Sunday Race Info
Race: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400
Date/Time: Sunday, September 24 / 3:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 267 laps / 400 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Express Notes
Press Kit: Download the 2023 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedex.com/en-us/racing/press-kit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.
Round of 16 Recap: During the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Hamlin ranked second in the points standings behind Kyle Larson. The Chesterfield, Virginia native earned an additional seven playoff points thanks to his victory at Bristol and two stage wins at Darlington.
Leading the Way: In three playoff races, Hamlin has led 382 laps, including 142 laps in last Saturday’s win at Bristol Motor Speedway. During the 26-race regular season, the No. 11 driver led 389 laps total.
Texas Notes: Denny Hamlin is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series winner at Texas Motor Speedway. In 32 career starts at the 1.5-mile track, he owns seven top-five finishes and 15 top-10s, including three consecutive top-10 results dating back to 2020. Last fall at Texas, Hamlin was running solidly inside the top five before being spun under caution during the final stage. The ensuing chain of events resulted in Hamlin losing his track position and having to make a late charge to earn a top-10 finish.
Gabehart Effect: Since being paired with crew chief Chris Gabehart at the start of the 2019 season, Hamlin leads the Cup Series with 20 victories, 77 top-five finishes, and 4,902 laps led. During their time working together, the duo has won at eight of the 10 playoff tracks, including a win at Texas Motor Speedway in March 2019.
Texas Tire Test: Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team participated in a two-day tire test at Texas Motor Speedway on July 11-12.
Hamlin Statistics
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Races: 32
Wins: 3
Poles: 0
Top-5: 7
Top-10: 15
Laps Led: 292
Avg. Start: 12.8
Avg. Finish: 13.6
Hamlin Conversation – Texas
How do you approach this weekend and this round as a whole?
“Texas is an important race for everyone competing in the Round of 12 because you can’t count on being great at Talladega. You can be great and get taken out there. At the ROVAL, now that they’ve added the stage cautions, you could get taken out on a restart there, so you just never know. We tested a new tire at Texas this summer, so I feel like we should be pretty good there. Our mindset is that we want to get the work done early in this round and not be sweating points going into the ROVAL.”
JGR PR
