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“Felt Like Nothing Was Going Our Way”- William Byron Comes Clean on True Emotional Toll of Grueling Winless Stretch

For most of the season, William Byron had a familiar problem: the No. 24 Chevrolet could run near the front, but the race rarely ended with him in Victory Lane. A strong qualifying effort or a promising stretch of green-flag…

By Debrup Chaudhuri · Essentially Sports

Published: Monday, 2 November 2026 at 3:50 PM

Key Things to Know

William Byron opened up about the emotional toll of a 35-race winless drought after winning at Martinsville.
Byron led 362 laps and swept both stages to beat teammate Chase Elliott by 2.049 seconds.
The victory was Byron's fourth career win at Martinsville and his 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The Story in 60 Seconds

William Byron admitted to the emotional strain of a 35-race winless drought before snapping the streak by winning the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. Byron swept both stages, led a career-high 362 of 500 laps, and beat Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott to the finish line by 2.049 seconds.

Byron explained that he spent months wondering what might go wrong next following setbacks, mechanical failures, and near-misses across the season. The victory marked Byron's fourth career win at Martinsville and his 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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