Byron was the primary lead lap automotive to make a inexperienced flag pit cease – uncharacteristic on the brief observe – in the course of the ultimate stage and when the cycle of stops was accomplished, he emerged because the chief for the primary time within the race.
Byron quickly constructed a giant lead and appeared headed to uneventful victory when a wreck with two of the scheduled 500 laps to go introduced out a warning and despatched the race into additional time.
The highest 9 vehicles stayed on the observe and after a short battle along with his HMS teammate Chase Elliott, Byron cleared for the lead on the restart and held on to beat teammate Kyle Larson to the checkered flag by 0.550 seconds.
“I simply wish to thank Chase [Elliott] for racing me clear there. May get actually bodily on the finish,” Byron mentioned. “He gave me a shot, which is anticipated. All of us end it off.
“Simply so pleased with everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Grew up a giant Hendrick fan. To be right here for the fortieth anniversary, all that goes into simply this group, all of the individuals, it is all concerning the individuals. Simply wish to thank Mr. Hendrick and (spouse) Linda and everybody concerned. It is fairly superior.
“Unhealthy ass to win at Martinsville. We have been struggling on the brief tracks. Simply stored inching up on it. I bought an incredible staff. They only stored my head in it. It stunk to do a restart there on the finish like that, however that is the best way it goes.”
It was 40 years in the past on the spring Martinsville race that Geoffrey Bodine received the primary Cup race for staff proprietor Rick Hendrick, which stored his fledgling group in enterprise and developed into NASCAR’s most profitable groups.
Hendrick, who was scheduled to drive the tempo automotive, was pressured to overlook Sunday’s race on account of latest knee substitute surgical procedure.
The weekend couldn’t have gone higher for HMS as Larson received the pole for the race on Saturday and all 4 of the staff’s drivers completed within the prime eighth. Byron kicked off the fortieth anniversary season for HMS with a victory within the season-opening Daytona 500.
The observe has additionally been the positioning of tragedy for HMS.
A Hendrick aircraft crashed on the best way to the observe in 2004 and killed 10 individuals, together with Hendrick’s son, brother and two nieces.
Elliott ended up third, Bubba Wallace was fourth and Ryan Blaney rounded out the highest 5. The Hendrick 1-2-3 end was the primary for any group at Martinsville.
Finishing the highest 10 had been Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe.
Stage 1
Larson, who began on the pole, led all 80 laps and cruised to the Stage 1 win by 0.645 seconds over Wallace. Elliott was third, Briscoe fourth and Martin Truex Jr. ended up fifth.
Stage 2
After a number of bumps, Denny Hamlin labored his manner round Logano for the lead with 11 of 100 laps to go and held off Wallace to take the Stage 2 win. Larson was third, Elliott fourth and Logano fell again to fifth.
Stage 3
Following the break between Phases 2 and three, all of the lead lap vehicles pit with Hamlin the primary off pit street. Blaney took two tires and gained 12 spots and Daniel Suarez needed to restart from the rear of the sphere on account of a pit street dashing penalty.
When the race resumed, Hamlin led Elliott and Wallace with 207 laps remaining. Elliott bought round Hamlin off Flip 4 on the restart to take the lead for the primary time.
Bell went round in Flip 4 once more on lap 203 and a number of other vehicles – together with Truex – used the chance to pit. Elliott remained within the lead on the restart with 190 laps to go.
With 150 laps remaining, Elliott and Hamlin bought in a side-by-side battle for the lead for a number of laps earlier than Hamlin lastly pulled away on lap 258.
Byron kicked off a spherical of inexperienced flag pit stops on lap 297 and Elliott adopted him down the subsequent lap. Josh Berry was penalized for an uncontrolled tire and needed to serve a pass-through penalty.
As soon as the cycle of stops was accomplished, Byron had gotten round Hamlin and Elliott and emerged with the lead with 73 laps to go.
With 40 laps remaining, Byron maintained a greater than 3-second benefit over his HMS teammates Elliott and Larson as Hamlin fell again to fourth.
Elliott started slowly reducing into Byron’s lead with 25 laps to go and lower the margin right down to 1.8 seconds with 15 laps remaining.
John Hunter Nemechek misplaced a right-front tire and slammed into the Turns 3 and 4 wall with two laps to go which introduced out a warning and despatched the race right into a two-lap additional time. Byron led Elliott and Larson on the restart.
