Last chance to dance in NASCAR before final race in Phoenix. Formula 1 heads to Brazil

Updated Oct. 29, 2024 1:09 p.m. ET

Associated Press

All Times Eastern

NASCAR Cup Series

Xfinity 500

Site: Martinsville, Virginia.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 1 p.m.; qualifying, 2:05 p.m.; Sunday, race, 2 p.m. (NBC).

Track: Martinsville Speedway.

Race distance: 500 laps, 263 miles.

Last year: Ryan Blaney won at Martinsville to reach the final four for the Cup Series title, which he went on to win. Blaney led 145 laps for his third victory of the season.

Last race: Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick powered past Blaney on the final lap to win at Homestead-Miami and advance to the championship four. Reddick went high and overtook Blaney on the final turn to secure a spot in NASCAR’s winner-take-all finale in Arizona in two weeks. Reddick led 98 of the 267 laps.

Fast facts: Reddick joins two-time series champion Joey Logano in the final four. Martinsville is the final chance for the other six playoff drivers to win their way in. ... Christopher Bell is the leading playoff driver in points, with William Byron also in position to advance. ... 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ Kyle Larson is first-man out, seven points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron. ... Denny Hamlin, defending champion Blaney and 2020 series champ Elliott are the last eligible drivers likely needing to win their way in at Martinsville.

Next race: Nov. 10, Phoenix.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR Xfinity Series

National Debt Relief 250

Site: Martinsville, Virginia.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 3:35 p.m.; qualifying 4:10 p.m.; Saturday, race, 4 p.m. (CW).

Track: Martinsville Speedway.

Race distance: 250 laps, 131.5 miles.

Last year: Justin Allgaier won a side-by-side duel with Sheldon Creed to win for the first time at Martinsville and advance to last year's championship four. Allgaier held off Creed by 0.032 seconds; Creed needed a win to advance.

Last race: Austin Hill grabbed the second spot in the Xfinity Series championship finale, racing to his fourth victory of the season. Hill drove past defending series champion Cole Custer with 12 laps to go at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and held on to join AJ Allmendinger in the four-driver championship field at Phoenix.

Fast facts: It's the final chance for the remaining six playoff drivers to win their way into the final four. ... Allgaier and Custer are the top two in points in line to advance. ... Chandler Smith is fifth in the playoff standings, 28 points behind fourth-place Custer. ... The rest of the playoff drivers are Jesse Love, Sam Mayer and Sammie Smith. ... Aric Almirola won the spring race at Martinsville.

Next race: Nov. 9, Phoenix.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR Truck Series

Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200

Site: Martinsville, Virginia.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 1:35 p.m.; qualifying, 2:10 p.m.; race, 6 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Martinsville Speedway.

Race distance: 200 laps, 105.2 miles.

Last year: Corey Heim led 82 of 124 laps at Martinsville to win his first race of the 2023 season in the Truck Series' only stop at the half-mile track.

Last race: Grant Emfinger won his second straight race, this one coming in the round of eight at Homestead-Miami. Emfinger, who won at Talladega earlier this month, is the lone racer locked in to the championship four in Phoenix in two weeks.

Fast facts: Emfinger's back-to-back wins means that at least two drivers will advance on points to compete for a title. Corey Heim, Christian Eckes and Ty Majeski are the top three drivers in points in the playoff field. ... Majeski has a 22-point edge on fifth-place Rajah Caruth. ... The other drivers on the outside are Taylor Gray, Tyler Ankrum and Nick Sanchez.

Next race: Nov. 8, Phoenix.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

Formula 1

Brazilian Grand Prix

Site: Sao Paulo.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 10:30 a.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 2:30 p.m.; Sunday, race, noon (ESPN).

Track: Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Race distance: 71 laps, 190.06 miles.

Last year: Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen led from the start to win the Brazilian Grand Prix, adding to his record haul with a 17th GP win for the 2023 season.

Last race: Carlos Sainz Jr. won the Mexico City Grand Prix and Lando Norris closed the gap on Max Verstappen after another furious fight that cost the reigning three-time series champion three penalties and shaved 10 points off Verstappen’s lead in the standings.

Fast facts: Verstappen's dry spell continues. His last Formula 1 win came in Spain in June, ending a stretch in which he had seven victories in the series' first 10 races. He's gone winless in the past 10 events. ... Verstappen's once insurmountable points lead is now down to 47 over Norris with four races left. ... Charles Leclerc is third, 91 points behind Verstappen. Oscar Piasti is fourth and Sainz rounds out the top five.

Next race: Nov. 23, Las Vegas.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

IndyCar

Last race: Alex Palou claimed his second consecutive IndyCar championship and third in four years at Nashville Superspeedway, where Colton Herta won the Music City Grand Prix for Andretti Global.

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

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA Drag Racing

Last event: Justin Ashley took the Top Fuel points lead, holding off Clay Millican in the final round to win the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals three weeks ago. Matt Hagan took the Funny Car title in Texas for a second straight year.

Fast Facts: 16-time Funny Car champion John Force got clearance from his doctors and plans to be in Las Vegas to support his race teams. Force was injured in a horrific accident in June and has been recuperating since. ... With only one event left after Las Vegas, Austin Prock holds a 147-point lead in the Funny Car title chase over Force's car, currently driven by Jack Beckman. ... Justin Ashley has a 44-point lead on Antron Brown in Top Fuel.

Next event: Oct. 31-Nov. 3, Las Vegas.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars

Last event: Carson Macedo won in West Memphis, Arkansas, last Friday, taking the pole and then driving away after a late dustup with a lapped car. It was Macedo's 11th win of the season. David Gravel has a 74-point lead over Macedo. The Saturday event was canceled.

Next race: Nov. 6-9, Concord, North Carolina.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

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