- Byron wins after leading 362 of 500 laps
- Larson ninth and 67 points clear with one race left
- Bell and Hamlin remain in title contention
- Honeycutt leads Riggs in Truck title fight
William Byron dominated at Martinsville to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season as Kyle Larson moved to within nine points of a third championship.
Byron led 362 of 500 laps and beat Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Chase Elliott by 2.049secs, while Larson recovered from a difficult afternoon to finish ninth. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin are now the only drivers who can stop him winning the title at Homestead on Sunday.
Byron ends long wait in style
Byron had gone almost a year without a victory but controlled much of Sunday’s Xfinity 500, sweeping both stages and at one point putting all but seven cars a lap down.
The victory was his fourth at Martinsville and 17th in the Cup Series, while Elliott completed a Hendrick one-two. Ty Gibbs was third, Josh Berry fourth and Shane van Gisbergen climbed from 29th on the grid to finish fifth.
Larson’s afternoon was considerably harder. A decision not to pit midway through the opening stage left him on old tyres and he dropped a lap behind, finishing the stage 23rd before recovering to ninth.
Hamlin and Bell miss their chance
Martinsville offered Hamlin and Bell an opportunity to cut into Larson’s advantage, particularly when the championship leader struggled early, but both encountered problems of their own.
Hamlin was hurt by the same first-stage strategy as Larson, while Bell received a pit-road speeding penalty. Their races then became tangled when contact from Joey Logano sent Bell into Hamlin, spinning both Joe Gibbs Racing cars.
Hamlin recovered to sixth and Bell finished 10th, leaving Larson 67 points clear of Bell and 70 ahead of Hamlin. They are the only drivers still mathematically capable of denying him the championship.
Larson needs only nine points at Homestead to guarantee the title regardless of their results. Without any stage points, 28th place in the race would still be enough.
Truck title down to two
The Craftsman Truck Series championship also narrowed at Martinsville, with Chandler Smith winning Friday night’s race as the title fight came down to Kaden Honeycutt and Layne Riggs.
Honeycutt will take a 20-point advantage into the Homestead finale, while the weekend also produced NASCAR history as 16-year-old Tristan McKee became the youngest pole winner in Truck Series history.
The focus now moves to Homestead-Miami, where Larson can become only the 11th driver in NASCAR history to win at least three Cup Series championships.
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