Entry List

The official 2023 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR CUP Series entry list features top NASCAR drivers set to compete at Texas Motor Speedway, highlighting the full lineup of race participants and teams.

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.
Tyler Reddick celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 25, 2022 in , . (Photo by /Getty Images)
Fort Worth, Texas - September 25, 2022 : Tyler Reddick, driver of the #8 Lenovo/ThinkEdge Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Jonathan BachmanGetty Images
ENTRY
#
DRIVER
HOMETOWN
DOB
AGE
MAKE
SPONSOR
TEAM
CREW CHIEF

1
16
Los Gatos, CA
Dec 16, 1981
41
Chevrolet
Action Industries
2
10
Tampa, FL
Mar 14, 1984
39
Ford
Smithfield
3
6
Auburn Hills, MI
Feb 12, 1984
39
Ford
BuildSubmarines.com
4
11
Chesterfield, VA
Nov 18, 1980
42
Toyota
FedEx
5
15
Phoenix, AZ
Oct 5, 1976
46
Ford
TBA
6
22
Middleton, CT
May 24, 1990
33
Ford
AAA Insurance
7
4
Bakersfield, CA
Dec 8, 1975
47
Ford
Hunt Brothers Pizza
8
8
Las Vegas, NV
May 2, 1985
38
Chevrolet
3CHI
9
19
Mayetta, NJ
Jun 29, 1980
43
Toyota
Bass Pro Shops
10
34
Phoenix, AZ
Dec 21, 1984
38
Ford
Love's / Delo
11
3
Lewisville, NC
Apr 27, 1990
33
Chevrolet
Bass Pro Shops
12
47
Olive Branch, MS
Oct 2, 1987
35
Chevrolet
Kroger/NOS Energy Drink
13
5
Sacremento, CA
Jul 31, 1992
31
Chevrolet
Valvoline
14
48
Tuscon, AZ
Apr 25, 1993
30
Chevrolet
Ally
15
12
High Point, NC
Dec 31, 1993
29
Ford
Menards\Dutch Boy
16
7
Kannapolis, NC
Sep 25, 1991
31
Chevrolet
Gainbridge
17
77
Lewisville, NC
Feb 27, 1992
31
Chevrolet
Shelton Companies
18
9
Dawsonville, GA
Nov 28, 1995
27
Chevrolet
Kelley Blue Book
19
17
Prosper, TX
Oct 29, 1992
30
Ford
Fastenal
20
43
Byron, MI
May 30, 1996
27
Chevrolet
TBD
21
78
Wauchula, FL
Nov 17, 1983
39
Chevrolet
Gunk
22
41
Berlin, CT
Oct 25, 1990
32
Ford
Autodesk
23
99
Monterrey, Mexico
Jan 7, 1992
31
Chevrolet
Kubota
24
1
Alva, FL
Dec 4, 1992
30
Chevrolet
Worldwide Express
25
23
Mobile, AL
Oct 8, 1993
29
Toyota
McDonald's
26
24
Charlotte, NC
Nov 29, 1997
25
Chevrolet
Liberty University
27
45
Corning, CA
Jan 11, 1996
27
Toyota
Jordan Brand
28
31
Winamac, IN
Apr 28, 1999
24
Chevrolet
TBA
29
20
Norman, OK
Dec 16, 1994
28
Toyota
Interstate Batteries
30
2
Columbus, OH
Sep 2, 1998
25
Ford
Discount Tire
31
14
Mitchell, IN
Dec 15, 1994
28
Ford
Rush Truck Centers / Cummins
32
21
Huntersville, NC
Oct 9, 2000
22
Ford
DEX Imaging
33
38
Huntington Beach, CA
Jun 9, 1999
24
Ford
Ambetter Health
34
54
Charlotte, NC
Oct 4, 2002
20
Toyota
Interstate Batteries
35
51
Sherrills Ford, NC
May 15, 2000
23
Ford
TBA
36
42
Portage, MI
Jan 28, 2003
20
Chevrolet
Sunseeker Resorts