2023 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Race 6 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series
Date March 26, 2023 (2023-03-26)
Location Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas
Course Permanent racing facility
3.426 mi (5.514 km)
Distance 75 laps, 255.75 mi (411.857 km)
Scheduled Distance 68 laps, 231 mi (372 km)
Average speed 72.886 miles per hour (117.299 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 2:10.760
Most laps led
Driver Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing
Laps 41
Winner
No. 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Guenther Steiner, and Chase Elliott (Remotely)
Radio in the United States
Radio PRN
Booth Announcers Doug Rice and Mark Garrow
Turn Announcers Rob Albright (1), Doug Turnbull (2 to Becketts), Mark Jaynes (Chapel to S to Senna), Nick Yeoman (Sepang Hairpin), Pat Patterson (Motodrom), and Brad Gillie (Istanbul 8 to Turn 20)

The 2023 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 26, 2023, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Contested over 75 laps, extended from 68 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 3.426-mile (5.514 km) road course, it was the sixth race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Report

Background

Aerial view of Circuit of the Americas, the track where the race was held.

Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a grade 1 FIA-specification motorsports facility located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas. It features a 3.426-mile (5.514 km) road racing circuit. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, a round of the FIM Road Racing World Championship. It previously hosted the Supercars Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, and IndyCar Series.

Entry list

  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
  • (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1Ross ChastainTrackhouse RacingChevrolet
2Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord
3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
4Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord
5Kyle LarsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
6Brad KeselowskiRFK RacingFord
7Corey LaJoieSpire MotorsportsChevrolet
8Kyle BuschRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
9Jordan TaylorHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
10Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
12Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeFord
14Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas RacingFord
15Jenson ButtonRick Ware RacingFord
16A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet
17Chris BuescherRFK RacingFord
19Martin Truex Jr.Joe Gibbs RacingToyota
20Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
21Harrison BurtonWood Brothers RacingFord
22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord
23Bubba Wallace23XI RacingToyota
24William ByronHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
31Justin HaleyKaulig RacingChevrolet
34Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsFord
38Todd GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord
41Ryan PreeceStewart-Haas RacingFord
42Noah Gragson (R)Legacy Motor ClubChevrolet
43Erik JonesLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet
45Tyler Reddick23XI RacingToyota
47Ricky Stenhouse Jr.JTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet
48Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
50Conor DalyThe Money Team RacingChevrolet
51Cody WareRick Ware RacingFord
54Ty Gibbs (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota
77Ty DillonSpire MotorsportsChevrolet
78Josh Bilicki (i)Live Fast MotorsportsChevrolet
84Jimmie JohnsonLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet
91Kimi RäikkönenTrackhouse RacingChevrolet
99Daniel SuárezTrackhouse RacingChevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

Tyler Reddick was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 2:12.016 seconds and a speed of 92.989 mph (149.651 km/h).[9]

Practice results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 45Tyler Reddick23XI RacingToyota2:12.01692.989
2 5Kyle LarsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2:12.54492.618
3 1Ross ChastainTrackhouse RacingChevrolet2:12.68592.520
Official practice results

Qualifying

William Byron scored the pole for the race with a time of 2:10.760 and a speed of 93.882 mph (151.088 km/h).[10]

