MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Minutes after William Byron learned that he would compete for a Cup Series championship, Jeff Gordon stood nearby on pit road. He was happy that one of the Hendrick Motorsports cars was in the Championship 4, but he wasn't necessarily celebrating.
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After all, Byron making it to Phoenix came down to a decision regarding a safety violation at Martinsville Speedway.
"It's hard to feel like it's a win," Gordon told media members on pit road. "It's disappointing and it's controversial and you don't want to see it come down like that, but at the same time, you want to see your team go have a shot at the championship.
"And so that was up to NASCAR to make that decision. They did, and now all eyes forward on going and racing for a championship."
Gordon's hesitancy to celebrate was justified. He was one of the many people at Martinsville who waited for nearly 30 minutes while NASCAR looked at Christopher Bell hitting the wall on the final lap.
At that point, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver had made the pass he needed to eliminate Byron from the playoffs. The question was whether he had violated the NASCAR Rule Book before crossing the finish line.
Whether Bell had used the now-banned wall ride was not the only questionable moment in the closing laps. Bubba Wallace slowed on the final lap and opened up the opportunity for Bell to make the pass. Wallace said something had broken in his car.
Two Chevrolet drivers — Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain — also formed a blockade behind Byron that prevented him from losing any more spots to other drivers. Extensive radio communication from the No. 3 team indicated that the drivers and their teams were trying to help Byron make the Championship 4.
Many factors were in play in the immediate aftermath of the race. NASCAR had not yet explained that it only looked at Bell hitting the wall, so numerous people remained confused. This included Gordon.
"We were curious and trying to communicate with NASCAR when the race was over, of what they're looking at," Gordon said. "And (NASCAR) said, 'We're looking into it,' and they didn't get any more detail involved."
NASCAR ultimately made its decision. The sanctioning body put Byron into the Championship 4 and eliminated Bell from the playoffs with a penalty that dropped him to 22nd in the finishing order.
Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports will now move toward Phoenix and the opportunity to compete for a championship once again. It just may take a bit to fully digest what happened at Martinsville Speedway.
"I've never been a part of anything like this, so I don't really know how to feel," Byron said on pit road.
"I hate it for everyone involved, but I'm happy for this No. 24 Liberty University Chevy team. I'm happy for us moving on."
