Byron finds Martinsville's must-win situation 'better to be in'

William Byron most likely needs to win Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway if he wants to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series championship for the third consecutive year.

Some drivers might consider it the worst-case scenario, or at least not ideal. Byron, however, isn’t going to complain.

“I think it’s way better to be in the position that we’re in,” Byron said Saturday afternoon. “It would have been just like last year – a couple points out or whatever – and you’re counting points the whole race, and that’s not very fun. I don’t think it brings out the best effort in you or your team, so I’d rather have it cut and dry and be in a must-win here and go try to do it.”

The driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet made those comments after being asked if he laments how his points deficit could be smaller had he finished where he was running on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway. Byron was spun by Carson Hocevar in the tri-oval coming to the checkered flag and lost about 20 points.

In the last two weeks, Byron and his team lost around 50 or more points due to late-race issues that led to a finish worse than where they were performing. He was running second in Las Vegas when he ran into the back of a pitting Ty Dillon. Potentially, Byron was going to finish inside the top five or the top 10 at Talladega Superspeedway, where he was running, before being spun.

“I don’t know if it suits us better,” Byron said of the must-win approach. “All of these eight guys could win, so it’s the nature of this round. You have to win if you expect to make it. It’s not just an us thing; I feel like it’s just the nature of this round.”

A 36-point difference stands between Byron, who is the first driver on the outside looking in, and his teammate, Kyle Larson. Larson holds down the final transfer spot into the Championship 4.

Larson and Byron entered the postseason as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds with Byron the regular-season champion.

“It’s been tough, but just thinking about it, it always comes down to these last two races anyway,” Byron said. “If we’re not good enough this weekend, it won’t matter for next weekend. We’re going to go out there and try to win tomorrow’s race, and that will set up really well for Phoenix.

“Yeah, you’d love to win Vegas or Talladega because it gives you more time to prepare and takes the stress off, but that’s not the way it’s been.”

Byron is a two-time winner of the spring race at Martinsville Speedway (2022 and 2024). He finished sixth in the elimination race at Martinsville last year and finished 22nd earlier this year.

“I feel good. I feel prepared,” Byron said. “I think I’ve done everything I can do to get to this point, and now it’s about going out there and performing. … That is where my mind is at.”