CHRIS BUESCHER

Kyle Larson rallied from early electrical issues Sunday to win for the seventh time this season and storm into the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs.

Denny Hamlin held off Kyle Larson after their cars hit nose to tail racing to the finish line Sunday night in the Southern 500 to open the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Tyler Reddick finished fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale Saturday night and secured the final spot in the 16-car postseason field.

Roush Fenway Racing is adding NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski as a new partner.

Alex Bowman made it six straight wins for Hendrick Motorsports when he took the checkered flag at Pocono Raceway.

Chase Elliott raced to a short and slippery victory Sunday as rain spoiled the end of NASCAR’s debut at the Circuit of the Americas, where drivers struggled to navigate the winding course in the first rain race in Cup Series history.

NASCAR is set to race the Circuit of the Americas for the first time and all eyes are on Chase Elliott and a wet weather forecast that could make the inaugural Texas Grand Prix a wild one.

Martin Truex Jr. won a stirring, laps-long duel for the lead with teammate Denny Hamlin in the delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday night.

William Byron was the third surprise winner through three races this season with his victory Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Byron controlled most of the final two stages at Homestead to win for the second time in 111 Cup starts. Byron entered the weekend as a 28-1 shot to win a race many expected would provide a return to normal for the racing series. The Roush Fenway Racing driver led five times for a total of 57 laps, but he started to fade "when as sunset neared. He ended up getting X-rays, which were negative, and was cleared to work the Cup Series event.

BROOKLYN, Mich. NASCAR has docked Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher 20 points each and confiscated their spoilers prior to Saturday's race at Michigan International Speedway. NASCAR said the two violated a rule stating that except as specified, spoilers must be used exactly as supplied from the manufacturer. Each car is also being sent to the rear for the start of the race. Other penalties include a loss of 20 owner points and a $25,000 fine. Newman and Buescher are both without a victory this year, and both were outside the top 20 in points even before these penalties.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. Denny Hamlin raced to his his series-leading fifth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season Thursday night, passing Kevin Harvick in the closing laps and holding off Brad Keselowski to make it back-to-back victories at Kansas Speedway. Joey Logano led early before his night went sideways and took some playoff contenders with him. His problems began when a tire got loose on pit road during the first stage, sending him to the back. He was working his way forward early in the final stage when his left front tire went down, sending Logano into the outside wall. Weve had some really bad weeks, Stenhouse said.

SPARTA, Ky. Cole Custer became the first rookie winner in the NASCAR Cup Series in nearly four years, surging to the lead in a four-wide, final-lap scramble Sunday at Kentucky Speedway. The victory was the first by a series rookie since Chris Buescher at Pocono on Aug. 1, 2016. Making his 20th series start, the 22-year-old Custer celebrated with a frontstretch burnout as his crew happily ran to greet him. That didn't last long as Truex quickly stalked him on the last-stage restart and took over on 181 in hopes of his third Kentucky win in four years. Truex settled for watching Custer take the win.

In three races, Stenhouse plummeted seven spots in the standings to 24th. It was just really good to just have a smooth race with really no issues, Stenhouse said. It was just huge to get a good run in and pass a lot of really good cars.Next up is Sunday's stop at Bristol Motor Speedway the fifth Cup race since NASCAR resumed May 17 and a decent track for Stenhouse. "Im looking forward to getting to Bristol knowing that weve had good runs there. He finished second at Las Vegas in the second race of the season and led 10 laps Thursday night at Charlotte.