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.[Read More](9-24-2023)
#24-William Byron won the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. The win is his 6th win of the year, 1st at Texas and 10th career win.
#1-Ross Chastain finished 2nd followed by pole winner #23-Bubba Wallace, #20-Christopher Bell, #11-Denny Hamlin, #4-Kevin Harvick, #6-Brad Keselowski, #99-Daniel Suarez, #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and #14-Chase Briscoe.
After a rash of late cautions, Byron lined up 4th on the final restart, took the lead with 5 laps remaining and pulled away to win by more than a second.
Byron’s win is the 300th Cup Series win for Hendrick Motorsports.
Playoff drivers having problems:
#8-Kyle Busch wrecked on lap 74. He finished 34th.
#5-Kyle Larson wrecked with 19 laps remaining while battling Wallace for the lead. He finished 31st.
#12-Ryan Blaney was caught in an accident with 12 laps remaining. He could not continue and finished 28th.
#45-Tyler Reddick got into the outside wall late and finished 25th.
Stage 1 was won by #45-Tyler Reddick. Stage 2 was won by #5-Kyle Larson.
There were 22 lead changes among 13 drivers and 11 cautions for 55 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 123.569mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Where the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers finished at Texas:
#24-William Byron, 1st
#1-Ross Chastain, 2nd
#23-Bubba Wallace, 3rd
#20-Christopher Bell, 4th
#11-Denny Hamlin, 5th
#6-Brad Keselowski, 7th
#17-Chris Buescher, 14th
#19-Martin Truex, Jr, 17th
#45-Tyler Reddick, 25th
#12-Ryan Blaney, 28th
#5-Kyle Larson, 31st
#8-Kyle Busch, 34th
Race Fast Facts – Texas:
William Byron (P) 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 (P) (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 (P) (third) posted his second top-10 finish in nine races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Ty Gibbs (33rd) was the highest finishing rookie.
(NASCAR)
Cup Series Playoff Standings after Texas:
Race 30 of 36 for the year; 4 of 10 in the Playoffs; 1 of 3 in the Round of 12
1) #24-William Byron [6 wins, 1 in Round of 12], 3083
2) #11-Denny Hamlin [2 wins], 3074, +27 ahead of 9th
3) #17-Chris Buescher [3 wins], 3059, +22
4) #20-Christopher Bell [1 win], 3057, +20
5) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. [3 wins], 3056, +19
6) #1-Ross Chastain [1 win], 3049, +12
7) #6-Brad Keselowski, 3045, +8
8) #5-Kyle Larson [3 wins], 3039, +2
Currently behind the cutoff for the Round of 8:
9) #23-Bubba Wallace, 3037, -2 behind 8th
10) #45-Tyler Reddick [2 wins], 3036, -3
11) #12-Ryan Blaney [1 win], 3028, -11
12) #8-Kyle Busch [3 wins], 3022, -17
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Paint Schemes
Cars to the rear: #78-B.J. McLeod (unapproved adjustments)
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway have been made.
Pole winner #23-Bubba Wallace chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #17-Chris Buescher took the sixth stall.
See all pit choices on the Texas Pit Stall page.
#23-Bubba Wallace won the Busch pole for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway with speed of 188.337mph for his first pole of the year, first at Texas and second of his career.
#17-Chris Buescher will start second followed by #6-Brad Keselowski, #54-Ty Gibbs, #1-Ross Chastain, #16-AJ Allmendinger, #8-Kyle Busch, #99-Daniel Suarez, #20-Christopher Bell, and #11-Denny Hamlin.
Playoff drivers not qualified within the top-10: #5-Kyle Larson, 11th, #45-Tyler Reddick, 15th, #19-Martin Truex, Jr., 16th, #24-William Byron, 18th, and #12-Ryan Blaney, 23rd.
See the complete qualifying results and the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 Starting Lineup.
Where the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers start at Texas:
#23-Bubba Wallace, 1st
#17-Chris Buescher, 2nd
#6-Brad Keselowski, 3rd
#1-Ross Chastain, 5th
#8-Kyle Busch, 7th
#20-Christopher Bell, 9th
#11-Denny Hamlin, 10th
#5-Kyle Larson, 11th
#45-Tyler Reddick, 15th
#19-Martin Truex, Jr, 16th
#24-William Byron, 18th
#12-Ryan Blaney, 23rd
Texas Motor Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Bubba Wallace (P) 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 (P) (second) posted his 11th top-10 start of 2023 and his second in 14 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski (P) (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.
(NASCAR)
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is complete:
#34-McDowell 185.771
#22-Logano 185.765
#8-Busch 185.593
#10-Almirola 185.306
#5-Larson 185.293
Slowest: #21-Burton 181.739
Most laps run: 27, #1-Chastain, #53-Gibbs
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 17 drivers): #5-Larson, 184.279
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run, and more on the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 Practice speeds page.
Crew Rosters
The entry list for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway is posted, 36 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #15-J.J. Yeley, #38-Zane Smith, #42-Carson Hocevar, #51-Todd Gilliland, #78-B.J. McLeod.
See the full entry list on the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 Entry List page.
Goodyear Fast Facts — Texas Motor Speedway
TandemDraft Stats – Texas
Weekend Event Schedule
