AUTO RACING: Power wins 2nd IndyCar title; Verstappen close
All Times Eastern
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Site: Bristol, Tennessee.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 4:35 p.m., and qualifying, 5:20 p.m.; Saturday, race, 7:30 p.m.
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway.
Race distance: 500 laps, 266.5 miles.
Last year: Kyle Larson won after starting fifth.
Last race: Bubba Wallace regained the lead with 43 laps to go and stayed out front the rest of the way, outrunning his car owner, Denny Hamlin, at Kansas.
Fast facts: Wallace’s victory was the second of his career and the second in as many races won by a driver that didn't qualify for the playoffs. Erik Jones won a week earlier at Darlington. ... Christopher Bell finished third and became the first driver to qualify for the next playoff round. He’s 10 points ahead of William Byron, 11 ahead of Hamlin and 18 ahead of Joey Logano. ... Kevin Harvick finished 36th and has failed to finish three straight races for the first time in a Cup career spanning 782 starts. ... This is the last race of round one of the playoffs; The playoff field will be trimmed to 12 following the race.
Next race: Sept. 25, Fort Worth, Texas.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Food City 300
Site: Bristol, Tennessee.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 2:35 p.m., qualifying, 3:10 p.m., and race, 7:30 p.m.
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway.
Race distance: 300 laps, 159.9 miles.
Last year: A.J. Allmendinger won after starting 10th.
Last race: Noah Gragson took the lead out of a restart on Lap 76 and maintained it until NASCAR shortened the race at Kansas because of rain after 94 laps to win his second race in a row and his fifth of the season.
Fast facts: Despite the victories, Gragson is just fourth in points. Allmendinger leads Ty Gibbs by 38, Justin Allgaier by 55 and Gragson by 72 as the series heads to the final race before the 12-driver field is set for the playoffs. ... Gragson and Ty Gibbs share the series lead for victories. ... Allmendinger has finished in the top 10 in 22 of 25 races; Gragson is next with 18 top-10 runs.
Next race: Sept. 24, Fort Worth, Texas.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR TRUCK SERIES
UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics
Site: Bristol, Tennessee.
Schedule: Thursday, practice, 4:30 p.m., qualifying, 5:05 p.m., and race, 9 p.m.
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway.
Race distance: 200 laps, 106.6 miles.
Last year: Chandler Smith won after starting seventh.
Last race: John Hunter Nemechek won the pole, both stages and passed Carson Hocevar on the final lap to win the last race of the first round of the playoffs at Kansas.
Fast facts: Hocevar missed advancing in the playoffs by three points behind Christian Eckes. Three-time series champion Matt Crafton was also knocked out. ... Zane Smith leads Chandler Smith by nine points, Nemechek by 13 and defending series champion Ben Rhodes by 20 heading into the round of eight. ... All eight playoff advancers are within 30 points of the lead.
Next race: Oct. 1, Talladega, Alabama.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
FORMULA ONE
Last race: Points leader Max Verstappen won after starting seventh in Italy — his fifth consecutive victory and 11th in 16 races this season — and moved within striking distance of his second consecutive season championship
Next race: Oct. 2, Marina Bay, Singapore.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
INDYCAR
Last race: Outgoing champion Alex Palou won at Laguna Seca and Will Power finished third in the season finale to beat Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden for the season championship by 16 points. It's the second title for Power, who also won in 2014, and the 17th for the Penske organization.
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. 15-18, Mohnton, Pennsylvania.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
Next events: Sept. 16, Hanford, California.
Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars
___
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports