Byron Dominates to Advance

The 24 car has had a lot of history at Martinsville after all. Jeff Gordon won 9 times at the famous racetrack they deem “The Paperclip,” but William Byron was facing pressure like never before. Every kid dreams of hitting a walkoff home run or the game-winning shot, but William Byron dug deep to find his inner Jeff Gordon to advance to Phoenix. Byron and the 24 team had stellar runs going in Las Vegas and Talladega, but problems in the final 35 laps of each race spelled doom for Byron. A scary miscommunication caused Byron to ram into a slowing Ty Dillon trying to get to pit road and ensured a 36th-place finish. Talladega had makings of a rebound, but a late spin on the final lap caused Byron to drop 20 spots to 25th at the finish. Byron has had success at Martinsville but had struggled previously in the fall Martinsville races each of the past two seasons. No struggles appeared throughout the weekend as he won the pole and led over 300 laps with the only challenger… well, a fellow chaser in Ryan Blaney and held him off for his 16th and most clutch victory.

Ryan Blaney; Penske incredible run Ends

The last 3 championships and all in the next-gen era have gone to Team Penske. They have been the class of the field for when the time comes to shine, but this year just felt a little different. Yes, Ryan Blaney was one of the best drivers week in and week out, but he also suffered 7 DNFs on the year, which was a career high, and he got beat at what has been the 12-team strength, which is the long run. Blaney led 177 laps and had to drive from 31st to the lead, so it was a gutsy, laid-it-all-on-the-line performance from the 12-team who were the two-time defending fall race winner. Alas, Blaney lost the handle on his car in traffic that allowed Byron to catch him and rough him up a touch to get the lead and control from there. Blaney wasn’t upset at the move but again was wanting more to punch his chance at another championship and without a doubt solidify himself as the favorite if he would have punched his chance to Phoenix.

Larson Joins Final 4

Kyle Larson was essentially racing for the 20th place points as both came in one point apart. Larson had himself a solid, good day even despite getting caught a lap down early. Bell, meanwhile, struggled to find the top 5 all day and wound up 7th, and the points Larson gained through the stages really helped that point buffer for him at the end. The final four has been set as Byron and Larson join the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) duo of Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin, as it will definitely be a battle of powerhouse vs. powerhouse. Joining Blaney in elimination is his Penske teammate Joey Logano. Logano, a two-time champion in this car, never seemed to have the speed of Blaney and especially Byron, and that was the tale throughout the season. Chase Elliott was eliminated as he also needed to win. Elliott, who finally got a multi-win season again, much like Logano, didn’t have the speed of his teammate Byron, so it was a disappointing ending once again for the 9th team as Elliott hasn’t made a championship four since 2022. Christopher Bell is the lone JGR driver to not make it. Bell started the year better than anyone with winning three races in a row, but he cooled off the wins category minus a million-dollar All-Star race all the way until Bristol in the round of 16. Much like the last two seasons, it is that Bell and the 20th team aren’t beating themselves; it just simply has been others being stellar in a moment to win and lock themselves in. Bell had wins in the round of 8 twice in both 2022 and 2023. However, he hasn’t advanced since that 2023 season, and it feels that he and the 20th team are leaving meat on the bone for others to pounce.

No matter what it seems the best four drivers ended up punching their ticket to Phoenix and is shaping up for one heck of a finale.

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