William Byron’s short-run pace at Martinsville Speedway lives in the ugliest few seconds of every restart. Brake rotors glow behind the wheels. Rear tires scratch for traction against worn concrete. Thirty-six heavy stock cars funnel toward Turn 1, separated by inches, while drivers stab the brake pedal and fight to keep the rear tires underneath them. Finding that early burst of speed could separate another top five finish from another grandfather clock.
Byron already knows how the second half of a Martinsville run should feel. Last fall, the No. 24 Chevrolet became the standard. He won the pole, swept both stages and led 304 of 500 laps before holding off Ryan Blaney for one of the most complete victories of his Cup career.
However, the spring race exposed a smaller weakness with a much larger consequence. Byron started second and finished fifth. Denny Hamlin led 292 laps, while Byron controlled only six. The No. 24 still possessed enough speed to contend, but too often Byron spent the early portion of a run trying to create opportunities rather than controlling them.
The gap does not require a rebuild. It requires a sharper first 15 laps.
The missing time starts before the apex
Martinsville has never rewarded drivers for simply charging harder. The half-mile paperclip forces them to brake, downshift, rotate and accelerate twice every lap, repeating the sequence until tiny mistakes become expensive.
At the time, Byron offered the clearest clue about where his car needed help. After finishing fifth in March, he said he was missing something in one part of the corner and specifically wanted to improve his entry.
That diagnosis matters because corner entry controls everything that follows.
When Byron reaches Turn 1 or Turn 3, he needs the rear platform settled while he sheds speed and works through the downshift. Any nervous movement under braking forces him to wait before releasing the pedal. Consequently, he reaches the center with less freedom to rotate and delays the moment when he can point the nose toward the next straightaway.
Nothing Byron said suggested severe wheel hop or a car violently snapping loose. Instead, his comments pointed toward something subtler: the No. 24 lacked the precise confidence he wanted while transitioning from heavy braking into rotation.
In that moment, a fraction of hesitation can ruin the exit.
If Byron cannot roll the center cleanly, he waits longer for throttle. The car beside him gets to the gas first. Suddenly, a bumper that sat two feet ahead entering the corner owns half a car length down the straightaway.
During a restart, those inches become positions.
More horsepower makes rear grip even more valuable
The 2026 rules changed the equation before Byron returned to Martinsville.
NASCAR raised the target output from 670 to 750 horsepower at short tracks and selected other venues. More power gives drivers another weapon off the corner. However, it also demands greater discipline from the right foot.
RFK Racing crew chief Derrick Finley captured the challenge before the spring race. Speaking about Ryan Preece’s Martinsville setup, Finley said, “He needs to be able to be fast on the start and have good long-run drive in particular — forward drive.”
That balance applies directly to Byron.
The garage already understood the risk created by additional horsepower. Martinsville drivers were feathering the throttle on corner exit before the increase. Now, reaching the limit of the rear tire while carrying more power makes a poor exit even more costly.
Because of this change, Byron cannot manufacture short-run pace by simply smashing the throttle sooner. He would only ask the rear tires to absorb more load while the steering wheel remains turned.
Instead, the No. 24 needs to finish more of the corner before Byron demands everything from the engine. Cleaner rotation through the center would allow him to unwind the wheel sooner. Then he can feed power into the rear tires without wasting grip in wheelspin.
The distinction sounds tiny. Inside the cockpit, it changes the entire rhythm.
More horsepower rewards the driver who gets the car pointed early. Yet still, it punishes anyone forced to fight steering angle and throttle at the same time.
For Byron, that makes his corner-entry complaint even more important. Fix the beginning of the corner, and the exit becomes easier to manage.
Denny Hamlin showed what happens when a rival gets there first
The spring race provided the clearest warning.
Hamlin started from the pole. Byron lined up beside him after qualifying second, giving Hendrick Motorsports exactly the track position it wanted.
Then Hamlin took control.
He led the opening 38 laps before Byron briefly slipped past while they worked through traffic. Six laps later, Hamlin reclaimed the lead. Byron never established control again.
However, the sequence revealed more than the final lap-leader totals.
Byron could run with Hamlin. He could even get around him once lapped traffic disrupted the leader’s preferred rhythm. What the No. 24 lacked was enough short-run balance to seize the race while the field remained tightly packed.
Hamlin eventually led 292 of 400 laps, turning clean air into an advantage that fed itself.
Martinsville often works that way. Early in a run, two lanes remain viable and drivers can force mistakes. Before long, the field stretches out, the bottom lane becomes precious and passing requires much more patience.
Finley made the same point before the race, noting that an early-run car capable of stealing a few spots can make the rest of the stint considerably easier.
Byron experienced the other side of that equation.
A pit-road mistake later buried him in traffic, forcing him to battle from ninth to fifth on the final run. Despite the pressure, the No. 24 still moved forward.
The recovery proved the race pace existed.
Finding more short-run speed is not about pulling a miracle from the setup sheet. It means widening the operating window of an already fast race car.
Rudy Fugle already owns the long-run blueprint
No one inside the No. 24 hauler needs a reminder of what happened last fall.
Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle arrived at Martinsville needing a massive afternoon and produced one. The Chevrolet fired off fast, stayed balanced deep into runs and gave Byron enough rear grip to attack after the tires had accumulated dozens of laps.
Before long, Ryan Blaney emerged as the primary threat. Byron hunted him down during a long green-flag stretch and reclaimed the lead with 44 laps remaining.
Finally, a restart with 11 laps left gave Byron one last test. He launched cleanly, protected the bottom and never offered Blaney the opening he needed. Byron won by 0.717 seconds after leading a career-high 304 laps.
That performance matters because Fugle does not need to sacrifice Byron’s long-run strength in search of a completely different car.
The goal involves preserving it while giving Byron more confidence when the tires still feel fresh.
However, balancing those demands creates the engineering challenge. Add rear security and the car may respond differently under braking. Chase too much rotation and Byron can punish the rear tires. Build excessive stability into corner entry and the Chevrolet may refuse to turn through the center.
At Martinsville, one adjustment rarely fixes a single problem.
Fugle needs a wider window, not a magic setup trick.
Hendrick’s telemetry may already hold the answer
The next clue sits on Hendrick Motorsports’ data screens.
Chase Elliott won the March race, giving Byron and Fugle a fresh reference from the same organization, the same track and the same 750-horsepower package. The useful part is not simply that Elliott reached Victory Lane. It is how the No. 9 moved through the corner when the tires were fresh.
That gives the No. 24 team a direct telemetry comparison.
Hendrick engineers can overlay brake pressure, steering angle, throttle pickup and shift timing from both cars. Where does Elliott start releasing the brake on his quickest early laps? How much wheel does Byron still carry when he returns to throttle? Which driver gets the car pointed down the straightaway first?
Those traces can expose the tenth Byron cannot feel from the cockpit alone.
If Elliott releases the brake sooner, the difference could point toward better center rotation. If Byron carries more steering angle at throttle pickup, the No. 24 may still be asking too much from the rear tires. A later transition back to power could explain why another car gains half a length before the field settles.
At the time, Byron acknowledged how closely Hendrick’s teams compare notes at Martinsville. That shared data now becomes more valuable because Elliott’s spring win offers a recent benchmark under the current rules package.
However, Byron should not copy the No. 9 corner for corner. Driver feel still matters. Brake modulation, steering rate and throttle timing create individual rhythms.
The goal is narrower: identify exactly where Elliott creates early-run speed, then give Byron a car that lets him attack that same portion of the corner his own way.
Restarts can change the race in ten seconds
Martinsville restarts feel less like acceleration zones and more like fights for territory.
The pace car disappears. Engines bark. Two lanes of cars charge toward a braking zone that comfortably fits one.
Suddenly, every weakness becomes visible.
If the No. 24 rotates better on fresh tires, Byron can attack before the field strings out. A stronger entry lets him defend the bottom without overshooting the center. Better rotation then allows him to straighten the wheel and use the extra horsepower sooner.
One clean corner creates half a car length. The next can create a position.
However, the reverse happens just as quickly.
If Byron lacks confidence under braking, he surrenders a fraction on entry. Another driver reaches his door. Byron gets pinched through the center, carries more steering angle on exit and cannot use the throttle as aggressively.
One compromised corner becomes two.
That explains why the spring pit-road mistake hurt so much. Once Byron lost track position, he spent the final run recovering spots instead of attacking for the victory.
Despite the pressure, he reached fifth.
The ceiling was obvious. So was the missing piece.
Martinsville could become Byron’s breakthrough race again
Byron does not need another lesson in tire conservation. Last fall proved he can protect the rear tires, hunt down an elite short-track rival and finish the job under pressure.
March exposed the remaining weakness.
The No. 24 needs to give him more confidence under braking, better rotation through the center and a straighter steering wheel when 750 horsepower arrives under his right foot.
Then the payoff becomes immediate.
One cleaner entry wins the bottom lane. One stronger exit clears a rival. Before long, clean air changes the entire race.
Byron already knows how to finish the run.
If Fugle gives him the first ten laps, everyone else may spend the afternoon chasing the No. 24.
READ MORE: Ryan Blaney’s Path to Bristol Redemption Runs Through the First Five Laps
FAQs
Q1. Why does William Byron need better short-run pace at Martinsville?
Better short-run speed would help Byron gain track position immediately after restarts, before the field spreads out and passing becomes harder.
Q2. What did William Byron say he needed to improve at Martinsville?
Byron said he wanted to improve his corner entry after finishing fifth in the 2026 spring race.
Q3. How much horsepower does NASCAR use at Martinsville in 2026?
NASCAR’s 2026 short-track package targets 750 horsepower at Martinsville, increasing the importance of throttle control and rear grip.
Q4. How dominant was William Byron at Martinsville in 2025?
Byron started from pole, swept both stages and led 304 of 500 laps before beating Ryan Blaney by 0.717 seconds.
Q5. How can Chase Elliott help William Byron at Martinsville?
Elliott’s spring victory gives Hendrick Motorsports fresh data that Byron’s team can compare while searching for better early-run balance.
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