NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Texas: William Byron surges to win in final laps

Live updates from the race have ended. For a playoff driver glance and recap, click here.

Charlotte Observer NASCAR reporter Shane Connuck will be passing along updates from today’s Cup Series playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway. Follow those musings below. Refresh this page as needed.

Unofficial results

Lap 267: William Byron has won at Texas! The win is the 300th for the Hendrick Motorsports organization. That is... impressive.

Lap 264: Also, somehow... Ross Chastain is now in second?? Where did he come from? Hamlin up to 6th but will run out of laps to catch the front. Byron pulling away.

Lap 262: William Byron clears Wallace with a fourth-to-first move on the first lap after the restart. Great run from Byron there.

Lap 261: Bubba Wallace takes the green with six to go, again choosing the outside line. Chase Briscoe will be to his inside, Chase Elliott in third and William Byron in fourth. Sneaky Denny Hamlin now up to seventh on fresher tires.

Lap 258: As the drivers circle under yellow, some playoff positioning has again been affected. Kyle Lrson and Brad Keslowski now sitter on the cutline together. Ryan Blaney, who was collected in that wreck just now, is now 10 points under the line, and Reddick, too, is three back. Somehow, Martin Truex missed the mess and is still running clean in 20th.

Lap 255: ANOTHER wreck, this one on the front straightaway, ruins what was a dream restart for Bubba Wallace, who cleared playoff driver William Byron, and watched in his rearview as other drivers jostled for second position, leaving Wallace to drive away.

The caution was for a major chain reaction wreck. Tyler Reddick was the first of the bunch to hit the barrier.

Lap 255: Green green green! Bubba Wallace chose the outside line on the restart, ceding the inside line to William Byron. Off the restart, Wallace cleared Byron, and then both Briscoe and Elliott passed Byron.

Lap 253: Something to keep in mind here as the drivers ready for the restart: Denny Hamlin with that banged up right side is on fresh tires in 12th position. His tires are 30 laps newer than anyone else in front of him. With 15 or 14 to go, will that matter?

Lap 251: For the first time in a long while, Kyle Larson is not leading the race... because he spun out and has heavy damage! Hard racing between Larson and Wallace for the lead, and Larson lost control of his back end and it just slid out from under him. Wallace is now your leader as we race under caution again. Should add: This has massive playoff implications. Larson as it sits is 2 points below the cut line on points. William Byron is on Wallace’s bumper for this late restart.

Lap 246: Three playoff drivers — Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, William Byron — have gambled that their tires are good enough to finish the race with 20 to go. The top 14 to start this final sprint all stayed out on “old” tires.

Lap 244: Some drivers dive into pit road, some stay out. Kyle Larson faked going into the pits and stayed out. Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin, running 2-3, went into the pits and got two right-side tires. That, for now, leaves Larson, Bubba Wallace ad William Byron your Top 3. A total of 14 drivers stayed out on the lead lap and did not pit on the first go-around.

Lap 243: JJ Yeley brings the race to caution. Running in 26th position, the 15 car spun. This will create a new pit strategy. Some cars will take 2 tires. Some will take 4. Some may take none. What will the leaders do? The chasers?

Lap 242: Crossing the 25-to-go threshold and Kyle Larson is well out in front. Not to be lost here is Denny Hamlin’s standing. He collided with his teammate Ty Gibbs on pit road earlier in the race, and has a dent on the right side of his car that may as well be the Grandy Canyon in terms of wind resistance. And yet, he’s still running in third position.

Lap 231: Kyle Larson now has led more than 80 laps and is firmly in control of this race, re-extending his advantage to more than 4 seconds the last time through. His lap times are consistently about .3 faster than Jones or Hamlin. William Byron has slowly climbed through the field, currently 12 spots better than his 18th starting position in 6th.

Lap 220: Off the restart, Kyle Larson pulls away from Erik Jones again. Hamlin, Keselowski and Bubba Wallace back to the top 5. Wallace was so string early off the pole position, fell back in Stage 2, but has fought his way back up in Stage 3. He’s in need of some points here in this race to have a shot at sneaking into the Top 8. Or a win. A win would do that, too.

Lap 209: Daniel Suarez around as he tried to slow for pit road, and the caution comes out after he gets stuck on the infield grass. Looks like he tried to check up to make the turn just bit too late. That will re-bunch the top of the field, and probably allow all of the leaders to pit under yellow for one final time (until more yellows, of course).

Lap 206: Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski are your top 5, with Larson leading by a hefty 6.6 seconds. The pit window for a final stop is open, but the drivers are slow to hit that mark. Strategy will be key here for the top of the pack.

Lap 196: The final pit window is now open, but no drivers are heading down Pit Road yet. Just under 70 laps remain, and the field looks similar, with Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski out in front.

Larson’s lead over Jones is by roughly five seconds.

Lap 184: Not much movement as the Final Stage rolls on, with Kyle Larson keeping a steady lead. Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin aren’t far behind him. Pole-sitter Bubba Wallace, who has led for 93 laps today, is running fifth.

Lap 172: And we’re green for the Final Stage! Kyle Larson quickly snatched the lead back from Erik Jones, who held an early lead and was soon chased by Larson and Denny Hamlin.

Stage 2

Lap 165: Kyle Larson wins Stage 2! The No. 5 car is running well ahead of the field, by about six seconds.

Your Top 10: Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez.

Lap 153: Bubba Wallace loses a bit of speed but hasn’t left the front of the pack, though Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones have passed him. Kyle Larson continues holding the lead, now with 11 laps to go in Stage 2, by roughly five seconds.