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 24William ByronHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2:11.7462:10.760
2 45Tyler Reddick23XI RacingToyota2:10.3052:10.898
3 2Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord2:11.2152:11.352
4 9Jordan TaylorHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2:11.0202:11.754
5 99Daniel SuárezTrackhouse RacingChevrolet2:11.8842:11.905
6 48Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2:11.4012:12.127
7 16A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet2:11.8612:12.228
8 43Erik JonesLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet2:11.6782:12.230
9 8Kyle BuschRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2:11.4132:12.459
10 42Noah Gragson (R)Legacy Motor ClubChevrolet2:11.9092:13.162
11 23Bubba Wallace23XI RacingToyota2:11.498
12 1Ross ChastainTrackhouse RacingChevrolet2:11.562
13 5Kyle LarsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2:12.039
14 20Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2:12.112
15 22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord2:12.125
16 21Harrison BurtonWood Brothers RacingFord2:12.219
17 54Ty Gibbs (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota2:12.323
18 47Ricky Stenhouse Jr.JTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet2:12.359
19 14Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas RacingFord2:12.401
20 34Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsFord2:12.498
21 11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2:12.500
22 91Kimi RäikkönenTrackhouse RacingChevrolet2:12.526
23 31Justin HaleyKaulig RacingChevrolet2:12.539
24 15Jenson ButtonRick Ware RacingFord2:12.559
25 19Martin Truex Jr.Joe Gibbs RacingToyota2:12.575
26 41Ryan PreeceStewart-Haas RacingFord2:12.629
27 7Corey LaJoieSpire MotorsportsChevrolet2:12.756
28 3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2:12.781
29 4Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord2:12.869
30 6Brad KeselowskiRFK RacingFord2:12.929
31 84Jimmie JohnsonLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet2:12.938
32 17Chris BuescherRFK RacingFord2:13.218
33 78Josh Bilicki (i)Live Fast MotorsportsChevrolet2:13.274
34 77Ty DillonSpire MotorsportsChevrolet2:13.567
35 50Conor DalyThe Money Team RacingChevrolet2:13.792
36 38Todd GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord2:14.038
37 51Cody WareRick Ware RacingFord2:14.858
38 12Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeFord2:20.865
39 10Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord3:02.392
Official qualifying results

Race

Report

Stage 1

Turn 1 after restart

The race starts with William Byron and Tyler Reddick on the front row. When the green flag is dropped, Reddick has a slow start and loses position to Austin Cindric, but manages to recover on the back straight. Byron leads the first lap with a lead of 8 tenths of a second.

On the second lap, Brad Keselowski stops at the pit entrance and the first yellow flag is shown. Chris Buescher and Ty Dillon have a collision, which causes the latter to spin and hit Jimmie Johnson. At the start of the race, Jordan Taylor drops to ninth place, while Kyle Larson advances to tenth place. Erik Jones and Noah Gragson manage to advance to 7th and 8th place, respectively.

The race restarts on lap 6 and Cindric takes advantage to take the lead after Byron and Reddick go a little long in turn one. Byron drops to third and Jordan Taylor locks up the front tires and loses positions, dropping out of the top 10.

Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Corey LaJoie pit to serve a drive-through penalty for cutting through the sprint section.

On lap 8, Cindric and Reddick swap positions several times, but Reddick finally takes the lead on the final section of the circuit. Moments later, Byron overtakes Cindric and moves back into second.

On lap 11, Kyle Larson spins due to Bubba Wallace having brake failure. Larson touches with Denny Hamlin on the way to the last corner of the circuit, which generates the second yellow flag. Bubba Wallace retires from the race.

Several drivers stop on lap 12, including Tyler Reddick, Noah Gragson, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Kimi Räikkönen, committing to three stops.

Stage 2

The race restarts on lap 16 and Byron takes the lead over Cindric.

Conor Daly heads to the garages, while Kselowski is touched by Ryan Blaney and the latter is touched by Kyle Larson a few corners later.

On lap 24, Cindric, Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman pit, followed by Byron, Allmendinger and Suarez on lap 25. On lap 27, Reddick assumes the race lead, followed by Austin Dillon with a 3.6-second advantage and Michael McDowell.

On lap 28 and with just three laps to go in the second stage, Tyler Reddick managed to increase his lead over Austin Dillon by more than six seconds. On the other hand, Ty Gibbs was penalized for cutting the esses, while Kyle Larson received a penalty for exceeding the speed limit.

The second stage came to an end with a solid performance by Reddick, who managed to increase his lead to more than seven seconds over Dillon. Michael McDowell, Kevin Harvick, Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Larson, Erik Jones, Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson also scored points in this stage.

Final Stage

On lap 32, Harvick and Dillon pit, while Reddick stays on track to take advantage of the 3-stop strategy. On the next lap, Reddick pitted, leaving Buescher in the lead with one stop remaining.

