Byron leads NASCAR Cup playoffs as series shifts to Charlotte roval; Formula 1 has another week off

All Times Eastern

NASCAR Cup Series

Bank of America ROVAL 400.

Site: Concord, North Carolina.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 12:30 p.m.; qualifying, 2 p.m., Sunday, race, 2 p.m. (NBC)

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

Race distance: 109 laps, 252.88 miles.

Last year: AJ Allmendinger led twice for 46 of the final 52 laps, including the final 33 after overtaking eventual series champion Ryan Blaney for the victory. Allendinger started sixth and beat William Byron by .666 seconds with Kyle Busch third as Chevy swept the top three spots. Ty Gibbs was fourth in a Toyota and Joey Logano fifth in a Ford.

Last race: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. became the second consecutive non-playoff driver to win as he conquered Talladega in overtime to end a 65-race drought dating back to last year's Daytona 500. Stenhouse won in a three-wide finish between Brad Keselowski and William Byron, who advanced to the third round with his run. It was typical Talladega with a late crash collecting 27 of 40 cars, including Stenhouse’s Chevy, which was missing some safety foam on his driver’s side door. The race was red-flagged for nine minutes, and the chaotic cleanup left some teams livid after the race about NASCAR’s handling of the crash scene. Just four active playoff drivers finished in the top 10.

Fast facts: Stenhouse joined Ross Chastain (Kansas) and Chris Beuscher (Watkins Glen) as non-playoff drivers to win in the postseason. ... Charlotte’s 17-turn “roval” course has been reconfigured to provide additional passing opportunities for drivers. Changes include an extended straightaway coming out of Turn 5, a new Turn 6 and sharper hairpin in Turn 7. There’s also a 35-foot elevation change, among other tweaks. … The Cup playoff field will be cut from 12 to eight drivers. … William Byron leads Christopher Bell by 17 points and Kyle Larson by 22. Defending series champion Ryan Blaney stands sixth, 49 points back and 25 above the cut line. He's the only Ford driver in the top eight. … Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe are on the bubble below the cutline.

Next race: Oct. 20, Las Vegas.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BCBS.

Site: Concord, North Carolina.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 10 a.m.; qualifying, 11 a.m.; race, 4 p.m. (CW)

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

Race distance: 67 laps, 155.44 miles.

Last year: Sam Mayer started on the pole in a Chevy and led four times for 50 laps, including the final four after overtaking Cole Custer’s Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to win by .909 seconds. Josh Berry (Chevy) was third, followed by Riley Herbst (Ford) and Kaz Grala (Toyota).

Last race: Sammy Smith surged from last in the playoff standings to become the first driver to reach the second round with an overtime win in the United Rentals 250 at Talladega. The JR Motorsports driver entered the weekend 12th in points and started 27th but steadily made his way forward in the No. 8 Chevy owned by Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was second when the race restarted with a two-lap sprint and outdueled several drivers before holding off non-playoff driver Ryan Sieg by .177 seconds to break a 56-race drought with his second career win. Riley Herbst was third, Sheldon Creed fourth and Chandler Smith fifth.

Fast facts: JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer (16th) was disqualified after his No. 1 Chevy failed the postrace inspection height requirement for being too low in the rear. The team will appeal the decision. … Chandler Smith (2,122 points) leads Cole Custer and Austin Hill by 27 points with Sheldon Creed 32 back and Jesse Love 42 behind. … Initial top seed Justin Allgaier and fellow contenders AJ Allmendinger, Shane Van Gisbergen and Parker Kligerman were involved in a late accident and are in danger of elimination.

Next race: Oct. 19, Las Vegas.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR Truck Series

Last race: Grant Enfinger won the Love's RV Stop 225 playoff race at Talladega to automatically qualify for the championship finale at Phoenix on Nov. 8. The Alabama native led 34 of 85 laps in his Chevy, including the final nine after a restart before another caution on the final lap. Enfinger won the second stage to earn his first win this season, his 11th career and second at his home track. Playoff driver Taylor Gray was second with Daniel Dye third despite contact with Tyler Ankrum that caused a multicar wreck that brought the final yellow.

Fast Facts: Enfinger’s win was the first for his CR7 Motorsports team and first by a playoff driver in nine Talladega races. … Three more spots are at stake over the next two races of the round of eight. Corey Heim (3,077 points) finished 11th and leads Christian Eckes by one with Ty Majeski 25 back and Rajah Caruth 30 behind. … The series will take a three-week break before resuming at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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 victory, all coming this season.

Fast facts: The once unstoppable Verstappen is now only 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 driver 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

Texas Fall Nationals, Ennis, Texas.

Last event: “Fast” 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 while 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: Leah Pruett (Top Fuel) and Matt Hagan (Funny Car) are defending race winners at the Texas drag strip. ... Antron Brown has a 34-point lead in Top Fuel 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. 31-Nov. 3, Las Vegas.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

World of Outlaws

Keystone Showdown, Abbottstown, Pennsylvania.

Last events: Carson Macedo overcame fog postponements and subsequent runs in preliminary events to top qualifying, win a heat, earn a front-row start and then win the Weis Markets National Open feature at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Macedo overtook pole winner Anthony Macri on Lap 8 of 40 and held off Sheldon Haudenschild to earn his second Open title and claim $75,000. Brad Sweet was third.

Fast facts: Gravel leads Macedo by 86 points in the driver standings. Donny Schatz is 176 points back in third.

Next events: Oct. 18-19, Joliet, Illinois.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars