2023 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 explained

Type:	CUST
Description:	Race 30 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series
Race Name:	Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]
Year:	2023
Location:	Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas
Course Mi:	1.5
Course Km:	2.4
Distance Laps:	267
Distance Mi:	400.5
Distance Km:	644.541
Avg:	123.569mph
Pole Driver:	Bubba Wallace
Pole Team:	23XI Racing
Pole Time:	28.672
Most Driver:	Bubba Wallace
Most Team:	23XI Racing
Most Laps:	112
Car:	24
First Driver:	William Byron
First Team:	Hendrick Motorsports
Network:	USA
Announcers:	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Radio:	PRN
Booth Ann:	Doug Rice and Mark Garrow
Turn Ann:	Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4)

The 2023 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 24, 2023, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) intermediate quad-oval, it will be the 30th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, fourth race of the Playoffs, and first race of the Round of 12.

Report

Background

Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5miles around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
• (P) denotes playoff driver.
• (OP) denotes owner’s playoffs car.

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	Ross Chastain (P)		Chevrolet
2			Ford
3			Chevrolet
4			Ford
5	Kyle Larson (P)		Chevrolet
6	Brad Keselowski (P)		Ford
7			Chevrolet
8	Kyle Busch (P)		Chevrolet
9	Chase Elliott (OP)		Chevrolet
10			Ford
11	Denny Hamlin (P)		Toyota
12	Ryan Blaney (P)		Ford
14			Ford
15	J. J. Yeley (i)		Ford
16			Chevrolet
17	Chris Buescher (P)		Ford
19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)		Toyota
20	Christopher Bell (P)		Toyota
21			Ford
22			Ford
23	Bubba Wallace (P)		Toyota
24	William Byron (P)		Chevrolet
31			Chevrolet
34			Ford
38	Zane Smith (i)		Ford
41			Ford
42	Carson Hocevar (i)		Chevrolet
43			Chevrolet
45	Tyler Reddick (P)		Toyota
47	nowrap			Chevrolet
48			Chevrolet
51			Ford
54	Ty Gibbs (R)		Toyota
77			Chevrolet
78	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet
99			Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

Michael McDowell was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.068 seconds and a speed of 185.771mph.^[10]

Practice results

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1	34				29.068	185.771
2	22				29.069	185.765
3	8	Kyle Busch (P)			29.096	185.593
Official practice results

Qualifying

Bubba Wallace scored the pole for the race with a time 28.672 of and a speed of 188.337mph.^[11]

Qualifying results

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	23	Bubba Wallace (P)		Toyota	28.567	28.672
2	17	Chris Buescher (P)		Ford	28.714	28.711
3	6	Brad Keselowski (P)		Ford	28.880	28.740
4	54	Ty Gibbs (R)		Toyota	28.695	28.760
5	1	Ross Chastain (P)		Chevrolet	28.639	28.769
6	16			Chevrolet	28.848	28.823
7	8	Kyle Busch (P)		Chevrolet	28.854	28.885
8	99			Chevrolet	28.881	28.885
9	20	Christopher Bell (P)		Toyota	28.820	28.893
10	11	Denny Hamlin (P)		Toyota	28.585	0.000
11	5	Kyle Larson (P)		Chevrolet	28.718	—
12	43			Chevrolet	28.772	—
13	3			Chevrolet	28.797	—
14	48			Chevrolet	28.800	—
15	45	Tyler Reddick (P)		Toyota	28.832	—
16	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)		Toyota	28.900	—
17	34			Ford	28.944	—
18	24	William Byron (P)		Chevrolet	28.970	—
19	42	Carson Hocevar (i)		Chevrolet	29.006	—
20	22			Ford	29.010	—
21	10			Ford	29.026	—
22	4			Ford	29.091	—
23	12	Ryan Blaney (P)		Ford	29.097	—
24	47			Chevrolet	29.110	—
25	41			Ford	29.117	—
26	77			Chevrolet	29.156	—
27	7			Chevrolet	29.185	—
28	31			Chevrolet	29.187	—
29	9	Chase Elliott (OP)		Chevrolet	29.220	—
30	21			Ford	29.231	—
31	14			Ford	29.232	—
32	2			Ford	29.277	—
33	38	Zane Smith (i)		Ford	29.316	—
34	78	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet	29.423	—
35	15	J. J. Yeley (i)		Ford	29.555	—
36	51			Ford	29.571	—
Official qualifying results

Race

Race results

Stage results

Stage OneLaps: 80

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	45	Tyler Reddick (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	10
2	17	Chris Buescher (P)	RFK Racing	Ford	9
3	20	Christopher Bell (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	8
4	24	William Byron (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	7
5	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	6
6	9	Chase Elliott (OP)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	5
7	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	4
8	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	3
9	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	2
10	23	Bubba Wallace (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 85