Buescher holds the lead until lap 35, when he pits for his second stop and William Byron takes the lead followed by Allmendinger with a 1.5 second gap. Suarez, Chastain and Kyle Busch complete the top 5, being those who went for two stops, while Reddick, who was going for 3 stops, is in sixth place 7.3 seconds behind the leader.

On lap 36, Reddick manages to overtake Allmendinger and moves into second place, just 3 seconds behind Byron. On the other hand, Christopher Bell spun due to the dirt in one of the turns, but managed to get back on track.

On lap 39, Reddick manages to overtake Byron in the first corner and takes the first position. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin also suffers a spin similar to Bell's, but continues to race. The yellow flag is shown for the third time due to debris on the track.

The yellow flag evens the strategies and all drivers pit on lap 42. Allmendinger loses several positions after the pit stop. Logano, Harrison Burton and Cody Ware stay on track taking the first three positions.

On the restart on lap 44, Reddick tries to take the lead in turn 1, but goes a little wide, allowing Byron and Chastain to take the lead. Logano has to lift his foot off the gas as he is held up by Byron and Reddick.

On lap 45, Reddick made a daring move at turn 11 and went side by side with Chastain on the long straight, ultimately securing second place.

As they reached turn 11 on the following lap, Reddick made an attempt to pass for the lead, succeeding momentarily before Byron counterattacked and the two went side by side through the final sector, with Byron ultimately taking the lead.

On lap 46, Reddick made an inside move at turn 1 but was unable to get past Byron. The driver of car #24 protected the inside line at turn 11 and managed to fend off Reddick's challenge. However, Reddick continued to push and finally overtook Byron on the inside after the long straight, claiming the lead of the race. Kyle Larson suffers a broken toe link in the rear.

On lap 52, the top 4 were separated by a mere 2.4 seconds due to fuel conservation. By lap 55, Bowman had fallen so far behind the leaders that he was overtaken by Daniel Suarez for fourth place. The Mexican driver was trailing Reddick by 3 seconds.

With only 12 laps remaining in the scheduled race, the top 4 were now separated by just 1.1 seconds, all while still conserving fuel. The two Trackhouse drivers overtook Byron, whose car was unstable on the dirt, while Suarez took second place by bumping his teammate. Brad Keselowski's car came to a stop, prompting a yellow flag.

Most of the drivers pit with 11 laps to go. Byron comes out second, ahead of Suarez and behind Reddick. Chastain loses time and positions due to delays in securing the right front tire nut. Bell stays out and becomes the leader, followed by Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kimi Raikkonen, and Ryan Preece on the same strategy.

On lap 59, the race resumes. Reddick takes the lead on the inside of turn 1, having started in fifth place. Several cars spin out, including Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain, who cannot immediately resume the race, resulting in a yellow flag. Denny Hamlin has to pit due to a flat tire.

Lap 61, race restart with Reddick and Bell leading the pack. Reddick overshoots the first corner and Byron takes the lead. Kyle Busch moves up to third place. Bell spins out. Allmendinger retires from the race.

It's now a head-to-head battle between Byron and Reddick for the win, with half a second separating them. Kyle Busch is far behind in third place, trailing by 2.4 seconds. On lap 63, Reddick overtakes Byron and takes the lead. A yellow flag is waved with four laps remaining due to debris on the track. Austin Dillon's car was seen smoking from the left rear section.

On the first Overtime attempt to finish the race, Byron goes a little wide in turn one, with Kyle Busch running second. Yellow flag for debris from Ryan Blaney's car. Ryan Preece with heavy damage.

On the second Overtime attempt, Daniel Suarez (pushed by Bowman) spins Martin Truex Jr. Yellow flag for Daniel Suarez's dislodged tire.

Third Overtime Attempt with Reddick and Bowman leading the ranks. Restart, Reddick takes the lead. Bell with major damage to his hood. The white flag is waved being the final lap of the race, with Kyle Busch overtaking Bowman for second place, albeit far from first place, 1.6 seconds behind Reddick. Finally, Tyler Reddick crosses the finish line as the race winner. Completing the top 5 are Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and William Byron.

