AUTO RACING: Larson heats up and Elliott gets back in car

Updated Apr. 18, 2023 11:21 a.m. ET

Associated Press

All Times Eastern

NASCAR CUP SERIES

GEICO 500

Site: Talladega, Alabama.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 10:30 a.m.; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (FOX).

Track: Talladega Superspeedway.

Race distance: 188 laps, 500 miles.

Last year: Ross Chastain won after starting 19th.

Last race: Kyle Larson made a late two-tire pit stop pay off and held off Joey Logano to win at Martinsville, his second victory in three races.

Fast facts: Larson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron are the only multiple race winners through nine events. ... Larson led the last 29 laps. ... Logano started at the back of the field after a post-qualifying adjustment to his car and rallied from going a lap down twice in the race. ... Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin finished third and fourth, their first top-five finishes of the season. ... Chase Elliott returned after missing six races because of surgery to repair a broken tibia sustained while snowboarding.

Next race: April 30, Dover, Delaware.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Ag-Pro 300

Site: Talladega, Alabama.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 10:30 a.m., and qualifying, 5:35 p.m.; Saturday, race, 4 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Talladega Superspeedway.

Race distance: 113 laps, 300.58 miles.

Last year: Brandon Jones won after starting 12th.

Last race: John Hunter Nemechek led 198 of the 250 laps at Martinsville to record his second victory of the season and his fourth in the series.

Fast facts: Nemechek's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith finished second, followed by Cole Custer, Josh Berry and Brandon Jones. ... There have been 12 different winners in the last 12 Xfinity Series races at Martinsville. ... Nemechek and Berry share the series lead with seven top-10 finishes. ... Nemechek also took over the series points lead by 21 over three-time winner Austin Hill.

Next race: April 29, Dover, Delaware.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES

Last race: Corey Heim won both stages and led 82 of the 124 laps run in a rain-shortened event at Martinsville for his first victory of the season.

Next race: May 6, Kansas City, Kansas.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

Last race: Two-time defending champion Max Verstappen outran seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton in a three-lap sprint of a race filled with restarts to win for the second time in three races this year and the 18th time in the last 27. The finish was Hamilton’s best in more than a year.

Next race: April 30, Azerbaijan.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

INDYCAR

Last race: Pole-sitter Kyle Kirkwood held off Andretti Autosport teammate Romain Grosjean on the downtown streets of Long Beach, California, leading a parade of Honda drivers who swept the top five finishing positions.

Next race: April 30, Birmingham, Alabama.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA DRAG RACING

Last event: Antron Brown won in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan won in Funny Car in Las Vegas.

Next event: April 30, Concord, North Carolina.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Next events: April 21 and 22, Knoxville, Iowa.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

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