Byron dominates Martinsville, leads career-high 362 laps

William Byron won at Martinsville Speedway by leading a career-high 362 of 500 laps and sweeping both stages. Starting eighth, he gained track position on a Stage 1 green-flag stop, passed Ryan Preece for that stage win with six laps left, then after a lap-343 stop beat teammate Chase Elliott by 2.049 seconds. It was his 17th Cup win, fourth at the track, and first of 2026, ending a 35-race drought 371 days after he last won there. "We're always pretty good here, so it's just, man, it's been a freaking long road this year," Byron said. "This team's worked really hard... today feels damn good." Denny Hamlin's bad shift on Lap 3 handed the early lead to Ty Gibbs, who finished third. Joey Logano contact with Christopher Bell on Lap 215 sent Bell into Hamlin and spun both; Hamlin finished sixth after leading 40 laps, Bell 10th after a pit-road speeding penalty. Kyle Larson finished ninth a lap down and said the day could have been a lot worse but the title is not locked up, so he will feel pressure all week. Crew chief Cliff Daniels said the team will stay with the prep already in place for Homestead-Miami, where Larson leads Bell by 67 and Hamlin by 70.