Practice

Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400

Sunday, September 24th, 2023

Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX

  • 16 Chevrolet
  • 14 Ford
  • 6 Toyota

  • Texas Motor Speedway
  • AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400
  • Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Bubba Wallace
  • Age: 29
  • Team : No. 23 - McDonald's Toyota
  • Owner: 23XI Racing
  • Crew Chief: Robert Barker
  • Bubba Wallace won the Pole Award for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 with a lap of 28.672 seconds, 188.337 mph.
  • This is his second pole in 213 NASCAR Cup Series races.
  • This is his first pole and 11th top-10 start in 2023.
  • This is his first pole in nine races at Texas Motor Speedway.
  • Chris Buescher (second) posted his 11th top-10 start of 2023 and his second in 14 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
  • Brad Keselowski (third) posted his 18th top-10 start at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his 11th in 30 races this season.
  • Ty Gibbs (fourth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

  • Sunday, September 24th, 2023
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain
William Byron Claims Victory at Texas Motor Speedway; Secures Hendrick Motorsports’ 300th Cup Series Win

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron took the lead on a restart with six laps remaining and held off the field to claim Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 victory on a steamy-hot highly-dramatic afternoon of NASCAR Cup Series Playoff action at Texas Motor Speedway.

It marks a historic 300th victory for the championship Hendrick Motorsports organization – the most in NASCAR history for a NASCAR Cup Series team – and is the series-best, personal-high single-season sixth victory of the year for the 25-year-old Charlotte native Byron. He came from third place on the final restart to ultimately drive away from the field and take a 1.863-second victory ahead of Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain to claim an automatic berth in the Playoffs’ Round of 8 which starts in three weeks.

Those final six laps out front were the only laps Byron led all day. He turned in a fabulous final re-start in the race to pull ahead of 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, who was out front on that start after leading a race-high, career-best 111 laps in his No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota. Wallace finished third, ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. All five drivers among the 2023 Playoff contingent.

“I finally got a good re-start at the end, and number 300 for Hendrick Motorsports, but [teammate] Kyle [Larson] really deserved this one, I’ve got to say, those guys were really fast all day and I hate it for them in the end,’’ Byron said, noting his teammate Larson’s crash while leading with 20 laps remaining.

“But man, it was awesome getting this car to the front. My car loved clean air. We just fought through traffic all day. My Liberty University Chevrolet was just tight back in traffic but had good pace. … it was a grind-it-out day and our team was there at the end and I’m really proud of this one as hot as it was, it was tough. We’ll take it and go on to the next round.”

As for the historic 300th win for his team, Byron grinned, “I don’t’ know if I can even put it into words, I was such a Hendrick Motorsports fan growing up as a kid, watching Jimmie Johnson and became really fond of Jeff Gordon as I got to know him. Just thankful for all the men and women back at Hendrick Motorsports. … just appreciate all Rick Hendrick has done for me. This is awesome. We’re really going to enjoy this one.’’

Wallace, who turned in a career day in his first career Playoff stint, was obviously disappointed in the final outcome. He started from pole position and his triple-digit laps out front were a personal best.

“Just choked,’’ Wallace said. “My worst re-start (of the day). Hate it for my team, hate it for [sponsor] McDonald’s. We deserved to be in victory lane but nothing’s ever guaranteed, you have to go out and fight for it and not give it away and that’s what I did.

“We struggled a little in traffic but kept our heads in the game, made great strategy calls all day and had track position. So good points day.’’

Larson had been out front for 34 laps and was racing alongside Wallace when his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet got loose with 17 laps remaining and flushed into the outside wall. He looked strong all day leading 99 laps himself as Wallace’s strongest competitor for most of the afternoon.

“We just went in there side-by-side and I lost it,’’ said the 2021 series champion Larson, who finished 31st. “Pretty bummed, but happy for William and Mr. H. (Hendrick) Three hundred Cup series wins is incredible and a great night overall for our organization.’’

