Cautious William Byron Avoids a Repeat of Denny Hamlin’s Controversial Restart After Being Taken ‘Advantage’ Of,

Last weekend at the Richmond Raceway, controversy erupted thanks to Denny Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was leading the pack alongside teammate Martin Truex Jr during the final restart. When the green flag waved, it appeared that Hamlin restarted a touch too early, and everyone knew it, including Hamlin. Surprisingly, he escaped punishment, even though NASCAR officials knew that he restarted too early. This time around at Martinsville, there was no such mishap, and William Byron was glad for that.

Now that the precedent has been set, Hamlin and the other drivers will have to be on their toes. This is because, if Hamlin got away last time out, the next offender may not be so lucky. The JGR driver knows that he will be under the scanner, especially since he was the one who set the standard. Following the Martinsville race, William Byron addressed the issue of restarts and how he was able to check himself.

William Byron opened up on his thought process during the final restart

He told Bob Pockrass, “I definitely think about it. Didn’t want to jump because I knew that I’d be the first example made. At the same time, just thinking about, how can I not spin my tires, get a good launch. I got an okay launch, got a look back at it. Felt like the guys around me – because knowing the restart zone, Being vulnerable, with what happened last week – they took advantage of that. They had a little bit better launch than me. It stinks that things like that happen, you have to kinda adjust, but that’s just the nature of competition. Felt like I still had a decent launch and still was able to get into 1 and 2 and have a decent restart.”

In essence, he wanted to try and get the best start possible, without going too early. At the same time, he wanted to get a good launch so that he would not be overtaken. The #24 driver also was aware that all of his rivals would have had the same mindset. Last weekend at Richmond, he could only muster 7th fastest for Hendrick Motorsports. Now, he has redeemed himself at Martinsville and it could not have come at a better time.

This win was special for Hendrick Motorsports

In the buildup to the Cup race at Martinsville, HMS was in a cautiously excited mood. This was because the race weekend would coincide with the organization’s 40th anniversary. So for the #24 driver to triumph at Martinsville, a track where Hendrick Motorsports often did well, was the icing on the cake. The triumph also brings HMS’s win tally to an astounding 365 wins and they are steadily approaching the 400 mark.

Now after Martinsville, Byron could definitely be considered a title contender. The Cook Out 400 triumph is just his third win in the 2024 season and his 13th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Building on his strong 2023 season, it would be foolish to rule him out of Championship 4 contention.

READ MORE: Fans Not Fully Sold on HMS’ 40th Anniversary 1-2-3 Finish as They Claim Martinsville “Even More Rigged Than Last Week”