“Worst Race of My Career”- William Byron Dissects Martinsville Slugfest, Proudly Congratulates Brother-in-Law Ryan Blaney

With a comfortable 30-point lead entering the Xfinity 500, one might have thought the Championship 4 was in the bag for William Byron. And while his brother-in-law clinched a spot beside him in the Championship 4 with a win at Martinsville, Byron faced a battle of his own. Far from the anticipated “cakewalk”, he grappled with his car, pushing it to its limits to reach the finish line.

The race at Martinsville Speedway saw Byron push through intense heat and a temperamental car, only to ultimately secure 13th place. Still, his tenacity not to faint paid off. He edged out Denny Hamlin, securing the final Championship 4 spot by a mere eight points and advancing to the championship round of the NASCAR Cup Series.

On a sweltering Sunday, William Byron was on the verge of fainting in his Chevy

Late Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, the heat inside William Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was so intense that it impaired his vision. Desperate to get out, he nonetheless soldiered on, aware that the NASCAR Cup Series championship was within reach. Despite finishing 13th—a performance he termed his season’s most challenging—his determination saw him advance to the championship race by a slender eight-point margin.

With temperatures soaring to near-record highs in the 80s, the race, which lasted 3 hours and 29 minutes, became a grueling challenge for Byron. The malfunctioning helmet fan only exacerbated the situation, a recurring issue for him at Martinsville. The moment he stepped out of his car, he was in such distress that he had to immediately remove his helmet and sit down.

During his post-race interview, he shared, “I think my helmet fan wouldn’t work. Obviously, my face is bright red. My cool shirt was all that stuff is great, right? But when your head’s just blowing like a hair dryer, it’s really really tough and we train for that. And you just try to find a little bit more. You’re not going to pull in, I guarantee that with plus seven or plus eight, whatever. I was going to faint before I was going to finish or get out of the race. Just really proud of the team and they deserve this.”

Starting the race from the 16th position, Byron’s car misbehaved from the get-go. He found himself frequently caught in traffic, lamenting that he couldn’t match the pace of his competitors. For most of the afternoon, he was racing outside the top 15. And where he concluded was nearly the best he managed under standard racing conditions.

Yet, amidst all his challenges, Byron was elated for his brother-in-law, Ryan Blaney, who clinched a spot in the championship 4 with a triumphant last-minute win. He said, “Congrats to Ryan. Really happy for him—brother-in-law. He was really fast.”

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Moreover, Byron delved into the mechanical challenges that intensified his struggles during the race, all the while absolving his crew for not providing the car he had hoped for.

William Byron defends his team despite the car’s poor performance at the Martinsville race

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The No. 24 car was noticeably off its game on Sunday. It lacked the zippy pace Byron had consistently displayed throughout the season, leading him to clinch an impressive six victories in the NASCAR Cup Series. Right from the weekend’s onset, after landing the 16th spot in qualifying, Byron was visibly disheartened. “It’s nothing against the work we put in, but I just didn’t have the feeling in the car that I wanted,” he remarked.

As Hamlin dominated the top two positions and Byron lagged behind in the 24th spot, it seemed like Byron’s championship dreams were slipping away. Expressing his frustration, as per frontstretch.com, Byron confessed, “I’ve never been so mad in a racecar. I’ve never wanted to get out so much. I’ve never been so frustrated at the car—how loose I was, how tight I was in spots. I just had no grip.”

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But by some stroke of luck, or maybe because of the slug fest that helped him get a bit ahead, Byron made it to the showdown.