CHRIS BUESCHER

For the third time in this year’s playoffs, NASCAR regular season champion Martin Truex Jr. is facing elimination and wondering how his title chances have exploded spectacularly.

NASCAR’s season has entered its next-to-last week.

Kyle Larson edged Christopher Bell at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway finish line to become the first driver locked into NASCAR’s championship race.

Bubba Wallace will start from the pole at Texas.

Tyler Reddick took advantage of good speed and good fortune, perhaps the two things most needed for success in the NASCAR Cup Series, to win at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

Tyler Reddick took advantage of a late caution and fresh tires to rocket past six others in a two-lap sprint to win at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

Kyle Larson led the final 55 laps to start his latest NASCAR playoff run with a win at the Southern 500, his first career victory at Darlington Raceway.

To mark NASCAR’s 75th season, The Associated Press interviewed 12 key contributors to the industry on multiple topics.

Chris Buescher and William Byron have this in common: Neither wants to declare himself the favorite heading into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Chris Buescher won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, eliminating fan favorite Chase Elliott from the playoffs and sending Bubba Wallace into the postseason.

Chase Elliott is running out of time.

Chris Buescher won his second straight NASCAR Cup Series race by holding off Martin Truex late in the FireKeepers 400 on Monday.

Chris Buescher pulled away on a restart with three laps to go and won at Richmond Raceway, earning himself a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

There are seven 90-degree turns.

The fast-food burger wars were on the menu in the run-up to the Daytona 500.

Chris Buescher's win at Bristol last week marked the first time in this version of NASCAR's playoffs that drivers who are not racing for the championship swept the three races of the first round.

At least a dozen of the playoff drivers had some sort of problem with NASCAR’s new Next Gen car Saturday night at Bristol.

Chris Buescher closed out a bizarre first round of NASCAR’s playoffs in which none of the title contenders won a race by becoming the 19th winner this season with his victory Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway was rained out Saturday night and rescheduled for Sunday.

Brad Keselowski likes his chances at Daytona International Speedway.

Chase Elliott has won the NASCAR Cup pole at Watkins Glen International, edging Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson for the top spot.

NASCAR has a record seven different countries represented in Sunday's race at Watkins Glen International, and the headliner is 2007 Formula One champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Kevin Harvick took the lead from Joey Logano with 66 laps to go and held off Christopher Bell at Richmond Raceway on Sunday for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory.

LeBron James aims to give students at his I Promise School opportunities they may not have otherwise.

Tyler Reddick closed the best month of his NASCAR career with a victory in overtime on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Daniel Suárez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday on Sonoma Raceway.

Joey Logano jockeyed for the lead with Kyle Busch in overtime, got around him for good just before the white flag flew and cruised to the victory Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway.

NASCAR is bringing its top series to World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis for the first time this weekend.

NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 was many things.

Denny Hamlin held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in overtime to win the longest — and perhaps wildest — Coca-Cola 600 in history.

Rain postponed Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway to Monday.

Ross Chastain surged into the lead as he closed in on the checkered flag Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway to steal his second career Cup Series win.

The NASCAR season opens with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, where more than 120,000 spectators are expected to watch reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson lead the field to green.

Brad Keselowski celebrated a sweep of the Daytona duels as he debuts with his new team.

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.