MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Hendrick Motorsports drivers have often accomplished incredible feats at Martinsville Speedway.
On a day when Hendrick celebrated its 40th anniversary with 1,500 Hendrick employees and family members from the race team and his auto dealerships in attendance, William Byron didn’t just win the 29th victory for the organization at the track, but he led a 1-2-3 HMS finish Sunday afternoon.
“Starting 18th, can’t pass at this racetrack — it just worked out,” the 26-year-old Byron said. “It’s just a lot of hard work, attention to detail. When you walk in the doors at Hendrick Motorsports, it is just fascinating to me how clean everything is, how nice everything is, then how the culture is with the people inside there, being able to go up to anyone and ask a question.
“There’s a real racer’s mindset to go fast and compete, but at the same time they took me in with open arms when I was 20 years old, made me feel at home.”
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Byron outlasted teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott in overtime for his third Cup win of the season. The victory turned into a massive Hendrick celebration, although team owner Rick Hendrick was not there because of recent knee replacement surgery.
“There’s just so many things wrapped up in the emotions of what today meant from just the time spent with Rick and Linda [Hendrick] planning for 40th anniversary, talking about all of our drivers who have won, what Martinsville means to this company, planning this day, having all of our folks here,” said team vice chairman Jeff Gordon, who won four Cup titles driving for Hendrick.
“Then the day comes, the weekend comes, and you just go, ‘How in the world did it all happen like this?’ I know our folks are super talented and they work really, really hard.'”
Takeaways on a race where Byron, Larson and Elliott were followed across the finish line by Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney.
FINAL LAPS: William Byron wins Cook Out 400 in Martinsville | NASCAR on FOX
Byron Could Maneuver Well
Byron could do what no one else could do – pass cars consistently and navigate traffic without losing much time in a race where it seemed notoriously difficult to pass.
“He did an incredible job working traffic and keeping the tires on it,” Gordon said. “He’s just driving with confidence right now, using his abilities. It’s fun to watch.”
Byron’s crew chief Rudy Fugle said starting midpack possibly provided a slight advantage.
“When you start further back, you actually get some advantage because you’re not afraid to work on your car,” Fugle said. “You know what it takes to pass people a little bit more than if you start first and third. Sometimes you’re scared to mess with your stuff too much.
“It was an advantage for us to go through the field that way in different little spurts.”
Elliott gave credit to Byron.
“He was super good,” Elliott said. “Credit to him. … He just flat out drove by us. I saw him coming and he was way better than anybody else I’ve been around all day. He did a great job with whatever they had working. I don’t know why.
“Maybe it was just him. Maybe he just did a better job today than the rest of us.”
No Restart Controversy
There was no controversy in the overtime restart this weekend, seven days after Denny Hamlin jumped the restart but NASCAR didn’t make the call at Richmond.
Byron launched within the restart zone as defined by the rulebook.
“I didn’t want to jump because I knew I would be the first example made,” Byron said. “At the same time just thinking about how can I not spin my tires, how can I get a good launch. I got an OK launch.”
He had Elliott beside him, Larson behind him and Alex Bowman on the outside of Row 2.
Byron and Elliott were momentarily side-by-side before Byron cleared Elliott, and then Larson was able to muscle his way past Elliott too.
“I felt pretty good that one of us was going to win the race unless we crashed each other,” Elliott said. “I wasn’t going to crash him. … I gave him a shot there, tried to win the race. Didn’t work out.”
Hamlin had pitted from fourth prior to overtime for tires. He restarted 10th — only four lead-lap cars pitted — and finished 11th.
“We needed seven, eight cars to do it,” Hamlin said. “Even still, the tires didn’t wear enough to matter. … Tires didn’t wear and we just struggled to pass all day.”
NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out 400 Highlights | NASCAR on FOX
Larson Settles For Second
Larson started on the pole and won the opening stage, but after losing the lead when Joey Logano took two tires on the stage break, he never led again.
“My car felt really good,” Larson said. “I think we were all kind of the same speed, honestly. I just lost a little bit of track position there in the second stage [and] was never able to overcome it.”
Larson will have a busy week — he will participate in the open test for the Indianapolis 500 on Wednesday and Thursday (weather permitting).
“We’ll get on track this week and get to learn,” Larson said.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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