Larson begins 2nd round of NASCAR playoffs at Kansas on top after owning Bristol. F1 gets month off

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NASCAR Cup Series

Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN BET

Site: Kansas City, Kansas.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 1 p.m.; qualifying, 1:45 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (USA Network)

Track: Kansas Speedway.

Race distance: 267 laps, 400.5 miles.

Last year: Helped by fresh tires on his Toyota, Tyler Reddick blew by six other drivers during a restart after a late caution to win a two-lap sprint and reach the second round in the then-elimination race. Reddick’s car owner, Denny Hamlin, couldn’t overcome a poor restart in his Toyota and finished second. Erik Jones and Kyle Larson were next in Chevys with Joey Logano fifth in a Ford.

Last race: Kyle Larson owned the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, winning both stages and rolling to his series-best fifth victory this season by more than 7 seconds. The 2021 Cup champion started second in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevy and led 462 laps, including the final 167 in a career performance that also marked the most dominant in team history. Chase Elliott was second in a Chevy, followed by the Toyotas of Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell. Wallace, Ryan Preece (seventh) and Ross Chastain (10th) were the only non-playoff drivers in the top 10.

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Fast facts: Larson took a big step toward his second title and leads 12 drivers into the second round with 3,047 points, ahead of Bell (-15), Reddick (-19), William Byron (-25) and defending champion Ryan Blaney (-28). The remaining contenders: Hamlin (3,015), Elliott (3,014), Logano (3,012), Austin Cindric (3,008), Daniel Suárez (3,006), Alex Bowman (3,005) and Chase Briscoe (3,005). Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton were eliminated. ... Larson won the spring race at Kansas in the Cup Series’ closest finish ever, nipping Chris Buescher at the line by one one-thousandth of a second, leading 64 laps after starting fourth. He has five top-five finishes in his past six starts there.

Next race: Oct. 6, Talladega, Alabama.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Kansas Lottery 300

Site: Kansas City, Kansas.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 11:05 a.m.; qualifying, 11:35 a.m.; race, 4 p.m. (CW)

Track: Kansas Speedway.

Race distance: 200 laps, 300 miles.

Last year: John Hunter Nemechek was uncatchable after seizing the lead just before halfway and going on to win by 7.521 seconds. Nemechek led 154 laps overall in a Toyota after starting seventh. Brandon Jones was second and Sheldon Creed third to lead a parade of Chevys in the top seven.

Last race: Defending series champion Cole Custer overcame an early brush with the outside wall to win the Food City 300 at Bristol to claim the regular season title. Custer led 104 laps after starting second in his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and didn’t look back after snatching the lead on Lap 209 of 300 for his second win of 2024. Sheldon Creed was 0.896 seconds behind with Chandler Smith next in Toyotas, followed by Jesse Love (Chevy) and Ryan Truex (Toyota). Hall of Famer and two-time series champ Dale Earnhardt Jr. was seventh in possibly his final race until 2026, rebounding from communications issues that forced a helmet change.

Fast facts: Kansas leads off the 12-team first round that follows with Talladega and the Charlotte Roval. ... Justin Allgaier came in 30th at Bristol after colliding with Austin Green but tops the playoff standings with his point total reset to 2,034, six ahead of Custer and nine more than Austin Hill. The remaining field with points differential: Chandler Smith (-10), Shane Van Gisbergen (-17), Love (-21), Sam Meyer (-23), Riley Herbst (-24), Creed (-27), A.J. Allmendinger (-28), Sammy Smith (-33) and Parker Kligerman (-36). Allgaier’s series-best 14 stage wins earned bonus points.

Next race: Oct. 5, Talladega, Alabama.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR Truck Series

Kubota Tractor 200

Site: Kansas City, Kansas.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 3:30 p.m.; qualifying, 4 p.m.; race, 8:30 p.m. (FS1)

Track: Kansas Speedway.

Race distance: 134 laps, 201 miles.

Last year: Christian Eckes took the lead on the final restart after a late caution and held off Taylor Gray by .363 seconds in a two-lap shootout for the victory. Those were the only laps Eckes led en route to his third of four wins last season.

