{"id":43637,"date":"2023-09-25T00:48:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T05:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=43637"},"modified":"2023-09-25T00:48:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T05:48:35","slug":"5-takeaways-from-sundays-autotrader-echopark-automotive-400-at-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/25\/5-takeaways-from-sundays-autotrader-echopark-automotive-400-at-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"5 takeaways from Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Haag and Mike Haag<\/em><\/p>\n

FORT WORTH, Texas <\/span>\u2013 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. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here are five takeaways from the 267-lap, 400-mile race at the 1.5-mile track near Fort Worth, Texas:<\/span><\/p>\n

Sun-cooked September<\/b><\/p>\n

It was 101 degrees when the first green flag was waved for Sunday\u2019s race at TMS. That sizzling triple-digit heat marked a track record, and it came just a day after the official start of fall.<\/span><\/p>\n

The NBC broadcast said the asphalt reached 141 degrees at one point. Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass said he <\/span>was told<\/span><\/a> by teams that the track\u2019s surface would be between 130-140 degrees. A 127-degree pavement temperature was recorded for qualifying on Saturday. <\/span><\/p>\n

The overbearing heat didn\u2019t keep Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron from securing his sixth victory of the season. Bryon said conditions were brutal, though. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was one of those hot days,\u201d Byron said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Waiting game<\/b><\/p>\n

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. <\/span><\/p>\n

The only issue is that it takes awhile for the surface to be ready for sufficient passing and things that fans and drivers consider \u201cgood racing.\u201d Byron, Sunday\u2019s winner, said \u201cit takes a long time for (the racing) to get good\u201d at TMS. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like we start the weekend and the track is real treacherous, there\u2019s a lot of wrecks, and as we get further and further along in the weekend, it just gets better and better,\u201d Byron said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Byron\u2019s claims proved true following the NASCAR Xfinity Series\u2019 Andy\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

By comparison, Sunday\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how to get there quicker, but it is pretty racy by the end, and there\u2019s a lot of action on the restarts,\u201d said Byron, who\u2019s not sure how to fix the issue. \u201cYeah, I loved it, obviously, but yeah, I think it took a while for the track to come in for sure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

300 wins for Hendrick:<\/b> Byron\u2019s sixth victory of the season helped Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports notch their 300th win overall \u2013 all recorded with Chevrolet. Byron\u2019s trip to Victory Lane also extended Chevrolet\u2019s series-leading win count to 15 in NASCAR\u2019s premier series this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up a Hendrick Motorsports fan, I watched win No. 200 on TV when Jimmie (Johnson) won that race,\u201d Byron said. \u201cI 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\u2019m super thankful to him, and to give him 300 is really cool.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good to get to 300,\u201d Hendrick said.\u201d We\u2019ve been thinking about it since 299. I\u2019m 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\u2019s really good to see William get it. He\u2019s had a heck of a year. The whole organization is proud because we put these marks \u2014 we have glass on the wall that every time we have a win, we put another flag up there. It\u2019s good to get to 300.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wallace sizzles at Texas:<\/b> 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\u2019s Toyota. It was his second pole in 213 NASCAR Cup Series races and his first pole and 11th top-10 start in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI held it wide open,\u2019\u2019 Wallace said after qualifying. \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s paying off. I\u2019m proud of the effort, but it\u2019s nice for a moment, tomorrow is the real test. Was I expecting it? I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThird time, I fooled myself starting on top,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cThese 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

The good, bad and the ugly<\/b><\/p>\n

While six of the top seven finishers in Sunday\u2019s race managed to be playoff contenders, four other playoff drivers had major setbacks. <\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reddick said he was frustrated with his performance after starting the race 15th and winning the first stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, 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,\u201d Reddick said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Busch said he was second-guessing himself as a result of some tire issues and that \u201cit just swapped ends on me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an up and down day, definitely and it ended with a down,\u201d Blaney said. \u201cI 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\u2019re still not out of it. We\u2019ll head to Talladega not too many points out. Hopefully we can rack up some there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Haag and Mike Haag FORT WORTH, Texas \u2013 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":677,"featured_media":43626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,21],"class_list":["post-43637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-texas-motor-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1699322136-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-blP","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43637"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43640,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43637\/revisions\/43640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}