NASCAR playoffs in all three series head to Talladega, Formula 1 off until mid-October
All Times Eastern
NASCAR Cup Series
YellaWood 500
Site: Talladega, Alabama.
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 1:30 p.m., Sunday, race, 2 p.m. (NBC)
Track: Talladega Superspeedway.
Race distance: 188 laps, 500.08 miles.
Last year: Eventual series champion Ryan Blaney got his title-run going when he crossed the finish line about a foot ahead of Kevin Harvick to win at Talladega. The victory was Blaney's third at the superspeedway. He had only led eight laps, but was out front the final two to top Harvick, whose car was disqualified during post-race technical inspection for violating rules involving windshield fasteners.
Last race: Ross Chastain took the lead from Martin Truex Jr. on a restart with 20 laps to go and held off playoff leader William Byron to win for the first time this season at Kansas. Truex was third in his final season of racing. Defending Cup Series champ Ryan Blaney was fourth and Ty Gibbs, who like Truex was eliminated from the playoffs a week earlier, was fifth.
Fast facts: Byron, among four Hendrick Motorsports drivers left among the 12 playoff teams, moved to the font of the playoff field with his runner-up finish at Kansas. ... Defending champion Blaney and Christopher Bell are tied in second, six points in back of Byron. ... Past champions Chase Elliott and Joey Logano are seventh and eighth, both four points ahead of the cutline. ... Tyler Reddick, who won the regular-season championship, is first team out in ninth, four points behind Elliott and Logano. ... The others on outside are Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric. ... The round of 12 concludes on Oct. 13 at the Charlotte Roval, where the field will be sliced to eight. ... Chastain became the second non-playoff driver in four postseason races this season to win. Chris Beuscher won at Watkins Glen three races ago. ... Reddick won at Talladega in April, avoiding a multi-car crash about 400 yards from the end.
Next race: Oct. 6, Talladega, Alabama.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR Xfinity Series
United Rentals 250.
Site: Talladega, Alabama.
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 11:30 a.m.; race, 4 p.m. (CW)
Track: Talladega Superspeedway.
Race distance: 94 laps, 250.04 miles.
Last year: Jeb Burton won in double-overtime when the Xfinity last raced at Talladega in April 2023. Burton, the son of NASCAR Cup Series driver Ward Burton, held off Sheldon Creed by 0.113 seconds. Parker Kligerman finished third, with Cole Custer fourth and Brennan Poole fifth.
Last race: Aric Almirola ran down Xfinity playoff leader and defending series champion Cole Custer to win at Kansas. It was Almirola's first win at Kansas and sixth in his Xfinity career. Almirola beat Custer to the finish line by 0.660 seconds, with Chandler Smith trailing in third.
Fast facts: Custer remained on top as he tries for a second straight Xfinity title. He's got a five-point lead over Chandler Smith as contenders head to the second event in three-race round of 12. ... The round ends at the Charlotte Roval on Oct. 12. ... Austin Hill is third on the playoff grid with Sam Mayer fourth followed by Creed, Shane van Gisbergen, Jesse Love and Riley Herbst the rest of the drivers currently in position to advance. ... Justin Allgaier is first on the bubble, just a point in back of Herbst. ... The others on the bad side of the cutline are A.J. Allmendinger, Parker Kligerman and Sammy Smith.
Next race: Oct. 12, Concord, North Carolina.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR Truck Series
Love's RV Stop 225
Site: Talladega, Alabama.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying 2 p.m.; race, 4:30 p.m. (FS1)
Track: Talladega Superspeedway.
Race distance: 85 laps, 226.1 miles.
Last year: Former series champion Brett Moffitt pulled off a three-wide pass to the front to win his first-ever event at a superspeedway. Moffitt came out unscathed during a late accident that involved 10 trucks at the treacherous track. Moffitt got by Christian Eckes on the restart and held off Ben Rhodes for the win.
