Winners, losers from Cup playoff race at Martinsville

A look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway.

WINNERS

Ryan Blaney — He reached the Championship 4 for the first time after winning his first race at Martinsville. He led 145 laps, scored 19 stage points and worked his way through the field during the final 168-lap green flag run. Next up is Phoenix, a track where Blaney has two straight runner-up finishes and four straight top-four finishes.

William Byron — He struggled with handling throughout the race and failed to score stage points. Byron still advanced to the Championship 4 for the first time after ending the day eight points ahead of Denny Hamlin. Now he pursues a championship at the track where he won this season’s spring race.

Aric Almirola — One day after announcing he won’t return to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024, Almirola led 66 laps at Martinsville and finished second behind Blaney. This was his first top-five finish since the Daytona summer race when he finished third.

Chase Briscoe — He started third and spent the entire race inside of the top 10. Briscoe was fourth in stage 1 and third in stage 2. He finished the race fourth and scored his first top-five finish since the Talladega spring race.

LOSERS

Tyler Reddick — He struggled with handling throughout the race and missed out on points in the first two stages. He voiced concerns about a voltage issue during the stage 2 break. Reddick fell one lap down during the 168-lap green flag run to the end of the race. He finished 26th and failed to advance to the championship race.

Martin Truex Jr. — He started on the pole and scored eight points in stage 1. A speeding penalty in stage 2 put him outside of the top 25. He lost more positions during the stage 2 break after an issue on his pit stop. He finished 12th and failed to advance to the championship race after winning the regular-season championship.

Truex Jr eliminated: 'Gave it a hell of an effort'

Martin Truex Jr. thought he was well under speed leaving his box and is "really disappointed' in the costly mistake and not being able to race for a championship at Phoenix.

Chris Buescher — He was in a must-win situation after missing out on stage points at Las Vegas and Homestead. He started 18th after Saturday’s qualifying session and finished the first two stages outside of the top 10. A two-tire pit stop put Buescher in the top 10 during the final stage but he finished eighth. He failed to advance to the championship race.

Denny Hamlin — He led 156 laps and scored 19 stage points. Hamlin finished the race third but failed to advance to the championship race by eight points after ending the regular season second behind Truex. This was his second consecutive time missing the Championship 4 after three straight appearances from 2019-21.