Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

William Byron did not want to be made an ‘example’ by pushing restart rules at Martinsville

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated 4/8/24

The Cook Out 400 at Martinsville went into an overtime restart. William Byron made sure that he wasn’t going to go early. No one this week, especially Byron, wanted to be made an example of by NASCAR.

William Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle have made quite the statement with their Martinsville win. They have now won at Daytona, COTA, and Martinsville. All they need to do now is get another win on a 1.5-mile track to complete the sweep of NASCAR racing styles.

During his postrace press conference, Byron talked about that final restart and his mindset going into it. It crossed his mind for a moment, but the 24 knew he didn’t want to go early.

“Yeah, I mean, I definitely think about it,” Byron said. “Yeah, I didn’t want to jump because I knew I would be the first example made. At the same time just thinking about how can I not spin my tires, how can I get a good launch. I got an okay launch, I got to look back at it. I felt like the guys around me, because knowing the restart zone, knowing the position I’m in, being vulnerable with what happened last week, they took advantage of that. They had a little bit of better launch than me.

“Yeah, it stinks that things like that happen and you have to adjust. That’s the nature of competition. I felt like I still had a decent launch, was able to get into one and two and have a decent restart.”

Here is video of the answer from Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.

William Byron said he wasn't going to be the one to be made an example of by going early for the overtime restart — and he felt the other drivers on the final restart used that to try to gain an advantage. pic.twitter.com/6ZAZlHT5pk
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 8, 2024

It is very interesting that William Byron felt he was at a disadvantage on that restart. The idea is to give the leader the advantage. They fire off first, they start the restart once they are in the zone. However, everyone knew Byron couldn’t go early. NASCAR would be watching closely.

So, that allowed Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson to launch a bit better. It all worked out in the end for Byron who had a fast car, the only car able to move up through the field.

Byron led a 1-2-3 Hendrick finish at Martinsville. It is the fourth time Hendrick Motorsports has done that in their history in the Cup Series. It is the only time that it has happened for any team at Martinsville.

Followed by Larson and Elliott, William Byron put away his third win of the season. He is now the clear championship favorite as the season starts to work into the next set of races. Looking at the schedule moving forward, there isn’t a track on it that feels like Byron can’t win at. Will the Hendrick and Byron dominance end any time soon?

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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