Jeff Gordon reacts to drama of Martinsville finish, Hendrick car advancing to Championship 4

Hendrick Motorsports will race for a Cup Series championship next Sunday at Phoenix after William Byron secured the final transfer spot with a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville.

How Byron ended up with the fourth and final spot will be talked about for years to come. Christopher Bell rode the wall on the final lap to pass Bubba Wallace, giving him the points advantage over Byron for the spot. Riding the wall, however, is illegal after Ross Chastain’s “Hail Melon” move at Martinsville two years ago. Bell was penalized 27 minutes after the race concluded as NASCAR took its time in making the correct ruling. Byron, out of the playoffs as he took the checkered flag, now has a chance to win his first career title.

Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon said that while he was “disappointed” by the controversy, he’s excited that Byron is joining Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney at Phoenix.

Jeff Gordon reacts

Christopher Bell comes over to congratulate William Byron pic.twitter.com/Lk0Tbmatod

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) November 3, 2024

“In this situation, it’s hard to feel like it’s a win,” Gordon said, via Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut. “It’s disappointing, it’s controversial and you don’t wanna see it come down like that. At the same time, you wanna see your team go have a shot for the championship. That was up to NASCAR to make that decision. They did, and now we got all eyes forward on going [to Phoenix] and racing for a championship.”

Hendrick Motorsports, William Byron clinch spot in Championship 4 after Martinsville controversy

Making it even more sweet is that Hendrick is celebrating its 40th anniversary in NASCAR. Had NASCAR decided against penalizing Bell, Hendrick wouldn’t have a driver in the Championship 4. They do now, and that means the world to Gordon and Co.

“It’s bittersweet because of course I want that 24 [Byron] to go race for a championship,” Gordon said. “It’s our 40th anniversary and it’s been a great year. But I also don’t want to be in the middle of controversy. And that was a unique set of circumstances the way that race was unfolding.

“I think we were all kind of in disbelief. But if I were to say what seemed to me to be pretty clear, and I guess that’s the way NASCAR looked at it too, is that they made a rule against riding the wall like that if it’s gonna advance positions or prevent you from losing positions and that’s what did happen.”