TYLER REDDICK

A conversation on driver code and on-track etiquette is raging in NASCAR, and with it comes debate about the expectations of non-playoff drivers.

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.

Kyle Larson denied Kevin Harvick his first win of the season with a masterful pass at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Hendrick Motorsports is in a precarious position heading into first playoff elimination round.

Noah Gragson held off Harrison Burton in a two-lap overtime shootout at at Darlington Raceway on Saturday for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season.

“It was nice in a way to sit back there and kind of reset on what we had to do,” Reddick said. Reddick checked off a lengthy to-do list following that red-flag stoppage — most of it involving making sure his damaged No. Reddick finished fifth in the Cup Series regular-season finale Saturday night and secured the final spot in the 16-car postseason field. Ryan Blaney, though, who had already clinched a playoff spot, beat everyone to the checkered flag and lifted Reddick into the postseason. Reddick improved 17 spots, from 28th to 11th, in points after a lackluster start to his second full-time Cup season.

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.

Reddick needed only to beat Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon and hope for a repeat winner to earn his first playoff berth. It meant only a first-time race winner could edge Reddick or Dillon for the final spot. “To miss that playoff spot by one spot, that’s a tough ending to a day,” Buescher said. McDowell clinched a spot in the playoffs with his Daytona 500 victory so the early exit didn't affect his playoff chances. Kevin Harvick is the defending race winner and Martin Truex Jr. won at the South Carolina track in May.

Ryan Blaney won for the second consecutive week when the race Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway ended under caution in overtime with a typical fiery finish.

One week after Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe tangled on the track in NASCAR's Cup Series, they'll be back in action Sunday at Michigan.

Kyle Larson was back in the NASCAR All-Star race, and won another $1 million by winning it again.

NASCAR is running its All-Star race in the Lone Star State.

NASCAR makes its first visit to California in nearly two years with Sunday's stop at the Sonoma Raceway road course.

Kyle Busch celebrated his 36th birthday by winning a two-lap sprint to the finish at Kansas Speedway.

Brad Keselowski did it exactly right this time and finally got that last-lap victory, winning in overtime Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Alex Bowman passed Denny Hamlin on a restart with 10 laps to go and drove away at Richmond Raceway for his third career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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.

Racers crash during the last lap in the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Latest on the Daytona 500 (all times local):12:35 a.m.Brad Keselowski has no regrets about the way he handled the final lap of the Daytona 500. ___12:15 a.m.Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500 after Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked on the final lap. ___3:25 p.m.Derrike Cope was knocked out after only three laps, an ignominious end for the 62-year-old driver who won the 1990 Daytona 500. ___2 p.m.Bubba Wallace’s car failed inspection twice for the Daytona 500 and will have to start at the back of the field. AdWallace drives a new entry owned by NBA great Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.

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.

Those moves got him to victory lane for the first time in his young NASCAR Cup Series career and back in the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Winless in 120 races, Johnson made a trip to victory lane to congratulate Byron and the No. Its a big win for Chad Knaus and William Byron," Johnson said. Its been a hard couple of years in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win and trying to gel with this team," Byron said. WALLACE REACTSWallace said before the race that there was not much of a dialogue among NASCAR drivers regarding sitting out the Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona.

NASCAR drivers don't plan to boycott Saturday night's, Aug. 29 race at Daytona International Speedway to raise awareness of social and racial injustices. NASCAR drivers do not plan to skip Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway to raise awareness of social and racial injustices. I can assure all of you that myself and many of my competitors are continuing to work hard with @NASCAR to continue the efforts and the fight for racial equality. "I certainly think we need to continue our discussions about social and racial injustice, and we continue to educate ourselves. Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson on Friday agreed with Wallace that athletes have a right to share our opinion on social matters.

Dillon raced to his third career win and first since Daytona at the start of the 2018 season. On the final restart, Dillon got a good jump and raced to the checkered flag ahead of his rookie teammate and some veteran drivers. After leading six times for 150 laps, both highs for the race, Blaney finished seventh. It was 30 degrees warmer than it was on March 29, when the race had been scheduled before the pandemic. The spectators were spread out along the frontstretch, which was fully shaded late in the race, and there were also people in about 40 suites.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. Denny Hamlin found the magic at Homestead-Miami Speedway, once again. Hamlin went to the lead for the final time with 30 laps left and held off Chase Elliott for his record-tying NASCAR Cup Series victory at Homestead. At Homestead, he led 137 of 267 laps on the 1 1/2-mile track in Joe Gibbs Racing's No. Most of those fans were gone when Hamlin drove under the checkered flag at 10:46 p.m., ending the marathon day. Austin Dillon had a day hell never forget, though his seventh-place finish wasnt even close to the most significant development.

Keselowski extended Jimmie Johnson's losing streak to 102 races by holding off the seven-time NASCAR champion in overtime early Monday to win the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. It was the first win for Keselowski this season, his first Coca-Cola 600 victory and the first win at this event for Ford since 2002. I wanted to win the 600 my whole life and wanted to win in front of everybody, Keselowski said. But almost two hours after the race, NASCAR disqualified Johnson because his Chevrolet failed post-race inspection. I was a lap-and-a-half away from winning the 600, Elliott said.

