AUTO RACING: Buescher the NASCAR Cup Series favorite? Verstappen in F1, Palou in IndyCar in command

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NASCAR CUP SERIES

Cook Out Southern 500

Site: Darlington, South Carolina.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 12:30 p.m., and qualifying, 1:20 p.m.; Sunday, race, 6 p.m (USA).

Track: Darlington Raceway.

Race distance: 367 laps, 501.3 miles.

Last year: Erik Jones won after starting 15th.

Last race: Chris Buescher led RFK Racing's first 1-2 finish in nine years, winnng at Daytona for the third time in the final five regular-season races.

Fast facts: This is the first race of the playoffs. ... Buescher's victory boosted Bubba Wallace into the final postseason spot and eliminated fan favorite Chase Elliott, who finished fourth, from the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. ... Brad Keselowski finished second, followed by Aric Almirola. ... Martin Truex Jr. took the regular-season championship over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, giving Truex an extra 15 playoff points. ... NASCAR red-flagged the race for nearly 10 minutes after a crash that took out seven drivers competing for the last spot in the postseason. ... 2004 series champion Kurt Busch, 45, announced his retirement because of the lingering effects of a concussion sustained last year.

Next race: Sept. 10, Kansas City, Kansas.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200

Site: Darlington, South Carolina.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 10:35 a.m., qualifying, 11:05 a.m., and race, 3:30 p.m. (USA).

Track: Darlington Raceway.

Race distance: 147 laps, 200.8 miles.

Last year: Noah Gragson won after startng second.

Last race: Justin Allgaier held off Sheldon Creed by 0.005 seconds in double overtime to prevail in the fourth-closest finish in series history and win for the first time in 26 starts at Daytona.

Fast facts: Allgaier's second victory of the season and 21st overall moved him to second in the points race, 27 points behind Austin Hill and one ahead of John Hunter Nemechek with three regular-season races remaining. ... Hill finished 23rd, Nemechek 28th. ... Daniel Hemric was third, followed by Parker Kligerman and Cole Custer. ... Hill and Trevor Bayne looked to be in control of the race late, but they started a multicar melee when they made contact with Chandler Smith following a restart with two laps to go. ... Riley Herbst had a second consecutive bad week and went from three points ahead of Kligerman to 20 points behind in the fight for the last playoff spot. Herbst has lost 54 points in that fight in the last two races.

Next race: Sept. 9, Kansas City, Kansas.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES

Last race: Grant Enfinger led 95 of 175 laps and passed Carson Hocevar on the 159th lap to win in Milwaukee. His third victory of the season advanced him into the next round of the playoffs.

Next race: Sept. 8, Kansas City, Kansas.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

Italian Grand Prix

Site: Monza, Italy.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; Saturday, practice, 6:30 a.m., and qualifying, 10 a.m.; Sunday, race, 9 a.m. (ESPN).

Track: Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Race distance: 53 laps, 190.596 miles.

Last year: Max Verstappen won after starting seventh.

Last race: Two-time defending series champion Max Verstappen won the rain-marred Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record with nine straight victories.

Fast facts: The victory was Verstappen's eighth this year from the pole position and his third in a row from the pole at Zandvoort. ... He and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez have combined to win the last 14 races, including all 13 this season, and 23 of the last 24. Verstappen has won 20 of them. The last non-Red Bull driver to win was George Russell of Mercedes in the penultimate race last season.

Next race: Sept. 17, Marina Bay, Singapore.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

INDYCAR

Bitnil.com Grand Prix of Portland

Site: Portland, Oregon.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 6 p.m.; Saturday, practice, Noon, qualifying, 3:30 p.m., and final practice, 8:15 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (NBC).

Track: Portland International Raceway.

Race distance: 119 laps, 216.04 miles.

Last year: Scott McLaughlin won from the pole position.

Last race: Six-time series champion Scott Dixon earned his 55th victory in the series in his record-extending 320th career start and did so in dominating fashion, beating Pato O'Ward by more than 22 seconds.

Fast facts: Dixon needed only three pit stops and held the lead for 82 laps before making his final pit stop on lap 196 of 260. ... Dixon moved within 74 points of Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Alex Palou in the championship fight. Josef Newgarden is third, 125 back. ... Newgarden led 101 of the first 104 laps, but his streak of five consecutive victories on an oval track ended, two shy of A.J. Foyt’s mark of seven straight oval victories. Newgarden hit the wall on Lap 211 and finished 25th. ... This is the penultimate race of the 2023 season.

Next race: Sept. 10, Monterey, California.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA DRAG RACING

Last event: Antron Brown won in Top Fuel and Ron Capps won in Funny car in Minnesota.

Next event: Aug. 30-Sept. 4, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Next events: Aug. 31, Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, Burlington, Washington.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

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