MARTINSVILLE, Va. With a Championship 4 spot on the line Sunday, William Byron put the bumper to Ryan Blaney to win at Martinsville Speedway in the third-round finale of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Byron made his winning move with 43 laps remaining, seizing the bottom lane in Turn 1 and moving Blaney up the track by tagging him in the left rear.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver led the rest of the way and fended off Blaney on a restart with 11 laps remaining. Starting from the pole position, Byron led a race-high 304 of 500 laps for his third victory this season in the No. 24 Chevrolet.

Both drivers were in must-win situations to advance to the championship round.

Blaney, who was trying to win his third consecutive playoff race at Martinsville, came up one spot short despite qualify

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