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, Roush Fenway Keselowski driver Brad Keselowski. – also a Playoff driver, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez, JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and SHR’s Chase Briscoe rounded out the top 10.

There were 11 caution periods on the day and multiple issues for the 12 Playoff drivers competing in this three-round series of races to decide which eight will advance to the next round. Byron’s victory is an automatic ticket. Several other Playoff drivers had impactful days – for the good and bad – as well.

Among the other Playoff competitors, RFK’s Chris Buescher finished 14th and JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. – the regular season champion – finished 17th. Defending race winner Tyler Reddick – Wallace’s 23XI Racing teammate – was 25th.

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (28th), Hendrick’s Larson (31st) and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (34th) all suffered DNFs – all involved in incidents.

It was indicative of the afternoon with 10 Playoff drivers experiencing some sort of setback – from crashes, to pit road penalties to pit road issues.

Bell had jack issues early. Hamlin had a pit road door-to-door collision with his JGR rookie teammate Ty Gibbs but was able to continue, while Gibbs’ Toyota suffered enough damage he had to retire early.

Busch’s No. 8 RCR Chevrolet slammed into the outside wall only a couple laps after the two-time series champion had radioed to his team that he thought he had a front tire going down. He stayed out on track and ultimately suffered a rear tire failure on Lap 74, that slammed his Chevrolet hard into the wall. Busch drove it backwards all the way around the track and onto pit road, but the RCR team was unable to repair it.

“I was going to come to pit road and I second-guessed it and said, ‘I don’t think so, something’s wrong, something’s not right but it’s not a flat,’’’ Busch said. “Then all on its own, it just turned to the bottom of the race track in Turn 1, just swapped ends on me.

“Hate it for everybody. For sure I thought our car was top five today.”

With the victory, Byron earned the automatic ticket to the next round. Hamlin now leads the points standings by 37 points on the ninth place elimination line. Buescher (plus-22), Bell (plus-20), Truex (plus-19), Chastain (plus-12), Keselowski (plus-8) and Larson (plus-2) round out the top eight.

Wallace is the first driver below the elimination line – two points behind Larson. Reddick is three points off the elimination line, followed by Blaney (-11) and Busch (-17) heading to the always unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway next week for the YallaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Chase Elliott is the defending race winner.

  • Drivers Entered: 36
  • Laps Scheduled: 267
  • Margin of Victory: 01.863 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 3 Hours 14 Minutes 28 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 123.569
  • Cautions: 11 for 55 laps
  • Lead Changes: 22
  • Green Flag Passes: 2,155 (10.2 passes per green flag lap)

