RIDGEWAY, Va. -- In a situation where he had to win in order to earn the right to race for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, William Byron outmuscled Ryan Blaney in the final laps at Martinsville to cap off a dominant day and win the Xfinity 500. Byron, who earned his third win of the season, third at Martinsville and the 16th of his Cup career, overcame a 36 point deficit to the Championship 4 cut line to join Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson in next week's championship race at Phoenix.

After two previous potential winning efforts in the Round of 8 went awry late in those races -- colliding with a lapped car coming to pit road at Las Vegas and spinning out of the pack coming to the finish line at Talladega -- Byron made a statement by win

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