MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 26, 2025) —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, Byron passed Blaney on Lap 457 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 457 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 Gen 7 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 easily.
“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.
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.”
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 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 engine failures at Martinsville.
Blaney soon had the lead and control of the race—and maintained it until Byron made the winning pass on Lap 457. “Wasn’t quite enough tonight. We’ll just move on,” Blaney said.
Non-Playoff drivers Ross Chastain and Ryan Preece ran fourth and sixth, respectively. Todd Gilliland Josh Berry were ninth and 10th.