NASCAR

NASCAR

Truex fastest in elimination race

KANSAS CITY, Kan.

Martin Truex Jr. continued his winning ways at Kansas Speedway on Friday night by capturing the pole for this weekend’s NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series playoff elimination race.

Truex was already assured of advancing to the round of eight after his win at Charlotte, but he now heads into Sunday’s race looking for his fourth straight victory on a 1 1/2-mile track.

He also earned the crucial first pit stall for next week’s race at Martinsville.

Truex was followed by playoff contenders Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin. Kyle Busch was eighth, Jamie McMurray was ninth and Brad Keselowski was 11th after winning last week at Talladega to punch his ticket to the next round.

Jimmie Johnson will start 13th, followed by Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the only driver who failed to advance from the first round and qualified 25th.

Formula one

Hamilton has best laps in US Grand Prix

AUSTIN, Texas

Lewis Hamilton drove the Circuit of the Americas like he’s won here four times before.

The Mercedes driver and Formula One season championship leader posted the fastest laps in Friday’s two practice sessions at the U.S. Grand Prix, putting further pressure on title rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.

Hamilton’s quickest lap in a dry afternoon session was 34.668 seconds. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was second, 0.397 seconds behind. Vettel, who trails Hamilton by 59 points in the driver standings, was third.

Vettel likely has to win or finish ahead of Hamilton on Sunday if he hopes to chase him down over the final four races.

Hamilton has won the last three years at a Circuit of the Americas track that has favored Mercedes’ power. Another victory would make his lead nearly insurmountable absent a late-season collapse.

ARCA Series

Theriault clinches ARCA title

KANSAS CITY, Kan.

There is no long, convoluted story about how Austin Theriault came to Ken Schrader Racing, forging a team that so dominated the ARCA Series that it captured the title simply by showing up for the finale.

“We both wanted something to do,” the folksy Schrader said with a smile and shrug before Friday night’s race at Kansas Speedway. “He didn’t have a car to drive and I didn’t have a driver.”

So, they solved each other’s problem.

Theriault hopped into the seat and proceeded to win seven times over the first 19 races, building such a lead on his nearest challenger that he sewed up the title at Kentucky. And that made for a rather enjoyable weekend at Kansas, where all the pressure was off their team.

Along the way, Theriault became the first driver to win at a superspeedway, short track, dirt track and road event in the same season, and he swept the superspeedway and short-track challenges.

If there was something to win, he won it.

“I hoped we’d have a shot at it and it’s proved out this year that we’ve really exceeded anybody’s expectations,” Theriault said.

Associated Press