William Byron Dominates Martinsville to Claim His First Win of the 2026 Season

William Byron picked one of the biggest weekends of the NASCAR season to finally get back to Victory Lane.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver dominated Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway , earning his first NASCAR Cup Series win of the 2026 season in the 35th race of the year.

Byron led a race-high 362 of 500 laps , won both stages, and controlled much of the afternoon at the paperclip. He put the No. 24 Chevrolet out front and consistently kept the competition behind him.

His biggest challenge came from teammate Chase Elliott, who made a late push in the closing laps. Elliott managed to close the gap, but Byron held him off and crossed the finish line 2.049 seconds ahead .

It was a massive day for Hendrick Motorsports, with Elliott finishing second to give the organization a 1-2 finish. Ty Gibbs finished third, followed by Josh Berry and Shane van Gisbergen.

For Byron, this marked his 17th career Cup Series victory, fourth win at Martinsville, and seventh consecutive season with at least one victory . After going winless through the first 34 races, he finally got the breakthrough he had been looking for.

But Byron's victory also had major championship implications.

Kyle Larson entered Martinsville with an opportunity to clinch the 2026 championship one race early. However, his ninth-place finish kept the title fight alive heading into next weekend's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Denny Hamlin finished sixth, while Christopher Bell finished 10th. Larson still holds a significant advantage, but the championship is not officially decided yet.

Byron may not be competing for the championship himself, but he just delivered a reminder of how dangerous this Hendrick Motorsports organization can be.

Winning at Martinsville is never easy, but leading 362 laps and controlling the race from start to finish is an entirely different statement.

With just one race remaining in the 2026 season, Byron has finally found Victory Lane again, and Hendrick Motorsports is heading into the finale with plenty of momentum.