As we look at NASCAR Cup Series at Texas results, we must consider that Texas Motor Speedway is one of the most treacherous tracks on the NASCAR schedule. With temperatures topping 100 degrees outside the car and 130 degrees inside the car, Sunday’s “Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400” was going to be a tough methodical race for all 36 Cup drivers.
With his second career pole position, Bubba Wallace led the pack on the opening laps. With an extremely hot and slippery track, everyone tip toed through the first few trips around the 1.5-mile track.
With seven laps to go in the first stage, Kyle Busch spun around in Turn 1 and smashed the outside wall. Busch would then reverse his car on to pit road, attempting to do less damage to his No. 8 Chevrolet. Unfortunately for the playoff contender, the damage was too significant, and he was forced to take his car to the garage.
During pit stops, Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs made hard contact with each other as they existed the pits. Gibbs was forced to retire the car with his steering column broken while Hamlin dodged some bad luck and was able to continue.
In a one lap shootout, Tyler Reddick and his No. 45 Toyota surged ahead and captured the first green and white checkered flag.
Reddick’s 23XI teammate and pole-sitter Bubba Wallace led most of Stage 2 but fell off towards the end with old Goodyear tires. While the No. 23 fell back the No. 5 moved forward and took the Stage 2 victory over Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin.
That damage Hamlin sustained in the collision with Ty Gibbs on pit road earlier in the race seemingly having no negative effect on his performance.
With 20 laps to go, Kyle Larson, who certainly had the fastest car in the final stage, was door-to-door with Bubba Wallace as the two leaders clashed for the lead. With Wallace on the outside line, the lack of downforce sucked the No. 5 around and in an instant, Larson was bouncing off the outside wall in Turn 1.
And just like that, the favorite for the victory was out of the race.
On the final restart of Sunday’s “Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400,” it was the pole-sitter of Bubba Wallace leading Chase Briscoe with five laps to go. As the two fought each other on the backstretch, William Byron caught them quickly and took it three wide entering Turn 3. Although Wallace attempted to side-draft the No. 24, Byron was able to complete the pass off Turn 4 and set his sights on the finish.
Byron led the remaining four laps on his way to capturing the checkered flag in “The Lone Star State,” recording the 300th victory for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.
For Byron, this is his sixth trophy of the year and the tenth triumph of his Cup Series career.
NASCAR Cup Series “Autotrader Echopark Automotive 400” Results
- William Byron ⭐️
- Ross Chastain ⭐️
- Bubba Wallace ⭐️
- Christopher Bell ⭐️
- Denny Hamlin ⭐️
- Kevin Harvick
- Brad Keselowski ⭐️ – LLI Pick 1
- Daniel Suarez
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Chase Briscoe
- Chase Elliott
- Alex Bowman
- Justin Haley
- Chris Buescher ⭐️ – LLI Pick 2
- Michael Mcdowell
- Carson Hocevar
- Martin Truex Jr ⭐️
- Aric Almirola
- Ty Dillon
- Harrison Burton
- Joey Logano
- BJ McLeod
- Ryan Preece
- Zane Smith
- Tyler Reddick – Stage 1 🏁 ⭐️
- Corey Lajoie
- Austin Cindric
- Ryan Blaney ⭐️
- AJ Allmendinger
- Erik Jones
- Kyle Larson ⭐️ – Stage 2 🏁 LLI Pick 3
- JJ Yeley
- Ty Gibbs
- Kyle Busch ⭐️
- Todd Gilliland
- Austin Dillon
⭐️ – Playoff Drivers.
NASCAR Playoff Standings
- Byron 🏁
- Hamlin +37
- Buescher +22
- Bell +20
- Truex +19
- Chastain +12
- Keselowski +8
- Larson +2
Playoff Bubble
- Wallace -2
- Reddick -3
- Blaney -11
- Busch -17
NASCAR Xfinity Series Update
Justin Allgaier, who started on pole for the third time this year, dominated Saturday’s race at Texas. However, on the last restart, Parker Kligerman attempted to pass the No. 7 but ended up running Allgaier up the track, giving John Hunter Nemechek the lucky break he needed.
Nemechek easily cleared Allgaier and Kligerman for the top spot and, ultimately, the win.
With his seventh win of the season, JHN locked himself into the round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.
Kligerman finished as the runner-up for his best result of the year and placed himself just one point from surpassing the playoff bubble.
Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed, Brandon Jones, and Brett Moffitt rounded out the top ten in Saturday’s race.
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