Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin left Stage 1 at Martinsville Speedway without a single point on Sunday, as William Byron won the stage.
Larson, the Chase points leader, went a lap down after Byron passed him, while Hamlin, who started from the pole, ran 17th, according to reporter John Newby.
Both drivers committed to a no-stop plan, according to an account by Chris Hansen, staying out on older tires while much of the field pitted. Chase Briscoe followed the same script and missed the stage points too.
Ty Gibbs finished second, Ryan Preece third and Christopher Bell fourth, while Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10, according to Alex Stricklin.
Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin Strategy Backfires at Martinsville
Fresher tires let Byron close fast, and he took the lead with roughly five to eight laps remaining, according to Jeff Gluck, before eventually putting Larson a lap down.
“Painful, I know. We stuck to the plan. Sorry that it sucks,” crew chief Cliff Daniels told Larson over the radio, according to Jeff Gluck. Larson’s team had counted on a caution to reshuffle the field. It never came.
Christopher Bell went the other direction, pitting earlier, according to Bob Pockrass, and the move delivered a fourth-place stage finish. Ryan Preece stayed out and still finished third, but Larson and Hamlin could not stretch their older tires the same way.
Hamlin’s pole gave his slim title hopes a boost, according to Motorsport.com heading into the weekend, but Stage 1 did not build on that start. Instead, the pole sitter spent the closing laps of the segment watching faster cars go by.
Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin Chase Standings Fallout
Larson entered Martinsville leading Hamlin by 73 points, Bell by 74 and Briscoe by 79, according to The Tennessean.
Because neither driver scored, the gap between them did not move. Byron took the full 10 points, and Bell added seven for fourth, according to reporter Bob Pockrass. Bell’s seven points trim his deficit to Larson and gain ground on Hamlin as well. Briscoe, who stayed out on the same plan, also left the stage empty-handed.
Hamlin, the driver 73 points back, needed stage points to chip away at that deficit, and a zero leaves him no closer to Larson with only one race remaining after today’s Martinsville outing. Larson, as the leader, still holds his cushion, though running a lap down puts his finishing position at risk, according to NASCAR.com. The stage result alone does not shift the margin between them.
“There has to be a catastrophic weekend in there somewhere,” Hamlin said Saturday, as quoted by Speedway Media in Martinsville.
“What is the difference being in second in points versus fifth? Doesn’t matter to me at this point in my career,” Hamlin said. He described the weekend as one with little pressure and low expectations.
“I just want to have a good day and not give up too much before next week,” Larson said, according to Speedway Media.
“Denny’s definitely a much better short track racer than me,” Larson said of Hamlin ahead of the race.
Both title contenders still have the rest of the Martinsville race to repair the damage. Larson has to regain his lap first, while Hamlin must work forward from the 17th-place area. Homestead-Miami waits next week.
NASCAR’s Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin Get Bad News in Martinsville Stage 1