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	5	Kyle Larson (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	10
2	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	9
3	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	8
4	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	7
5	17	Chris Buescher (P)	RFK Racing	Ford	6
6	9	Chase Elliott (OP)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	5
7	6	Brad Keselowski (P)	RFK Racing	Ford	4
8	1	Ross Chastain (P)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	3
9	23	Bubba Wallace (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	2
10	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	1
Official stage two results

Final Stage results

Stage ThreeLaps: 102

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	18	24	William Byron (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	47
2	5	1	Ross Chastain (P)	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	267	38
3	1	23	Bubba Wallace (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	267	37
4	9	20	Christopher Bell (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	41
5	10	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	42
6	22	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	31
7	3	6	Brad Keselowski (P)	RFK Racing	Ford	267	34
8	8	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	267	30
9	24	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	267	28
10	31	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	30
11	29	9	Chase Elliott (OP)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	36
12	14	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	25
13	28	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	267	24
14	2	17	Chris Buescher (P)	RFK Racing	Ford	267	38
15	17	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	267	28
16	19	42	Carson Hocevar (i)	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	267	0
17	16	19	Martin Truex Jr. (P)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	20
18	21	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	19
19	26	77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	18
20	30	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	267	17
21	20	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	267	16
22	34	78	B. J. McLeod (i)	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	0
23	25	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	14
24	33	38	Zane Smith (i)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	267	0
25	15	45	Tyler Reddick (P)	23XI Racing	Toyota	267	22
26	27	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	262	11
27	32	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	261	10
28	23	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Team Penske	Ford	258	20
29	6	16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	255	8
30	12	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	255	16
31	11	5	Kyle Larson (P)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	248	16
32	35	15	J. J. Yeley (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	241	0
33	4	54	Ty Gibbs (R)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	77	4
34	7	8	Kyle Busch (P)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	72	3
35	36	51	Todd Gilliland	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	52	2
36	13	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	40	1
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 22 among 13 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 11 for 55 laps
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 14 minutes, and 28 seconds
• Average speed: 123.569mph

Media

Television

USA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Two–time Texas winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2000 Texas winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio

PRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice & Mark Garrow covered the action for PRN when the field races down the front straightaway. Nick Yeoman covered the action for PRN from a platform outside of Turns 1 & 2, & Mark Jaynes covered the action from a platform outside of Turns 3 & 4 for PRN. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini had the call from pit lane for PRN.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	William Byron	3,083
1	2	Denny Hamlin	3,074 (–9)
2	3	Chris Buescher	3,059 (–24)
3	4	Christopher Bell	3,057 (–26)
3	5	Martin Truex Jr.	3,056 (–27)
3	6	Ross Chastain	3,049 (–34)
3	7	Brad Keselowski	3,045 (–38)
4	8	Kyle Larson	3,039 (–44)
3	9	Bubba Wallace	3,037 (–46)
2	10	Tyler Reddick	3,036 (–47)
	11	Ryan Blaney	3,028 (–55)
6	12	Kyle Busch	3,022 (–61)
1	13	Kevin Harvick	2,102 (–981)
1	14	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	2,096 (–987)
2	15	Joey Logano	2,087 (–996)
	16	Michael McDowell	2,087 (–996)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Chevrolet	1,110
	2	Toyota	1,042 (–68)
	3	Ford	1,025 (–85)

• Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2023 schedule . Jayski.com. . August 21, 2023.
2. Web site: Texas Motor Speedway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. August 21, 2023. January 3, 2013. October 30, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151030043513/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/texas-motor-speedway.html. dead.
3. News: NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops . Taranto, Steven . September 14, 2022 . March 29, 2023 . CBS Broadcasting Inc.
4. News: NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series . September 14, 2022 . March 29, 2023 . National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC.
5. Web site: Entry List. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 18, 2023. September 18, 2023.
6. Web site: Practice Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. September 23, 2023. September 23, 2023.
7. Web site: Qualifying Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. September 23, 2023. September 23, 2023.
8. Web site: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR. September 24, 2023. September 24, 2023.
9. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 24, 2023. September 24, 2023.
10. Web site: Utter. Jim. McDowell leads NASCAR Cup practice at Texas; Bell spins. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. September 23, 2023. Fort Worth, Texas. September 23, 2023.
11. Web site: Utter. Jim. Bubba Wallace takes pole position for Texas Cup race. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. September 23, 2023. Fort Worth, Texas. September 23, 2023.