NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron battled his No. 24 Chevrolet throughout Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Fighting to combat the machine’s handling issues and running in the 20s, Byron’s playoff points advantage started melting away. His frustrations grew, especially after Denny Hamlin captured the Stage 1 points and Ryan Blaney assumed control of the lead pack and eventually earned the checkered flag, leaving only one open playoff spot.
But Byron, who said he overcame “hell in a bottle,” rallied for a P13, finishing eight points in front of Hamlin and qualifying as the No. 4 seed for next Sunday’s championship event at Phoenix Raceway.
“Honestly, probably with 50 (laps) to go I felt really, really bad,” Byron told NBC Sports. “Obviously we were not very good. Our worst race of the year. I just had to drive the hell out of it.”
Joining Hendrick Motorsports teammate and 2021 circuit titleholder Kyle Larson in the Championship 4, Byron will be gunning for his first circuit pennant. He thanked his crew for helping him calm his nerves.
“These (pit crew) guys deserve it so much,” Byron said. “They work so hard. The guys stuck with me, they kept motivating me through little bits and pieces, just kind of keeping my mind straight.”
“I knew I just had to dig a little bit deeper.”@WilliamByron is headed to the #Championship4 despite a tough day for the No. 24 driver behind the wheel.
He heads to @phoenixraceway as the most recent winner there in the spring.#NASCAR #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Z5d566EBV3
— NASCAR on TSN (@NASCARonTSN) October 29, 2023
NASCAR Weekend Schedule
Here is a list of NASCAR’s events this weekend at Phoenix Raceway (All Times ET):
Thursday
- 8 p.m.: Truck Series practice
- 9 p.m.: ARCA Series practice
- 10:10 p.m.: ARCA Series qualifying
Friday
- 2:30 p.m.: ARCA Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 race
- 6:05 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying
- 7:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice
- 8:05 p.m.: Cut Series practice
- 10 p.m.: Truck Series Craftsman 150 race
Saturday
- 3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying
- 4:35 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying
- 7 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race
Sunday
- 3 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Championship race
Welcome to the #Championship4 @Blaney! We’ll see you in Phoenix! #NASCARPlayoffs | @Team_Penske pic.twitter.com/983xGSP3Mn
— Phoenix Raceway (@phoenixraceway) October 29, 2023
NASCAR Cup Series Championship Entry List
Entry, Driver, Team, Car No.
- 1, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2, Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
- 3, Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 4, Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 Ford
- 5, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, No. 6 Ford
- 7, Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 10 Ford
- 11, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
- 12, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, No. 12 Ford
- 13, Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Ford
- 14, JJ Yeley, Rick Ware Racing, No. 15 Ford
- 15, AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 16, Chris Buescher, RFK Racing, No. 17 Ford
- 17, Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota
- 18, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota
- 19, Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, No. 21 Ford
- 20, Joey Logano, Team Penske, No. 22 Ford
- 21, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, No. 23 Toyota
- 22, William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 23, Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing, No. 31 Chevrolet
- 24, Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports, 34 Ford
- 25, Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports, No. 38 Ford
- 26, Ryan Preece, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 41 Ford
- 27, Carson Hocevar, Legacy Motor Club, No. 42 Chevrolet
- 28, Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club, No. 43 Chevrolet
- 29, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, No.45 Toyota
- 30, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., JTG Daugherty Racing, No. 47 Chevrolet
- 31, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 32, Ryan Newman, Rick Ware Racing, No. 51 Ford
- 33, Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 54 Toyota
- 34, Ty Dillon, Spire Motorsports, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 35, BJ McLeod, Live Fast Motorsports, No. 78 Chevrolet
- 36, Daniel Suárez, Trackhouse Racing, No. 99 Chevrolet
HAVE YOU EVER?!
The pace car needed a tow truck. 😆 #NASCAR | NBC pic.twitter.com/LL9BRAoQ4q
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 29, 2023
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