Larson begins 2nd round of NASCAR playoffs at Kansas on top after owning Bristol. F1 gets month off

Last year: Helped by fresh tires on his Toyota, Tyler Reddick blew by six other drivers during a restart after a late caution to win a two-lap sprint and reach the second round in the then-elimination race. Reddick’s car owner, Denny Hamlin, couldn’t overcome a poor restart in his Toyota and finished second. Erik Jones and Kyle Larson were next in Chevys with Joey Logano fifth in a Ford.

Last race: Kyle Larson owned the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, winning both stages and rolling to his series-best fifth victory this season by more than 7 seconds. The 2021 Cup champion started second in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevy and led 462 laps, including the final 167 in a career performance that also marked the most dominant in team history. Chase Elliott was second in a Chevy, followed by the Toyotas of Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell. Wallace, Ryan Preece (seventh) and Ross Chastain (10th) were the only non-playoff drivers in the top 10.

Fast facts: Larson took a big step toward his second title and leads 12 drivers into the second round with 3,047 points, ahead of Bell (-15), Reddick (-19), William Byron (-25) and defending champion Ryan Blaney (-28). The remaining contenders: Hamlin (3,015), Elliott (3,014), Logano (3,012), Austin Cindric (3,008), Daniel Suárez (3,006), Alex Bowman (3,005) and Chase Briscoe (3,005). Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton were eliminated. … Larson won the spring race at Kansas in the Cup Series’ closest finish ever, nipping Chris Buescher at the line by one one-thousandth of a second, leading 64 laps after starting fourth. He has five top-five finishes in his past six starts there