By Michael Haag and Mike Haag

FORT WORTH, Texas – The racing action at the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday provided plenty of excitement and drama during the fourth race of the 10-race playoff slate. 

Here are five takeaways from the 267-lap, 400-mile race at the 1.5-mile track near Fort Worth, Texas:

Sun-cooked September

It was 101 degrees when the first green flag was waved for Sunday’s race at TMS. That sizzling triple-digit heat marked a track record, and it came just a day after the official start of fall.

The NBC broadcast said the asphalt reached 141 degrees at one point. Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass said he was told by teams that the track’s surface would be between 130-140 degrees. A 127-degree pavement temperature was recorded for qualifying on Saturday. 

The overbearing heat didn’t keep Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron from securing his sixth victory of the season. Bryon said conditions were brutal, though. 

“This was one of those hot days,” Byron said. “It felt like I was playing football and went through two-a-days; (I) just wanted to quit. It was a grind all day and our team was there at the end. I’m really proud of this one as hot as it was and as tough as it was. We’ll take it and go on to the next round.”

Waiting game

Changes at TMS have been a hot topic since it introduced PJ1 TrackBite in 2019. The track stopped using it over a year ago, though, and some may believe the racing is better as a result of it. 

The only issue is that it takes awhile for the surface to be ready for sufficient passing and things that fans and drivers consider “good racing.” Byron, Sunday’s winner, said “it takes a long time for (the racing) to get good” at TMS. 

“It seems like we start the weekend and the track is real treacherous, there’s a lot of wrecks, and as we get further and further along in the weekend, it just gets better and better,” Byron said.

Byron’s claims proved true following the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 on Saturday. There were 12 cautions for 65 laps in the penultimate race at TMS, and there were only nine lead changes among four drivers.

By comparison, Sunday’s race saw 11 yellow flags for 55 laps, and there were 22 lead changes across 13 drivers. This is because more rubber was put down throughout the weekend leading up to the Cup Series race.

“I don’t know how to get there quicker, but it is pretty racy by the end, and there’s a lot of action on the restarts,” said Byron, who’s not sure how to fix the issue. “Yeah, I loved it, obviously, but yeah, I think it took a while for the track to come in for sure.”

300 wins for Hendrick: Byron’s sixth victory of the season helped Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports notch their 300th win overall – all recorded with Chevrolet. Byron’s trip to Victory Lane also extended Chevrolet’s series-leading win count to 15 in NASCAR’s premier series this season.

“Growing up a Hendrick Motorsports fan, I watched win No. 200 on TV when Jimmie (Johnson) won that race,” Byron said. “I always felt like obviously the gold standard was Hendrick Motorsports, so if I could ever drive for them, once I started having success in my own career, that was the goal. I’m super thankful to him, and to give him 300 is really cool.”

“It feels good to get to 300,” Hendrick said.” We’ve been thinking about it since 299. I’m proud of all the drivers that have driven at the company since we started because every one of them have participated in this 300 wins, so it’s really good to see William get it. He’s had a heck of a year. The whole organization is proud because we put these marks — we have glass on the wall that every time we have a win, we put another flag up there. It’s good to get to 300.”

Wallace sizzles at Texas: Pole-sitter and playoff contender Bubba Wallace had a stellar weekend at TMS. On Saturday he captured the pole position after recording a lap of 28.672 seconds, 188.337 mph in his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota. It was his second pole in 213 NASCAR Cup Series races and his first pole and 11th top-10 start in 2023.

“I held it wide open,’’ Wallace said after qualifying. “It’s all about the people at 23XI, the 23-team and the 45-car as well. We keep pushing each other to be better and better and it’s paying off. I’m proud of the effort, but it’s nice for a moment, tomorrow is the real test. Was I expecting it? I don’t know. In qualifying I tend to try too hard and overthink things. I need to stop that and just go out and do. So that was a good surprise.”

On Sunday Wallace led 111 of the 267 laps, which was a career best. He appeared to have the dominant car throughout the race until a bad start following a restart after a late-race caution on Lap 257. He ended up finishing the race in third and it was his second top-10 finish in nine races at TMS.

“Third time, I fooled myself starting on top,” Wallace said. “These guys gave me the right information. 14 (Chase Briscoe) was tight and he sent it off in there. Wasn’t going to stick, but that’s what he’s going to do. We’re racing for a win. I just hate it. I should have just kept my line into (turn) three and forced William (Bryon) to get tight. But we’re so vulnerable in these cars, right? But just upset with myself. Really needed a win there, and it was a good showing. I don’t know where that puts us. I don’t really care. But I know what I did, and I choked.”

Wallace leaves Texas ranked ninth in the championship standings and trails points leader William Byron by 46 points as they head to Talladega next weekend.

The good, bad and the ugly

While six of the top seven finishers in Sunday’s race managed to be playoff contenders, four other playoff drivers had major setbacks. 

Byron, Ross Chastain, Wallace, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski all had a strong finish, whereas Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch all dug themselves in a deeper hole. Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr. and Reddick had a mediocre day, finishing 14th, 17th and 25th, respectively.

Reddick said he was frustrated with his performance after starting the race 15th and winning the first stage.

“Obviously, when you win a stage and have the speed that our car had, anything outside of the top-five is a failure, so we will just move on,” Reddick said. 

Busch said he was second-guessing himself as a result of some tire issues and that “it just swapped ends on me.”

Busch was involved in a Turn 2 incident on lap 75 which knocked him out of the race. Larson, while racing for the lead with Wallace, spun and hit the wall in Turn 1 on lap 250, also ending his day. Blaney was sent to the garage after an accident on the final caution of the race on lap 257 during a front straightaway collision that involved six drivers.

“It was an up and down day, definitely and it ended with a down,” Blaney said. “I am proud of this group for getting a little better all day and having a good strategy. We took right side tires to get track position and then the car was ok, just kind of hanging on. We got better and then I sped on pit road. That really took us out of it. Took us out of having a good finish. When you put yourself back there then you get in a wreck. A slight sliver of hope and proud of the work all day on getting better and getting stage points but a driver mistake puts us back in the stuff and getting wrecked. Not a very good job by me today but proud of everyone on this Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang group. They did the best they could. We’re still not out of it. We’ll head to Talladega not too many points out. Hopefully we can rack up some there.”

Wallace, Reddick, Blaney and Busch are currently below the cutline for the Round of 8 and face possible elimination following the upcoming races at Talladega and Charlotte.