10 years after Jeff Gordon triumphed at Martinsville to make the championship, Byron drove the same No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to victory with Playoffs hope on the line. Byron wrestled the lead from two-time defending Martinsville winner Ryan Blaney with 44 to go.

“From start to finish, it’s the best I’ve ever felt in the race car,” Byron said after sweeping the stages and leading a career-high 304 laps. “That’s a damn good feeling.”

Byron led 260 of the opening 265 laps before dropping back after a caution before Stage two ended, flipping the field. Blaney controlled the field for the next 105 laps with Byron marching forward.

The defining moment occurred with 44 laps to go when Blaney struggled to throttle up on the exit of turn four. Byron pounced, charging inside Blaney in turn one. They made door-to-door contact in the middle of the corner, and Byron emerged with the race lead on exit.

“That’s just two guys going for it,” Blaney said of Byron’s lap 456 move. “I don’t blame him for taking that. I lost momentum. I would have done the same thing, to be honest with you.”

Incidents at Talladega and Las Vegas put both drivers in a must-win situation. Blaney had one final chance when the caution flew for a Carson Hocevar spin with 19 to go.

“Thought I got a good restart,” Blaney said. “Entered up top, tried to carry speed, and (Byron) just motored right around me on the bottom.”

Blaney finished second after charging from 31st and fell one spot short of becoming the first driver to win Martinsville starting from outside the top-30 since Kurt Busch in 2002.

“Wasn’t quite enough tonight,” Blaney said of being unable to fight for the title.

“I hate that we made contact,” Byron said. “It's hard racing. We both want to make the Championship 4. It’s a race win. It’s no ill will. It’s just kind of hard racing, racing for the win.”

Byron moves on to bid for his first-ever Cup title in Phoenix in a third-straight championship appearance. Byron joins Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson.

“There will be another big challenge next week,” Byron said. “Denny, Chase, Kyle are amazing competitors. We’re going to have to do everything we can do next week to win that one.”

Double trouble in the Joe Gibbs Racing engine department sidelined Hamlin and Briscoe early. Several mechanical gremlins have haunted Hamlin in four of the past five races.

“I can be worried, but I can’t do anything about it,” Hamlin said. “I’m still optimistic that we’re going to go there and put our best foot forward and hopefully it’s enough next week.”

Hamlin’s teammate Christoper Bell was denied a championship appearance for the second time in a row. Bell missed out by seven points after entering with a one-point advantage at the start.

“We just weren’t strong enough at Martinsville,” Bell said, finishing seventh. “Whoever the champion is, it’s going to be well-deserved. The 20 team wasn’t good enough.”

Kyle Larson started third and crossed the finish line fifth. With the aid of 16 stage points, Larson outscored Bell to claim the final spot in the championship race alongside fellow Hendrick driver.

“This win is as good as it could have been for us,” Larson said. “I’m proud of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. I feel we’ve been progressing so much throughout the Playoffs. To put two cars in the Championship 4 is awesome.”

Joey Logano and Chase Elliott also needed a win to compete for the title, but neither was able to defeat Byron. Both had top-five pace with Elliott in third, but Logano faded back to eighth late. 

With Blaney and Logano out, Team Penske loses the chance to win a fourth-straight NextGen title. The organization also missed the championship race for the first time since 2021.

Phoenix Raceway will play host to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 3 p.m. EST. Catch the final 312 laps of the season live on NBC and the Motor Racing Network.