Last race: Layne Riggs rang up his second consecutive series win at Bristol, as the non-playoff driver overtook Corey Heim for good on Lap 121 of 200 and claimed the UNOH 200 Presented by Ohio Logistics last Friday. The son of former NASCAR regular Scott Riggs started 17th and worked through the field to lead the final 80 laps and win by 1.096 seconds over Heim. Stage 1 winner Rajah Caruth, Christian Eckes and Nick Sanchez rounded out the top five.

Fast Facts: Eckes leads Heim by 15 points and Nicholas Sanchez by 32 with Ty Majeski 37 back. ... Rajah Caruth jumped five spots to fifth in points after finishing third at Bristol and stands 35 points above the current cut line. … Two drivers will be eliminated at Kansas with the top eight advancing to the next round. … Defending series champion Ben Rhodes stands 10th after coming in two laps down in 27th.

Next race: Oct. 4, Talladega, Alabama.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

Formula 1

Last race: Lando Norris chipped seven points from Max Verstappen’s lead with a dominating victory at the Singapore Grand Prix from the pole on Sunday. His third career win, all coming this season, included drama from a couple of brushes with the barriers on the Marina Bay street track. But it also demonstrated Norris’ ease as the McLaren driver lapped the field. Norris topped Verstappen (Red Bull) by nearly 21 seconds, with Azerbaijan winner Oscar Piastri third for McLaren.

Fast facts: Verstappen saw his lead over Norris cut from 59 to 52 points with six races remaining but his second-place run maintained strong prospects of repeating as champion. Charles Leclerc fell to 86 points behind despite finishing fifth after starting 16th. ... The series takes a month-long break before resuming with the United States Grand Prix at Austin, Texas, in mid-October. ... Verstappen had won seven of the first 10 races, the last which came in Spain in late June. His podium finish was just his third in the past eight starts.

Next race: Oct. 20, Austin, Texas.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

IndyCar

Last race: Alex Palou claimed his second consecutive IndyCar championship and third in four years at Nashville Superspeedway when challenger Will Power’s seatbelt came loose minutes into the season-deciding finale. Colton Herta won the Music City Grand Prix for his first career victory on an oval and second win of the season for Andretti Global. Herta topped Pato O’Ward in a wheel-to-wheel battle in the closing laps. Herta was the series runner-up with Scott McLaughlin third and Penske teammate Power fourth. Power won the 2022 title and entered the finale 33 points down after twice failing to reclaim the crown.

Next race: March 2, 2025, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA Drag Racing

Midwest Nationals, Madison, Illinois.

Last event: Antron Brown earned his second consecutive Top Fuel victory and Austin Prock followed suit in Funny Car at the Carolina Nationals in Concord, North Carolina. Brown topped Doug Foley in the final for his sixth win this season and 79th career, including Pro Stock Motorcycle. Prock held off Matt Hagan by 0.0153 seconds, about seven feet, for his seventh win of 2024.

Fast facts: Brown leads Justin Ashley by 53 points with Shawn Langdon 62 points back and Doug Kalitta 67 behind. ... Brown’s 63rd Top Fuel win moved him past Larry Dixon for second all-time. ... Prock leads Bob Tasca III by 129 points in Funny Car.

Next event: Oct. 9-13, Ennis, Texas.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

World of Outlaws

Buckeye Brawl, Orrville, Ohio; Federated Auto Parts Showdown, Hartford, Ohio.

Last events: Carson Macedo led all 35 laps of the Dennis Roth Classic in Tulare, California, to slow the recent roll of Michael “Buddy” Kofoid, who had won four of five events. The stakes, and steaks, were high as Macedo earned an $83,000 winner’s check and carted off 20 pounds of choice New York strip steak amid 70 pounds of meat overall. Kofoid was second and Sheldon Haudenschild third. David Gravel won the Friday night feature opener for his 14th win this season.

Fast facts: Gravel leads Macedo by 90 points in the driver’s standings. Donny Schatz is 170 points back in third.

Next events: Oct, 4-5, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

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