Last night, William Byron became the first driver to have two wins in the Next Gen car. The Hendrick driver won in Atlanta and now he has his second at Martinsville.

The Next Gen car has clearly opened up the field in terms of competitiveness, leading to more uncertain, exciting race outcomes. In the midst of it all, Byron and his team seem to have found the key to dealing with this exciting uncertainty.

“We’re figuring out what makes us tick and this new car was a chance for us to reset and kinda, take a new approach and feel like, it’s really paid dividends for us,” Byron said after the Martinsville race. “All the things we’re doing behind the scenes to make sure we’re ready for Sundays is really helping.”

Speaking about the caution that woke everybody up in the race, the race winner said, “You don’t wanna see those cautions come out, but they’re natural and they happen and people have issues towards the end of the race.”

He continued, “It was tough. I was like, ‘This was seeming so easy.’ And then we had so many laps on the tires, I was like, ‘Are these tires gonna take off again or not?'”

“So I had a lot of questions in my head about how they were gonna re-fire. And luckily, everyone was on the same tires, so it wasn’t like anybody had new tires and I was able to manage it and get the win.” 

William Byron dedicates Martinsville win to his mother

Speaking right after taking the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway, William Byron made a heart-rending confession.

The youngest Hendrick driver, who is the most successful in terms of wins this year, said he felt his mother was with him in the car as he took his second win of the week at the same track after driving his truck to the victory lane on Friday.

“This one’s for my mom. The same weekend last year, she had kind of a mini-stroke and was diagnosed with brain cancer. So, it means a lot to have her here,” William Byron said.

“It’s been a crazy year, but she’s doing great.”

Read More: With a Glove in One Hand and a Sling in the Other, Jimmie Johnson Proves Once Again Why He’s One of the Few Old-Time Racecar Drivers