DARLINGTON, S.C. The win by Kevin Harvick in NASCAR's return to racing over the weekend was a bit predictable considering the enormous task teams are facing in a flurry of rescheduled events. Harvick, a former series champion and former winner at Darlington Raceway, was also the points leader through the first four events. He will try for the sweep when NASCAR returns to Darlington for its first Cup race on a Wednesday since 1984, when Richard Petty scored his 200th and final victory. This anticipated midweek race is just 300 miles 100 fewer than Sunday's return race, and the same distance as next week's junior series Xfinity Series race at Charlotte but still will start a test of stamina. The Cup Series will race for a third time in a week this Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the schedule.

Tyler Reddick leads the field to start the NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Tyler Reddick leads the field to start the NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)HOMESTEAD, FL – Tyler Reddick won his second consecutive Xfinity Series championship by snatching the lead away from Cole Custer in a spirited season finale Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Chevrolet is not represented in the Cup championship race Sunday. Custer finished second and runner-up to Reddick in the championship race for the second consecutive year. Justin Allgaier, who won at Phoenix last weekend to make the final four, finished 14th and last in the championship race. The Xfinity Series driver title is the fifth for Childress as Reddick joins Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Austin Dillon as champions for the organization celebrating its 50th season.

LIVE UPDATES: Green flag drops on Circle K Firecracker 250 at Daytona10:15 p.m. updateAfter a 2.5 hour rain delay, the green flag has dropped at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR announced driver introductions are scheduled for 9:30 p.m. with the beginning of the Circle K Firecracker 250 kicking off shortly thereafter. 6:45 p.m. updateRain has begun to fall at Daytona International Speedway, threatening the 7:35 p.m. start time for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250. This is Reddick's second pole in six races at Daytona International Speedway. 4:30 p.m. updateQualifying for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250 is underway.

LIVE UPDATES: AJ Allmendinger claims second stage of Circle K Firecracker 250 at Daytona11:20 p.m. updateAJ Allmendinger is back in the car, and he's making his presence known, taking the second stage of Saturday's Xfinity race. 11:00 p.m. updateRoss Chastain claimed the Stage 1 win in the Circle K Firecracker 250. NASCAR announced driver introductions are scheduled for 9:30 p.m. with the beginning of the Circle K Firecracker 250 kicking off shortly thereafter. 6:45 p.m. updateRain has begun to fall at Daytona International Speedway, threatening the 7:35 p.m. start time for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250. 4:30 p.m. updateQualifying for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250 is underway.

LIVE UPDATES: Normal operations resume, Xfinity race still on at Daytona8:45 p.m. updateThe show is still set to go on. NASCAR announced driver introductions are scheduled for 9:30 p.m. with the beginning of the Circle K Firecracker 250 kicking off shortly thereafter. 6:45 p.m. updateRain has begun to fall at Daytona International Speedway, threatening the 7:35 p.m. start time for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250. [READ MORE: Starting lineup for Coke Zero Sugar 400]4:30 p.m. updateQualifying for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250 is underway. Xfinity Series qualifying is still slated to take place ahead of tonight's race, though drivers are not yet cleared to take to the track.

LIVE UPDATES: Ross Chastain wins Circle K Firecracker 250 at Daytona12:28 p.m. updateRoss Chastain survived to win the Circle K Firecracker 250 and led all three of his team's drivers to a sweep for Kaulig Racing. 11:00 p.m. updateRoss Chastain claimed the Stage 1 win in the Circle K Firecracker 250. NASCAR announced driver introductions are scheduled for 9:30 p.m. with the beginning of the Circle K Firecracker 250 kicking off shortly thereafter. 6:45 p.m. updateRain has begun to fall at Daytona International Speedway, threatening the 7:35 p.m. start time for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250. 4:30 p.m. updateQualifying for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250 is underway.

LIVE UPDATES: Normal operations resume, Xfinity race still on at Daytona8:45 p.m. updateThe show is still set to go on. NASCAR announced driver introductions are scheduled for 9:30 p.m. with the beginning of the Circle K Firecracker 250 kicking off shortly thereafter. 6:45 p.m. updateRain has begun to fall at Daytona International Speedway, threatening the 7:35 p.m. start time for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250. [READ MORE: Starting lineup for Coke Zero Sugar 400]4:30 p.m. updateQualifying for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250 is underway. Xfinity Series qualifying is still slated to take place ahead of tonight's race, though drivers are not yet cleared to take to the track.

LIVE UPDATES: Normal operations resume, Xfinity race still on at Daytona8:45 p.m. updateThe show is still set to go on. NASCAR announced driver introductions are scheduled for 9:30 p.m. with the beginning of the Circle K Firecracker 250 kicking off shortly thereafter. 6:45 p.m. updateRain has begun to fall at Daytona International Speedway, threatening the 7:35 p.m. start time for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250. [READ MORE: Starting lineup for Coke Zero Sugar 400]4:30 p.m. updateQualifying for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250 is underway. Xfinity Series qualifying is still slated to take place ahead of tonight's race, though drivers are not yet cleared to take to the track.

LIVE UPDATES: Xfinity race under red flag11:55 p.m. updateThe Big One has struck at Daytona with 15 laps to go. 11:00 p.m. updateRoss Chastain claimed the Stage 1 win in the Circle K Firecracker 250. NASCAR announced driver introductions are scheduled for 9:30 p.m. with the beginning of the Circle K Firecracker 250 kicking off shortly thereafter. 6:45 p.m. updateRain has begun to fall at Daytona International Speedway, threatening the 7:35 p.m. start time for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250. 4:30 p.m. updateQualifying for tonight's Circle K Firecracker 250 is underway.