AUTO RACING: Larson secures playoff advancement, Palou clinches IndyCar title and Verstappen owns F1

The Associated Press
·4 min read
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All Times Eastern

NASCAR CUP SERIES

Hollywood Casino 400

Site: Kansas City, Kansas.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, noon, and qualifying, 12:45 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (USA).

Track: Kansas Speedway.

Race distance: 267 laps, 400 miles.

Last year: Bubba Wallace won after starting sixth.

Last race: 2021 series champion Kyle Larson passed Tyler Reddick coming off pit road and led the final 55 laps at Darlington to win the opening race of the playoffs.

Fast facts: It was Larson's third victory this season, but first on the track where he had three seconds and two thirds in 11 previous Cup Series races. ... Reddick led 90 laps. ... Denny Hamlin won the first two stages and led 177 of the 367 laps, but had to pit twice for vibrations and wound up 25th. ... Playoff drivers took the first seven spots. Reddick was second, followed by Chris Buescher, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Wallace. The rest of the playoff field had Kyle Busch 11th, Joey Logano 12th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 16th, Martin Truex Jr. 18th, Kevin Harvick 19th, pole-sitter Christopher Bell 23rd and Michael McDowell 32nd.

Next race: Sept. 16, Bristol, Tennessee.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Kansas Lottery 300

Site: Kansas City, Kansas.

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

Track: Kansas Speedway.

Race distance: 200 laps, 300 miles.

Last year: Noah Gragson won after starting fifth.

Last race: Denny Hamlin, one of several Cup Series regulars in the field, passed Austin Hill on the final restart to win in overtime for his sixth Xfinity Series victory at Darlington.

Fast facts: One-third of Hamlin's career Xfinity Series victories have come on the track “Too Tough to Tame.” ... Hill was second, followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer and Josh Berry. ... Hill leads Nemechek by 23 points in the standings, with Justin Allgaier another 10 points back. They are the only three with a chance to claim the regular-season title. ... Riley Herbst finished sixth and passed Parker Kligerman by one point for the final spot in the 12-driver playoff with one race left to decide the postseason field.

Next race: Sept. 15, Bristol, Tennessee.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES

Kansas Lottery 200

Site: Kansas City, Kansas.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 3:35 p.m., qualifying, 4:05 p.m., and race, 9 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Kansas Speedway.

Race distance: 200 laps, 300 miles.

Last year: John Hunter Nemechek won from the pole position.

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.

Fast facts: Race runner-up Hocevar, Christian Eckes and Cory Heim all clinched berths in the next playoff round on points, along with Ty Majeski, the winner of the first playoff race. ... Heim leads all drivers with 15 top-10 finishes despite have run just 17 races while the rest of the title contenders have raced 18 times.

Next race: Sept. 14, Bristol, Tennessee.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

Last race: Two-time defending series champion Max Verstappen won his record-breaking 10th consecutive Formula One race, leading a 1-2 finish for Red Bull at Monza. Verstappen (12) and teammate Sergio Perez have won all 14 races this season and 24 of the last 25.

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

Online: http://www.formula1.com

INDYCAR

Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

Site: Monterey, California.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, practice, 1 p.m., qualifying, round 1, 5 p.m., qualifying, round 2, 5:50 p.m.; Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (NBC).

Track: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca .

Race distance: 95 laps, 212.61 miles.

Last year: Alex Palou won after starting 11th.

Last race: Palou won for the fifth time this season, this time in Portland, and clinched his second series championship in three years.

Fast facts: Palou's title-clinching victory marked the first time the championship has been decided before the final race since Dan Wheldon did it in 2005. ... Palou's first four victories came in a span of five races. ... Palou joins Scott Dixon (six), Will Power (two) and Josef Newgarden (two) as active drivers in the series with more than one season championship.

Next race: Next season.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA DRAG RACING

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

Next event: Sept. 14-17, Mohnton, Pennsylvania.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Next events: Sept. 7, 8 and 9, Chico, California.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

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