CHRIS BUESCHER

Building on Chris Buescher's win last season, Brad Keselowski is looking for continued progress in his second year as co-owner at RFK Racing.

Now Buescher, a native of Prosper, Texas, returns to his home state hoping to again play the spoiler. The second round of the playoffs open Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, where Buescher and Keselowski finished eighth and ninth in May in the exhibition All-Star race. “I’ve had really good teammates through the years at different organizations at the Cup level, but nobody that’s put in the amount of effort as Brad Keselowski,” Buescher said. The race is concerning for the remaining 12 drivers in the playoff field because the second round has so many variables. He was the points leader before the reset and the only driver to clinch a berth in the second round ahead of Bristol.

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.

But at least Busch knows what happened to end his night at Bristol Motor Speedway and leave him “flabbergasted” at being eliminated from the playoff field. He could only laugh as he stood in the garage alongside his disabled car as fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace came in for repairs. Truex also referred back to Kevin Harvick's words after his car caught fire in the opening playoff race at Darlington three weeks ago. There’s probably some car owners that don’t want to hear it because it costs money to change the cars. “There’s the ‘everything is wrong with this car’ camp and there’s the ‘nothing is wrong with this car’ camp," Keselowski added.

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

Kyle Busch deserved better than two failed Toyota engines in the first round of NASCAR's playoffs. Truex also referred back to Kevin Harvick's words after his car caught fire in the opening playoff race at Darlington three weeks ago.

Chris Buescher became the 19th different driver to finish in the victory lane this season as he wrapped up a win at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — (AP) — 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. Buescher and Keselowski both won a pair of exhibition races for RFK at Daytona in February. “This is so special, this team does such a good job,” said Buescher, who won with a late call for two tires on the final pit stop. The 16-driver field was cut by four, and eliminated from the playoffs were Kevin Harvick, Busch and RCR teammates Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick. UP NEXTThe opening race of the second round of the playoffs is Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

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.

A late pit call got Chris Buescher a win at Bristol on Saturday night and meant that non-playoff drivers swept the first round of the Cup Series playoffs. Buescher pitted for just two tires on the final pit stop cycle of the night and jumped into the top spot. As Buescher won, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick were eliminated from the playoffs. Busch was eliminated from the playoffs after his engine blew up just past the halfway point of the race. The Daytona 500 winner ultimately finished more than a tiebreaker ahead of Busch and the position he gained on Logano and the spot Wallace gained on Busch didn’t matter.

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.

NASCAR LeBrons Student James Bromsey III, left, a sixth-grader at LeBron James' I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, poses with NASCAR driver Chris Buescher, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022 in Brooklyn, Mich. Bromsey was given an all-access tour of Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., on Sunday. 17 Ford had a paint job that highlighted the LeBron James Family Foundation. (AP Photo/Larry Lage) (Larry Lage)BROOKLYN, Mich. — (AP) — LeBron James aims to give students at his I Promise School opportunities they may not have otherwise. James Bromsey III, a sixth-grader at James' school in Akron, Ohio, was given behind-the-scenes access before NASCAR's race Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. 17 Ford to include logos, colors and words associated with the LeBron James Family Foundation.

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.

LONG POND, Pa. — (AP) — Denny Hamlin turned the fastest lap at Pocono Raceway and will lead the field to green Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Hamlin is joined on the front row by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. Hamlin went 169.991 mph on the 2½-mile tri-oval track Saturday to win his second pole in the last five races and second straight overall for JGR. Chris Buescher, whose only career Cup win was at Pocono, starts fifth. The back end of the top 10 is as interesting as the start of the field.

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.

Chase Elliott lost his tire, then his mind ... Joey Logano sends a warning to William Byron and Dale Jr. said what about Kurt Busch?

“The (Next Gen) car has less side force and less general downforce,” Hamlin said of all the wrecks. Just chaos.”Cup veteran Kevin Harvick expected as much after seeing the uncertainty the Next Gen car has brought this season. “To me, that was the most fun Charlotte race I’ve ever ran,” Briscoe said. You could throw sliders.”He offered high praise for the Next Gen car, too. I’d do another 600 miles for sure.”Hamlin acknowledged there is still a lot that teams needs to learn about the Next Gen car but said that will come in time.

NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 was many things.

Hamlin won for the 48th time in the Cup Series, and for the time in a points race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race featured a 12-car wreck and a magnificent crash that sent Chris Buescher's car flipping over five times before stopping upside down. In the overtime period Larson had the inside lane on the restart in overtime, but Austin Dillon got a push from the second row and soon was running four-wide along with Larson, Hamlin and Ross Chastain. I had to do what I had to do to win the race given where we are in points. We had a shot there to bring home another 600.”On the next restart Hamlin took the lead and held off Busch for the win.

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.

— (AP) — Chris Buescher was the surprise pole winner Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway, turning a lap of 160.149 mph to win his first career top spot. The RFK Racing driver will be joined on the front row by Denny Hamlin, ordered this week by NASCAR to begin sensitivity training after he posted an anti-Asian meme. “Pretty cool of RFK to get our first pole,” Buescher said. “It’s a pretty cool start for us.”Buescher also earned the first pole for RFK Racing in the No. Keselowski and Buescher opened strong for RFK Racing when they won the 150-mile qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway in February.

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.

I said, ‘Dad, we’re going to win the Daytona 500,’” Keselowski said. And, after a Hendrick Motorsports rout in Daytona 500 time trials, the Ford fleet has shown to be race ready. — Jacques Villeneuve, the former Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, will make his first Daytona 500 start for European startup Team Hezeberg. And, on Sunday, Jusan Hamilton will become the first Black race director to call the Daytona 500 in its 64th running. FanDuel lists both three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson as the 19-2 race favorites.

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.

The team is now Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, and Keselowski drives its flagship No. But the win in the first of two 150-mile qualifying races means Keselowski has a fast Daytona 500 car. Then Buescher won the second duel, a victory earned after Joey Logano wrecked on the final lap as he attempted to block a Buescher move for the win. Floyd Mayweather Jr. will make his NASCAR debut Sunday when The Money Team Racing starts the Daytona 500. Roush had won a Daytona qualifier only once before, in 2012 when Matt Kenseth won both the short race and then the 500.

Brad Keselowski has won his first race as owner of his 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.

NASCAR Austin Auto Racing Martin Truex Jr. (19) slides through Turn 12 after a crash as Chris Buescher (17) and Garrett Smithley (53) drive around during the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Sunday, May 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) (Chuck Burton)AUSTIN, Texas — (AP) — 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. Elliott, the defending series champion, won for the first time this year and the sixth time on a road course. The rain started on the opening lap and several drivers complained about treacherous conditions that limited visibility, and caused a pair of violent crashes. UP NEXTNASCAR heads to North Carolina for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway next Sunday before a return to road racing at Sonoma Raceway___More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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.

Austin Dillon (3) takes the checkered flag to win the second NASCAR Daytona 500 duel qualifying auto race Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 40 drivers competing in the 2021 Daytona 500, in order of starting position:___No. This is his 20th Daytona 500; he was hired days after Earnhardt's death. Son of two-time Daytona 500 champion and Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott. Finished a career-best seventh in the 2017 Daytona 500, but has been 27th, 28th and 19th since. McLeodBORN: Nov. 17, 1983AdHOMETOWN: Wauchula, FloridaCREW CHIEF: Frank KerrSPONSOR: NASCAR HeatsTWITTER: @bjmcleod78NOTEWORTHY: Owner-driver racing in his third Daytona 500.

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.

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.