Last race: Corey Heim sped past faltering Ty Mejeski to win a playoff elimination race at Kansas. Majeski ran out of fuel approaching the one-to-go, white flag while leading and Heim took advantage to win for the sixth time this season. Among those eliminated from the playoffs was defending champion Ben Rhodes and rookie Daniel Dye. Layne Riggs, who had won the first two playoff races, finished second and Christian Eckes was third.
Fast Facts: The round of eight starts at Talladega before going to Homestead-Miami and Martinsville. The four advancing racers will chase a championship at Phoenix on Nov. 8. ... All eight previous playoff races at Talladega have been won by non-playoff drivers. ... Heim leads the standings with Eckes second and Majeski third. ... The four drivers below the cutline at the start of the round of eight are Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfiner and Taylor Gray. ... Caruth is eight points behind fourth-place driver Nick Sanchez for the final spot for the championship four.
Next race: Oct. 26, Homestead, Florida.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
Formula 1
Last race: Lando Norris chipped seven points from Max Verstappen’s lead with a dominating victory at the Singapore Grand Prix from the pole on Sept. 22. It was Norris' third career win, all coming this season.
Fast facts: The once unstoppable Verstappen is now just 52 points ahead of Norris with six races left. ... Verstappen, who has won the past three F1 titles, appeared to be cruising to four in a row when he won seven of the first 10 races this season. But the Red Bull Racing driver has not won since June in his longest winless streak since 2020. .. . Longtime F1 racer Daniel Ricciardo was released by his Red Bull team last week. He had won eight races over 14 seasons, the last at Monza for McLaren in 2021. ... Charles Leclerc is third in the driver standings, 86 points behind Verstappen. ... The series resumes in two weeks with the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 20. The series goes to Mexico and Brazil the two races after that.
Next race: Oct. 20, Austin, Texas.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
IndyCar
Last race: Alex Palou claimed his second consecutive IndyCar championship and third in four years at Nashville Superspeedway three weeks ago. Challenger Will Power’s seatbelt came loose minutes into the season-deciding finale. Colton Herta won the Music City Grand Prix for his first career victory on an oval and second win of the season for Andretti Global.
Next race: March 2, 2025, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NHRA Drag Racing
Last event: Jack Beckman, driving for John Force Racing, took the Funny Car title at the NHRA Mid-West Nationals, outracing fellow veteran Ron Capps for the title. Beckman has been piloting Force's car in recent events as Force recovers from his horrific racing accident in Virginia this past June. It was the first title for Beckman since he last competed during the 2020 season. Tony Schumacher won the Top Fuel title over Steve Torrence.
Fast facts: In Top Fuel, Antron Brown has a 34-point lead over Justin Ashley with Shawn Langdon in third, 60 points in back of Brown. ... Austin Prock leads the Funny Car standings, 105 points in front of his boss at John Force Racing, John Force. Bob Tasca is 159 points in back in third with Ron Capps and Matt Hagan rounding out the top five. ... Force, with Beckman driving, is chasing his 17th overall world Funny Car title. NHRA rules allow a replacement driver to collect points for up to eight events.
Next event: Oct. 9-13, Ennis, Texas.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
World of Outlaws
Weis Markets National Open, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Last events: The races at Sharon Speedway in Hampton, Ohio, last weekend were canceled due to persistent rain from Hurricane Helene. ... On Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, Carson Macedo led all 35 laps of the Dennis Roth Classic in Tulare, California, to slow the recent roll of Michael “Buddy” Kofoid, who had won four of five events. The stakes, and steaks, were high as Macedo earned an $83,000 winner’s check and carted off 20 pounds of choice New York strip steak amid 70 pounds of meat overall. Kofoid was second and Sheldon Haudenschild third. David Gravel won the Friday night feature opener for his 14th win this season.
Fast facts: Gravel leads Macedo by 90 points in the driver’s standings. Donny Schatz is 170 points back in third.
Next events: Oct. 12, Abbotstown, Pennsylvania.
Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars
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