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Pit Stops : Texas Motor Speedway

Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400

Sunday, September 24th, 2023

Texas Motor Speedway , Fort Worth, TX

Texas Motor Speedway logo
  • 16
  • 14
  • 6

  • 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.
Joey Logano pits
Avondale, Arizona - November 10, 2024 : Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, pits during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
Sean GardnerGetty Images

Pit Stop Summary Report

Aggregate of each driver's pit stops during the race.

 
DRIVER
START
FINISH
STATUS
# STOPS
DRIVER / PIT CREW
FASTEST
SLOWEST
AVG TIME
RANK
DRIVER
AVG TIME
RANK
PIT CREW
AVG TIME
RANK

Kyle Busch
7
34
DVP
2
17.428
35.556
26.492
1
12.059
1
14.433
34
Ty Gibbs
4
33
Accident
1
32.232
32.232
32.232
2
27.655
34
4.577
1
Ryan Blaney
23
28
Accident
5
31.047
36.046
34.029
3
25.928
12
8.101
2
Brad Keselowski
3
7
Running
6
30.067
38.771
34.510
4
25.879
10
8.631
3
Denny Hamlin
10
5
Running
6
30.749
36.790
35.355
5
25.862
7
9.493
6
Bubba Wallace
1
3
Running
5
30.782
36.989
35.516
6
26.093
16
9.423
5
Chris Buescher
2
14
Running
5
31.394
39.113
35.729
7
25.613
3
10.117
13
Justin Haley
28
13
Running
6
32.032
37.922
35.757
8
26.358
25
9.398
4
Austin Dillon
13
36
Accident
1
35.772
35.772
35.772
9
25.662
4
10.110
12
 
12
30.557
38.711
35.805
10
25.976
14
9.829
8
Joey Logano
20
21
Running
6
30.467
39.094
35.864
11
26.243
23
9.621
7
Aric Almirola
21
18
Running
5
35.544
36.605
35.918
12
25.768
6
10.150
14
Kyle Larson
11
31
DVP
5
35.484
36.975
36.000
13
25.937
13
10.063
10
Kevin Harvick
22
6
Running
5
35.286
36.710
36.091
14
25.904
11
10.187
15
Alex Bowman
14
12
Running
4
35.628
37.131
36.232
15
26.139
19
10.093
11
William Byron
18
1
Running
5
35.677
37.344
36.243
16
25.866
8
10.377
17
Chase Elliott
29
11
Running
4
35.549
37.909
36.355
17
25.869
9
10.485
18
Carson Hocevar
19
16
Running
5
31.187
39.334
36.565
18
26.229
22
10.337
16
Chase Briscoe
31
10
Running
4
35.523
39.882
36.784
19
26.050
15
10.733
20
Tyler Reddick
15
25
Running
4
35.971
39.505
37.019
20
25.766
5
11.253
23

Pit Stop Detailed Report

Each 2- and 4-wheel pit stop during the race.

DRIVER
LEADER LAP
DRIVER LAP
DRIVER TIME
CREW TIME
TOTAL
TYPE

75
75
25.786
4.771
30.557
TWO WHEEL CHANGE RIGHT
114
114
25.840
4.771
30.611
TWO WHEEL CHANGE RIGHT
85
84
26.357
5.872
32.229
TWO WHEEL CHANGE LEFT
75
75
25.364
10.711
36.075
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
39
38
25.553
10.744
36.297
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
38
37
26.170
10.510
36.680
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
243
243
25.713
11.209
36.922
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
210
210
25.680
11.878
37.558
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
167
167
26.531
11.311
37.842
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
114
114
26.167
11.878
38.045
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
210
210
26.621
11.511
38.132
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
167
167
25.932
12.779
38.711
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
AJ Allmendinger
114
114
25.819
10.577
36.396
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
AJ Allmendinger
243
243
26.103
10.344
36.447
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
AJ Allmendinger
75
75
25.809
11.245
37.054
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
AJ Allmendinger
167
167
26.551
10.710
37.261
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
AJ Allmendinger
210
210
25.923
12.512
38.435
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
AJ Allmendinger
39
39
26.365
18.151
44.516
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
Aric Almirola
243
243
25.467
10.077
35.544
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE
Aric Almirola
114
114
25.895
9.810
35.705
FOUR WHEEL CHANGE