Race results

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 15

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
124William ByronHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet10
22Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord9
316A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet8
448Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7
51Ross ChastainTrackhouse RacingChevrolet6
699Daniel SuárezTrackhouse RacingChevrolet5
78Kyle BuschRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4
89Jordan TaylorHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet3
920Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2
1041Ryan PreeceStewart-Haas RacingFord1
Official stage one results

Stage Two Laps: 15

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
145Tyler Reddick23XI RacingToyota10
23Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet9
334Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsFord8
44Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord7
517Chris BuescherRFK RacingFord6
647Ricky Stenhouse Jr.JTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet5
75Kyle LarsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet4
843Erik JonesLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet3
914Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas RacingFord2
1042Noah Gragson (R)Legacy Motor ClubChevrolet1
Official stage one results

Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 38

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1245Tyler Reddick23XI RacingToyota7550
298Kyle BuschRichard Childress RacingChevrolet7539
3648Alex BowmanHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7541
4121Ross ChastainTrackhouse RacingChevrolet7539
5124William ByronHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7542
632Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord7540
71847Ricky Stenhouse Jr.JTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet7535
83217Chris BuescherRFK RacingFord7535
91754Ty Gibbs (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota7528
103638Todd GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord7527
11277Corey LaJoieSpire MotorsportsChevrolet7526
122034Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsFord7533
13294Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord7531
14135Kyle LarsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7527
151914Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas RacingFord7524
162111Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota7521
172519Martin Truex Jr.Joe Gibbs RacingToyota7520
182415Jenson ButtonRick Ware RacingFord7519
192331Justin HaleyKaulig RacingChevrolet7518
201042Noah Gragson (R)Legacy Motor ClubChevrolet7518
213812Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeFord7516
221621Harrison BurtonWood Brothers RacingFord7515
23843Erik JonesLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet7517
2449Jordan TaylorHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7516
253751Cody WareRick Ware RacingFord7512
263378Josh Bilicki (i)Live Fast MotorsportsChevrolet750
27599Daniel SuárezTrackhouse RacingChevrolet7515
281522Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord759
292291Kimi RäikkönenTrackhouse RacingChevrolet758
303910Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord747
311420Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota738
322541Ryan PreeceStewart-Haas RacingFord686
33283Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet6213
34716A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet6011
35306Brad KeselowskiRFK RacingFord562
363550Conor DalyThe Money Team RacingChevrolet161
371123Bubba Wallace23XI RacingToyota101
383184Jimmie JohnsonLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet01
393477Ty DillonSpire MotorsportsChevrolet01
Official race results

Race statistics

  • Lead changes: 16 among 7 different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 8 for 17 laps
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 30 minutes and 32 seconds
  • Average speed: 72.886 miles per hour (117.299 km/h)

Media

Television

Fox Sports covered the race on the television side. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, and Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner called the race from the broadcast booth and Chase Elliott called the race remotely. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side, and Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Fox
Booth announcersPit reportersIn-race analyst
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer
Color-commentator: Kurt Busch
Color-commentator: Guenther Steiner
Color-commentator: Chase Elliott
Jamie Little
Regan Smith
Larry McReynolds

Radio

PRN had the radio call for the race which was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

PRN
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters
Lead announcer: Doug Rice
Announcer: Mark Garrow
Turn 1: Rob Albright
Turns 2 to Becketts: Doug Turnbull
Chapel to S do Senna: Mark Jaynes
To Sepang Hairpin: Nick Yeoman
Motodrom: Pat Patterson
Istanbul 8 to Turn 20: Brad Gillie
Wendy Venturini
Alan Cavanna
Brett McMillan

Standings after the race

References

  1. "2023 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  2. Taranto, Steven (14 September 2022). "NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  3. "NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  4. "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  5. "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  6. "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  7. "EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  8. "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  9. Utter, Jim (March 24, 2023). "Tyler Reddick leads NASCAR Cup practice at COTA". Motorsport.com. Austin, Texas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  10. Utter, Jim (March 25, 2023). "Byron earns COTA Cup pole; Raikkonen and Button in the midfield". Motorsport.com. Austin, Texas: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
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