Lap 143: Larson passes Wallace! The No. 5 car had been running particularly fast, working its way through the field quickly, and eventually caught the leader.

Lap 140: Bubba Wallace remains in the lead. Kyle Larson, who recently pitted and changed all four of his tires, is up to second place, 0.64 seconds behind Wallace. Ryan Blaney is running third, with Denny Hamlin fourth and Erik Jones fifth.

Lap 119: Green again! All cars pitted in Lap 115. Bubba Wallace is back in front, carrying a small lead over Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson. At the back of the field, Zane Smith was penalized for speeding on Pit Road.

Lap 111: The sixth yellow flag of the race is out! Corey Lajoie spun out on turn 2, making contact with the outside wall as his right rear tire blew out. He’d been running 26th.

Your Top 10: Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace.

Lap 101: Not much movement since the last restart, in Lap 87. Tyler Reddick is roughly 2.5 seconds ahead of Michael McDowell, who is running in front of Chris Buescher by about a second.

Lap 82: William Byron and Christopher Bell pit early in Stage 2. Tyler Reddick continues leading the field, followed by Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain.

Stage 1

Lap 80: A crash right as Tyler Reddick wins Stage 1! The 45 car kept itself away from the flurry of cautions and won Stage 1 easily after a restart with two laps left.

In the middle of the field, Erik Jones hit the back of Brad Keselowski, and then Keselowski’s No. 6 car ran into the back of Martin Truex Jr. The 19 car spun out from 12th place.

Lap 74: Kyle Busch wrecks! His No. 8 car entered Turn 1 and spun out, barreling all the way into the wall. The fourth caution came out and Busch backed the car all the way back to Pit Road.

He had said on his radio earlier that he thought his car may have had a problem but tried to hang in there for the final laps of the opening stage — and didn’t make it. His day is done.

Lap 60: We’re green again!

Lap 56: Another wheel is loose! The right rear tire on Todd Gilliland’s No. 51 Ford came off, causing him to spin out and wreck. He didn’t make it back to Pit Road, so he’s out of the race.

Lap 48: After briefly going back to green, another caution! Alex Bowman hit the back of Carson Hocevar’s car when trying to pass in between two cars toward the middle of the field. Bowman’s 48 car and Aric Almirola’s 10 both spun out. They avoided contact with the wall.

Your Top 10: Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez.

Lap 42: We’ve got our first caution! Austin Dillon’s No. 3 car crashed on turn 3 and one of its tires and wheels rolled down the track.

Lap 40: Leader Bubba Wallace is pitting now as many drivers make their way down Pit Road.

Lap 38: Christopher Bell makes his first trip down Pit Road! He’s the first one off this pit stop as well.

Lap 33: Pole-sitter Bubba Wallace continues leading the field, roughly 2.3 seconds ahead of Chris Buescher. Your Top 10: Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin.

Lap 16: Pretty much no movement at the front of the pack in the early goings as Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher continue leading the field.

Green flag, 3:50 p.m.: “Lock in, do what we need to do,” Bubba Wallace just told his team on his radio, according to the NBC Sports broadcast. We’re racing in Texas!

3:45 p.m.: It’s hot out in Texas today, 100 degrees and sunny, feeling like 105 degrees. It’ll be the hottest Texas race ever, according to the NBC Sports broadcast on USA Network.

3:36 p.m.: One car has been moved to the rear, BJ McLeod’s No. 78.

3 p.m.: No cars are being sent to the rear at this time. Some timing info for today, according to NASCAR (times are Eastern): The Invocation will be at 3:31:30 p.m. The National Anthem will be heard at 3:32:35. Command is scheduled for 3:39. And then the Green Flag will wave at exactly 3:50 p.m.

2 p.m.: We’re about 90 minutes away from the green flag! The Round of 12 begins this afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway (USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Bubba Wallace, the No. 12 seed in a truncated playoff field with as many drivers, will lead the pack to the green flag for the first time this season. His Toyota flew around the 1.5-mile quad oval in 28.672 seconds in yesterday’s qualifying lap.

“Appreciate everyone on this 23 team, McDonald’s, Toyota Camry. When it’s time to step up to the plate and deliver, this is what these guys do,” Wallace told NBC Sports yesterday after his 188.337 mph qualifying lap. “It’s the playoffs. You gotta show up in big time moments and big time plays.

“I’m excited for today, but the real task is tomorrow.”

Texas native Chris Buescher will start second, followed by his RFK Racing teammate Brad Keselowski.

Odds/predictions for Sunday’s race

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson are the favorites at 5-1 odds, according to CBS Sports. Tyler Reddick (13-2), William Byron (8-1) and Christopher Bell (9-1) round out the top five.

Shane Connuck is picking Chris Buescher to take the checkered flag. The winner of three of the final five regular-season races, Buescher continues running well, finishing in the top five at both Darlington and Bristol.

The Prosper, Texas, native has never won in 16 races at his home track. But his best finish, second in June 2021, came with his highest qualifying lap there, starting that race in third. He’ll have the best starting position he’s ever had at Texas this afternoon.

Starting lineup for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400

How to watch Sunday’s playoff race

TV: USA Network

Streaming: NBC Sports

Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR

Place: Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas)

Date: Sunday, Sept. 24

Time: 3:30 p.m.

Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps)

Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 80; Stage 2 ends on Lap 165; and the Final Stage ends on Lap 267.

Purse: $8,955,060