Larson, Bell, Reddick top NASCAR Cup playoff field; Palou takes 33-point lead into IndyCar finale
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
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Site: Hampton, Georgia.
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 12:30 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (USA).
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Race distance: 260 laps, 400.4 miles.
Last year: William Byron won the rain-shortened race after 185 laps, regrouping from an early-race spin that put him a lap down. It marked his fourth victory of the season and second in as many years. Daniel Suarez was second and A.J. Allmendinger third as Chevys swept the top three spots.
Last race: Chase Briscoe's three-wide, late-race pass over Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain won Sunday's Southern 500 at Darlington to qualify for the playoffs. It also allowed Stewart-Haas Racing to pursue a third and final championship before shutting down after the season. Briscoe held off Kyle Busch with Christopher Bell third. Tyler Reddick's 10th-place finish clinched the regular-season championship by a point over Larson, who led 263 laps before Briscoe passed him.
Fast facts: NASCAR's playoffs begin just south of Atlanta at one of its fastest tracks, a 1.54-mile quadoval with superspeedway qualities like Daytona and Talladega and a similar rules package to boot. Turns feature 28-degree banking and are tighter than its larger, longer counterparts, and lap speeds under 30 seconds are common. ... Atlanta starts the Cup playoffs this year because of the Olympic break and was moved from July after several years. ... Larson (four wins) tops the 16-driver playoff field with Bell seeded second and Reddick third. ... Daniel Suárez earned his way into the playoffs with his thrilling three-wide, photo-finish victory in the February spring race, edging Ryan Blaney by .003 seconds and Kyle Busch by .007. Suárez is seeded 11th in the playoff field.
Next race: Sept. 15, Watkins Glen, New York.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
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Site: Hampton, Georgia.
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 11 a.m.; race, 3 p.m. (USA Network)
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Race distance: 163 laps, 251.02 miles.
Last year: John Hunter Nemechek overtook Justin Haley at the start of overtime and held off Daniel Hemric to earn his third victory of the season. Hemric was second, Cole Custer third and Haley fourth.
Last race: Christopher Bell recovered from being passed late to lead in the final laps of regulation, then survived an overtime bump from Cole Custer to win on Saturday. Bell led the first 103 of 137 laps before Sheldon Creed swept past him low in turn two with eight laps remaining until the sixth caution on lap 142. Bell earned his 19th series victory after starting on the pole.
Fast facts: Three races remain in the regular season, including Atlanta, followed by Watkins Glen and Bristol ahead of the 12-team playoffs. ... Justin Algaier remains the points leader with Chandler Smith second, Austin Hill third and defending champion Cole Custer fourth. ... Shane Van Gisbergen leads with three victories this season.
Next race: Sept. 14, Watkins Glen, New York.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR TRUCK SERIES
Last race: There was an unexpected winner in the Truck Series' opening playoff race with 22-year-old Layne Riggs winning his first ever race at the Milwaukee Mile last week. Riggs was not part of the 10-team playoff chase. But he held off championship contender Ty Majeski for the victory.
Fast Facts: The series is off until Bristol in two weeks. ... The playoff field will be cut from 10 to eight after races at Bristol and Kansas. ... Christian Eckes, who finished third behind Riggs, leads the playoff standings. After one race, Ben Rhodes and Rajah Caruth are behind the cut line, ninth and 10th in the standings. ... Riggs, the son of former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs, dislocated his shoulder celebrating his landmark victory. The team popped it back in place.
Next race: Sept. 19, Bristol, Tennessee.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
FORMULA 1
Last race: One pit stop turned out to be enough for Charles Leclerc and Ferrari, which earned a rare victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Leclerc held off Oscar Piastri and McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who started on the pole. Ferrari's one-stop strategy paid off for Leclerc as he won his second race this season. Teammate Carlos Sainz was fourth after fading from running up front with Leclerc late in the race. Max Verstappen's struggles continued with a sixth-place finish that extended his longest drought since 2020 to six races. His consolation is a healthy 62-point lead over second-place Norris, but one that's slowly dwindling.
Fast facts: Leclerc is 83 points behind in third. ... F1 drivers have a week off to reset before running in Azerbaijan in the first of consecutive events. Racers are then off another month before coming to the United States to race in Austin, Texas, in mid-October.
Next race: Sept. 15, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
INDYCAR
Last races: Scott McLaughlin and Pato O'Ward took 250-mile twin races last weekend at the Milwaukee Mile. McLaughlin, a New Zealand native, steered his Team Penske Chevy to victory on Sunday, holding off the Honda of countryman and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon by .4558 seconds for his third win this season. Penske teammate and two-time series champion Will Power appeared to have wiped out a 43-point deficit to series leader Alex Palou before spinning out and finishing 10th, blowing a huge chance to snatch control first place from Palou with the CGR driver sidelined by an electrical issue. The night before, O’Ward dominated for 133 of 250 laps in his Arrow McLaren Racing Chevy for his third win this season.
Fast Facts: Palou takes a 33-point lead over Power into next week’s season finale in Lebanon, Tennessee, as he seeks a consecutive title and third overall. McLaughlin is 50 back in third. The 206-lap, 267.8-mile event at Nashville Superspeedway will mark IndyCar's first finale on an oval in a decade. Nashville has hosted eight IndyCar events.
Next races: Sept. 15, Lebanon, Tennessee.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NHRA DRAG RACING
Last event: Clay Millican won the Top Fuel class while Austin Prock won Funny Car at the prestigious U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Millican qualified 13th in his dragster but beat Steve Torrance (sixth), covering the track in 3.792 seconds at 327.82 mph for his first win this season and seventh overall. Prock outdueled Ron Capps for his fifth win this season.
Fast facts: Doug Kalitta leads Justin Ashley by just 36 points with Shawn Langdon 50 back and Torrance 55 behind. Prock leads Funny Car by 348 points over Bob Tasca III, followed by Matt Hagan, J.R. Todd and Capps.
Next event: Sept. 12-15, Mohnton, Pennsylvania.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
Stockton Showdown, Stockton, California; Tom Tarlton Classic, Hanford, California.
Last events: Michael “Buddy” Kofoid’s last-lap crossover of Carson Macedo earned the victory and a $100,000 payday in Sunday’s feature at Huset’s High Bank Nationals in Brandon, South Dakota. Macedo topped Chase Randall to win Saturday night’s feature, while Sheldon Haudenschild earned $25,000 in winning the Huset’s Hustle finale on Friday night.
Fast facts: David Gravel maintains a 110-point lead on Donny Schatz in second. Macedo remained in third, 114 points in back of Gravel.
Next events: Sept. 13, Bakersfield, California; Sept. 14, Merced, California.
Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars
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