NASCAR Cup Series championship will be decided at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m. (NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Championship 4 field is cemented after William Byron’s walkoff win on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Both Byron and Ryan Blaney were the class of the field over the 500-lap elimination race. The two playoff drivers needed to win in order to keep their title hopes alive and shared a tightly contested battle for the lead with fewer than 40 laps to go at “The Paperclip,” staying within a second of each other during the final run to the checkered flag.
Kyle Larson clinched the final spot in the title-deciding round by seven points over Christopher Bell. Larson qualified ahead of Bell, and the two searched everywhere on the track to outpoint each other and advance.
Both Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe clinched Championship 4 spots by winning earlier in the semifinal round, and despite having engine issues at Martinsville, they will fight for the Bill France Cup next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Hamlin scored his sixth win of the season earlier this round, which also counted as a milestone 60th career Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Briscoe punched his ticket by winning a week later at Talladega Superspeedway in overtime.
In addition to Bell and Blaney, Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott were also eliminated.
Below is the list of drivers for the Championship 4, ordered by reset points.
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Championship 4 field
1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 3. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
With the Cup Series title field now set, we have a full picture of all 12 drivers racing for championships next weekend at Phoenix. Here are the other two Championship 4 fields.
Race: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
1. Connor Zilisch, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet 2. Justin Allgaier, No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet 3. Jesse Love, No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4. Justin Allgaier, No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Race: Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN Radio, NASCAR Racing Network Radio)
1. Corey Heim, No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota 2. Kaden Honeycutt, No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota 3. Ty Majeski, No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford 4. Tyler Ankrum, No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet
Needing a Round of 8 walk-off victory for the third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series season, Blaney stormed from qualifying 31st to the front of the field before ultimately falling one spot shy of a Championship 4 spot Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Instead, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron scored the victory, keeping the Regular Season Champion’s hopes for his first title alive into the final weekend of the season.
“I’m proud of coming from where we qualified and getting to lead and leading laps and had a shot at the win,” Blaney said after Sunday’s 500-lapper in southern Virginia. “We did a good job and we got control of the race for a bit, but, gosh, [Byron’s] car was really fast. My rear [tires] started to go away pretty big on that long run and working through lap traffic, he was able to get by me. Then he got control of the race from there and his car was really fast. I never really thought I had much for him, especially as I think it got cooler. I feel like his car got even better, so he just had great rear drive and they were able to utilize it.”
Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, first took the lead on Lap 272, leading a total of 177 circuits before getting passed by Byron with 43 laps to go. A Lap 484 caution gave Blaney one last glimmer of hope, opting to go with a four-tire pit stop. However, Byron beat the No. 12 Team Penske driver and got the stronger restart with 11 laps remaining, winning the Xfinity 500 by 0.717 seconds.
The 31-year-old Blaney found himself in a must-win situation after a crash in the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a 23rd-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend. He won three times this season, going to Victory Lane at Nashville Superspeedway in the spring and later winning the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. His September victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway secured his Round of 8 spot.
“Going into this weekend, I just wanted a shot to win the race, and we had that tonight, and it just didn’t really play out,” the High Point, North Carolina native explained. “I know we gave 100 percent of what we had. Nobody left anything on the table with this group, and that’s all you can ask for. That’s all you can do. The 24 was just a little better than us and they got the job done, so props to them, but on our side, I’m just proud of the effort. We put up a good fight, but it just wasn’t quite enough.”
Teammate Joey Logano finished eighth, also failing to make the finale as the organization was shut out of the Championship 4 for the first time since 2021. Penske had won the last three titles, with Logano winning in 2022 and 2024.
“It stinks we don’t have a shot to go for four in a row for Roger [Penske],” Blaney said. “Roger was here tonight and I was really wanting to see him in Victory Lane and celebrate it with him, but we just weren’t able to get it done and the championship streak at Penske ends. That’s the way it goes and we just have to re-rack and try to be better for next year. That’s all you can do.”
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — With a heroic, gloves-off drive on Sunday in the crucible that is Martinsville Speedway, William Byron earned a shot at the NASCAR Cup Series title and simultaneously saved the rest of the Championship 4 field from its worst nightmare.
Byron led three times for 304 laps — a career best for a single race — and beat Ryan Blaney to the finish line by 0.717 seconds after a restart with 11 laps left to win the Xfinity 500 elimination race under most exigent circumstances.
In a scenario under which both Byron and Blaney needed a victory to advance to the Nov. 2 Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), Byron passed Blaney on Lap 456 during a long green-flag run and held the top spot for the final 44 laps.
“Pass” doesn’t do Byron’s move on Lap 456 justice. By then, Blaney’s No.12 Team Penske Ford had begun to fade. Byron charged into Turn 1 to the inside of Blaney’s Mustang and knocked it up the track.
Byron rushed past, and Blaney never found an opportunity to return the favor. Hence, for the first time since the Next Gen race car was introduced into the Cup Series in 2022, Team Penske, the organization that won the last three championships, won’t have a driver in the Championship 4 — and the rest of the field can sleep more soundly.
“Damn, I’ve got a lot to say,” Byron said with a broad smile. “Things have a way of working out. God really tests your resilience a lot of times. We’ve been tested. Just unbelievable.
“I’m out of breath. Thank you, fans, for coming out. Badass crowd. 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, just celebrate this one.
“We obviously go to Phoenix. Just go try to kick ass there.”
NASCAR Creative Design
Blaney, who went to Victory Lane to congratulate the race winner, had no issue with Byron’s winning move.
“Yeah, I look back on that long run before the last yellow where William got by me,” said Blaney, who qualified 31st and methodically worked his way through the field. “I just got loose, trying to work through that. My rear drive was fading quick. I tried to manage a lot in the beginning. Yeah, just was starting to fade.
“I was trying to protect. I mean, that’s just two guys going for it. I don’t blame him for taking that. I had kind of lost momentum. I would have done the same thing, to be honest with you. I knew it was going to be tight. I tried to crowd as much as I could.”
Byron’s victory in a must-win situation knocked seventh-place finisher Christopher Bell out of the championship race. Bell came to Martinsville 37 points above the elimination line and one point ahead of Kyle Larson, but Larson, who finished fifth, outscored Bell on Sunday and claimed the final Championship 4 berth by seven points.
Also eliminated were third-place finisher Chase Elliott and reigning series champion Joey Logano, who ran eighth.
Larson and Byron will represent Hendrick Motorsports against Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe in the season finale. Hamlin and Briscoe already had qualified for the title race with victories in the Round of 8, but both experienced apparent engine failures at Martinsville.
“We had good enough track position all day,” said Larson, who ran a problem-free race. “We were kind of out of the mess, I guess. Yeah, that was good. My HendrickCars.com Chevy was fast. Our pit crew was on it all night.
“What a performance by William. That’s awesome. I think when the 12 (Blaney) gained control of the race, it was going to be really hard for anybody to beat him. William did a great job on the restarts, just kept positioning himself. Was good enough to get by him on that long run.”
Byron dominated Stage 1 from the pole, leading 126 of the 130 laps. He surrendered the top spot only once, under caution on Lap 30 after a tangle in Turn 2 when Michael McDowell got the lead on an ill-fated two-tire call.
Byron charged past McDowell moments after the subsequent Lap 36 restart and led the remaining 95 laps of the stage. After the break, he was first off pit road under caution and still at the point when Stage 2 went green on Lap 141.
The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet led all 130 laps in Stage 2, but a caution on Lap 242 changed the tenor of the race. Blaney was one of seven lead-lap drivers who pitted on Lap 245, and after Byron came to pit road during the stage break, Blaney lined up second beside Tyler Reddick for a restart on Lap 272.
Blaney soon had the lead and control of the race — and maintained it until Byron made the winning pass on Lap 457.
The final restart after Carson Hocevar’s third spin of the afternoon was academic. Byron pulled away and wasn’t challenged over the final 11 laps. Even Blaney was impressed.
“Thought I got a good restart, the last one,” said Blaney, who led 177 laps. “Kind of entered up top, tried to carry speed and he just motored right around me on the bottom. Pretty impressive.
“Just proud of the effort,” added Blaney, who had won the previous two fall playoff races at Martinsville. “A shame we’re not going to Phoenix as part of the Championship 4. We’ll be doing the best we can to finish the year out strong. But I’m just proud of the 12 guys. They gave 100 percent of what they had. That’s all you can ask for.
“Wasn’t quite enough tonight. We’ll just move on.”
Non-playoff drivers Ross Chastain and Ryan Preece ran fourth and sixth, respectively. Todd Gilliland and Josh Berry were ninth and 10th.
Note: Inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed without issue, confirming Byron as the winner and making the Championship 4 field official. No cars will return to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina for further evaluation.
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin both went behind the wall with apparent engine issues during the final stage of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Martinsville Speedway.
Briscoe first reported problems, slowing down the frontstretch at Lap 296 from the 14th position. Fewer than 40 laps later, smoke billowed out of Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota from the second position. Riley Herbst also had an apparent engine issue in the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota.
“Obviously something major, mechanical,” Hamlin told reporters after his race came to a premature end. “I don’t know, just because the engine simply shut all the way off. If it was a blowup, it’d be the first one that was like that, where, no noises, no anything, just the engine actually cuts off. But I don’t know. Way too early to speculate.”
Both drivers are already locked into next Sunday’s Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) via wins earlier in the Round of 8. Hamlin won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, a victory that doubled as his 60th in the Cup Series. Briscoe was the winner last weekend at Talladega, surviving overtime for his third win of the season in the No. 19 Toyota.
“No indication. I was just running around there,” Briscoe explained. “I felt really good about coming here and where we were at and racing with [Kyle] Larson there, and went to upshift and something happened. I’m not really sure; it’s unfortunate. We’ll go on to next week, and that [issue] won’t matter anyway.”
For Hamlin, it’s his third DNF of the season related to engine issues. He expressed concern last weekend at Talladega about mechanical problems and also had an issue with his starter during qualifying Saturday at Martinsville. Hamlin wasn’t sure if Sunday’s issue was connected to Saturday’s, nor if he had the same issue as Briscoe.
“I could be worried, but I can’t do anything about it, so I’m still optimistic,” said Hamlin when asked if he’s uneasy about a potential failure during the championship event at Phoenix. “We’re gonna put our best foot forward, and hopefully, it’s enough next week. That’s all I can do.
“Our performance is good. We’re up front. As long as we can keep it together, we’re fast and capable … I’ve said, come one, come all. I think that I’m gonna have to win next week if I’m gonna win the championship, and we’re gonna come prepared for that.”
If Hamlin were to win the title, it would be the first of his future Hall of Fame career. He enters Phoenix as the winningest Cup Series driver without a championship.
William Byron won Sunday at Martinsville, punching his Championship 4 ticket along with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.