  • Texas Motor Speedway
  • AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400
  • Race Winner: William Byron
  • Age: 25
  • Team : No. 24 - Liberty University Chevrolet
  • Owner: Hendrick Motorsports
  • Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
  • William Byron won the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400, his 10th victory in 210 Cup Series races and sixth this year. This is his sixth victory and 16th top-10 finish in 2023.
  • This is Hendrick Motorsports' 300th Cup Series victory - the most victories by an team in the Cup Series.
  • This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in nine races at Texas Motor Speedway.
  • Ross Chastain (second) posted his first top-10 finish in seven races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2023.
  • Bubba Wallace (third) posted his second top-10 finish in nine races at Texas Motor Speedway.
  • Ty Gibbs (33rd) was the highest finishing rookie.
Harrison Burton and William Byron drive during practice
Fort Worth, Texas - September 23, 2023 : Harrison Burton, driver of the #21 DEX Imaging Ford, and William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, drive during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Sean GardnerGetty Images
Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway Practice results
# DRIVER MAKE RNK SPD TME BHND LAP LAPS 5- 10- 15- 20- 25- 30- 10-LAP FRM TO
16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 9 185.084 29.176 0.108 3 21 29.196 29.405 0 0 0 0 183.657 1 10
10 Aric Almirola Ford 4 185.306 29.141 0.072 4 21 29.258 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
6 Brad Keselowski Ford 15 184.344 29.293 0.225 3 15 29.438 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 8 185.141 29.167 0.099 2 25 29.287 29.362 29.450 29.508 29.536 0 183.915 1 10
15 JJ Yeley Ford 29 183.580 29.415 0.347 2 14 29.593 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
22 Joey Logano Ford 2 185.765 29.069 0.000 2 17 29.266 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
4 Kevin Harvick Ford 33 182.291 29.623 0.555 4 18 29.688 29.727 0 0 0 0 181.655 2 11
8 Kyle Busch Chevrolet 3 185.593 29.096 0.027 2 24 29.274 29.445 29.514 0 0 0 183.404 1 10
19 Martin Truex Jr Toyota 17 184.332 29.295 0.227 4 20 29.370 29.492 29.589 29.720 0 0 183.105 2 11
34 Michael McDowell Ford 1 185.771 29.068 0.000 2 19 29.200 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 26 184.030 29.343 0.275 6 22 29.495 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Chevrolet 16 184.344 29.293 0.225 3 22 29.389 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
5 Kyle Larson Chevrolet 5 185.293 29.143 0.074 4 25 29.239 29.304 29.415 29.474 29.554 0 184.279 1 10
48 Alex Bowman Chevrolet 20 184.269 29.305 0.237 4 22 29.370 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
12 Ryan Blaney Ford 13 184.887 29.207 0.139 4 17 29.364 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
7 Corey Lajoie Chevrolet 12 184.951 29.197 0.129 2 13 29.401 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
77 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 31 182.636 29.567 0.499 3 18 29.646 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
9 Chase Elliott Chevrolet 27 183.980 29.351 0.283 2 26 29.494 29.546 29.622 0 0 0 182.770 1 10
17 Chris Buescher Ford 11 185.008 29.188 0.120 2 24 29.282 29.559 29.665 0 0 0 182.690 8 17
43 Erik Jones Chevrolet 6 185.236 29.152 0.084 4 24 29.202 29.614 29.671 0 0 0 182.350 10 19
78 BJ McLeod Chevrolet 35 182.186 29.640 0.572 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
41 Ryan Preece Ford 24 184.106 29.331 0.263 2 23 29.586 29.706 29.801 0 0 0 181.792 1 10
99 Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 25 184.099 29.332 0.264 2 19 29.532 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
1 Ross Chastain Chevrolet 10 185.071 29.178 0.110 2 27 29.263 29.391 29.585 0 0 0 183.746 1 10
23 Bubba Wallace Toyota 14 184.439 29.278 0.210 2 22 29.353 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
24 William Byron Chevrolet 7 185.204 29.157 0.088 2 20 29.228 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
45 Tyler Reddick Toyota 21 184.206 29.315 0.247 3 26 29.462 29.703 29.757 0 0 0 181.837 1 10
31 Justin Haley Chevrolet 19 184.294 29.301 0.233 2 22 29.406 29.499 0 0 0 0 183.057 1 10
20 Christopher Bell Toyota 23 184.131 29.327 0.259 3 14 29.452 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
2 Austin Cindric Ford 32 182.383 29.608 0.540 1 11 29.812 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
14 Chase Briscoe Ford 28 183.830 29.375 0.307 2 20 29.518 29.935 0 0 0 0 180.588 2 11
21 Harrison Burton Ford 36 181.739 29.713 0.645 7 15 29.817 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
38 Zane Smith Ford 34 182.260 29.628 0.560 7 24 29.724 29.805 0 0 0 0 181.180 3 12
54 Ty Gibbs Toyota 22 184.168 29.321 0.253 1 27 29.454 29.504 29.559 29.653 29.729 0 183.025 3 12
51 Todd Gilliland Ford 30 182.859 29.531 0.463 2 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0 0
42 Carson Hocevar Chevrolet 18 184.313 29.298 0.230 3 24 29.429 29.523 29.626 0 0 0 182.929 2 11