Hendrick Motorsports just made history, becoming the first team to hold both top spots in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. William Byron clinched the regular-season championship at Richmond, while teammate Chase Elliott battled through a tough night. But when the checkered flag waved, there was no trophy, no celebration.

Before the silence at Richmond, the battle for the top spot had already taken a turn. Chase Elliott ascended to the points lead after a strong performance at Dover last month, following a sixth-place finish that propelled him past his teammate, Byron, who had been leading the standings. Elliott’s consistency and strategic racing placed him at the top of the leaderboard, marking a significant achievement for the team.

However, the dynamic shifted once again at Richmond Raceway. Byron secured his first NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship with a 12th-place finish, reclaiming the top spot in the standings. However, the Hendrick Motorsport star will not be receiving a trophy yet.

No trophy, no problem! Byron eyes Darlington after Richmond milestone

It is the first such title for the 27-year-old Charlotte native, who adds 15 valuable playoff points to the 17 he had already collected across the first 25 races. To clinch the crown, Byron needed to maintain a 62-point gap over second place in the standings, and he did just that.

His path was helped by misfortune for Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who saw his race end on lap 198 after being swept into an 11-car pileup sparked by contact between Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe. Until that point, Elliott had completed nearly every lap this season and consistently finished inside the top 20, with his only stumble coming a week earlier at Watkins Glen.

Sounding off on the radio, Byron couldn’t contain his happiness. He said, “Oh, sweet man. Good job to you. … appreciate all the effort all year, guys. It’s been really good. Let’s get some rest this week and get after it and go kick some a– at Darlington. And Daytona.” And as tradition follows, the regular Cup Series champion gets a trophy presentation post-race. But things seem to be different at Richmond this time around.

NASCAR seems not to have a trophy presentation tonight.

William Byron’s 2025 campaign opened spectacularly with his second straight Daytona 500 victory. He seized the points lead at Circuit of the Americas in March after a runner-up finish and held it for much of the summer.

A rough stretch followed, with fuel trouble at Michigan and five consecutive results outside the top 25. But momentum swung back his way with a win at Iowa Speedway and a fourth-place run at the Glen. With Rudy Fugle calling the shots atop the pit box, Byron and the No. 24 team are back in form as the regular season wraps up at Daytona next weekend.

As the dust settled in Richmond, with Austin Dillon taking the win, Byron had a different kind of win. However, the same cannot be said about his Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

Chase Elliott is hopeful about getting a “better stretch” at Daytona

For the first time this season, Chase Elliott recorded a DNF in Saturday’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond raceway, one of 12 drivers involved in the lap 198 big one. The wreck began when Kyle Busch collided with the back of Chase Briscoe, causing a chain reaction through Turn 3. Elliott initially avoided the chaos but was then clipped by Busch exiting the turn, slamming head-on into the outside wall. After being checked at the infield center, Elliott explained that Busch likely didn’t see him on the bottom.

Speaking to NBC Sports, Elliott said, “I have no idea what happened still. Obviously, I saw them crashing and we were all just stacking up trying to get stopped, and then after the wreck was over, I thought we were done wrecking and was just trying to squeak by. Guess somebody didn’t know I was down there. Kyle just didn’t know I was to the left.”

Elliott had been running strong all season, staying largely out of trouble, but there was little he could do here. Entering Richmond, he trailed Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron by 42 points in the standings. The former added, “We were through there at a decent rate and unfortunately Kyle didn’t know we were on the bottom. Had a good start to the night and it just slowly unraveled until it fell apart. Hopefully, we can go on a better stretch starting next week.”

With Byron still in the race just outside the top 15, the regular season championship was Byron’s. After finishing 26th at Watkins Glen last week, his first finish outside the top 20 this season, Elliot will look to rebound at Daytona and build momentum heading into the playoffs.