William Byron Finds Unexpected Ally in His Biggest Rival Denny Hamlin as He Takes a Detour for Celebrations

Just when one thinks they are all safe and secure, the world comes crashing down. For Hendrick Motorsports driver, William Byron, it almost did in Martinsville. With six wins in the season so far, Byron sat poised for his Phoenix ticket going to Virginia. All he had to do was put in a decent finish and avoid complete disaster. But his roll of the dice did exactly the opposite. However, coming out of what was perhaps his worst race in the year, the #24 driver breathed a sigh of relief.

His fate was being controlled by the race leaders, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin. However, the latter fell through the cracks in the final stage. Thanks to that, Byron was able to get a Championship 4 seat despite his P13 finish. Surprisingly, in the aftermath of the showdown, it was Hamlin himself who came up to congratulate the youngster, despite his own downfall.

Denny Hamlin showcases integrity despite his own failure at Martinsville

The #11 driver has been with Joe Gibbs Racing for 19 years now. Racing amidst the biggest icons that the sport has to offer for nearly two decades surely has some effect on the maturity of a driver. And it appears, it did on Hamlin too. Though he has been antagonized for most of the season and portrayed as a villain, the 42-year-old put his character on display when he walked up to William Byron to congratulate him for advancing to the Round of 4.

Sharing a video of the moments on his Instagram handle, Byron wrote, “Thanks @dennyhamlin.” For Hamlin, losing the final spot to the young HMS driver must have stung hard. He has been waiting for that coveted championship trophy for 18 years now. Fully confident that 2023 was his year, he once again lost the shot before even getting to Phoenix. He said, as reported by Jordan Bianchi, “We’re doing great. I couldn’t be with a better team. It’s just, I keep cr*pping out. I can’t hit a point on the cr*p board.”

One of the most impressive stats about Denny Hamlin is that his 51 Cup Series wins are the most for any driver in history to never have won a championship. After Martinsville, he will still wear that unfortunate crown. Thankfully for Byron though, his poor performance was offset by the brilliance of Ryan Blaney and Hamlin’s ill luck.

Watch This Story: Blaney’s Triumph Amidst Hamlin’s Tactics

The tough corner that William Byron found himself in, despite a great run all season

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Most of the day for the #24 driver was spent battling his own car. Getting into the track with handling issues, he was left unable to break out of even the midpack while both Blaney and Hamlin were piling up stage points. There came several moments in the race where elimination seemed like a big possibility for the #24 team. In the event of Hamlin winning the day and Blaney finishing high up, that would have been the likely outcome.

Fortunately, the car gods smiled down upon him. With drivers including Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola finding the front after a restart, spots came up between Hamlin and the leader. As Blaney managed to keep himself up, Byron’s chances improved drastically. Somehow managing to keep himself alive in the competition, Byron got inside the top 15, with enough points to push Hamlin out.

However, he was left visibly exhausted after the race. The extremely hot day had taken its physical and mental toll on the youngster. He said to Frontstretch, “With 50, 60 to go, it was so blurry inside the car and I just wanted to pull in but you’re not going to do that. I was going to have a failure or do something first. So, just really proud of the team.”

Thankfully, he was able to overcome the exhaustion with the help of his crew and get through the day a winner. We will soon see him behind the #24 car again, next time, a Championship 4 contender in Phoenix!

Read More: “I’m Just So Proud”- Jeff Gordon Gets Candid as William Byron’s Championship Ticket Rekindles Old Memories