Kyle Larson has rung the Hendrick Motorsports victory bell six times this season and yet he's on the outside looking in of NASCAR's championship four.

Kyle Larson raced to his Cup Series-high sixth victory of the season Sunday to easily advance to the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs, winning on the hybrid road course/oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Alex Bowman opened NASCAR’s playoffs on defense — not of his style of driving, but of his status in the seat of the No. 48 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports.

With NASCAR and the Coca-Cola 600 the promised priority, Kyle Larson will again attempt the Indianapolis 500 next season with the caveat he must leave if rain again ruins his bid to complete “The Double.”.

Kyle Larson made a late charge through the field, managed to get his car refired after a red flag and won the final two restart battles Sunday before coasting to his first Brickyard 400 victory under caution.

NASCAR has granted Kyle Larson the waiver he needs to remain eligible to compete in this year’s playoffs despite missing the Coca-Cola 600 because he instead ran the Indianapolis 500.

Kyle Larson completed every lap of the Indianapolis 500, finishing 18th in the NASCAR star’s debut in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” despite a pair of rookie mistakes that cost him a chance to be in the mix at the end.

Kyle Larson won his second consecutive race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday to keep keep Chevrolet undefeated and give Hendrick Motorsports its second victory in the first three NASCAR Cup Series races of the season.

NASCAR teams have hired one of the country’s top antitrust and sports lawyers to advise them in their ongoing dispute with the family-owned stock car series over a new revenue-sharing model.

Ryan Blaney already has his eyes on another prize.

Rick Hendrick first met William Byron as a local Charlotte teenager, fan of Hendrick Motorsports and budding NASCAR driver.

Rick Hendrick believes in setting goals because chasing that dangling carrot has proved to be an effective motivator for NASCAR’s winningest team.

William Byron grew up a huge fan of Hendrick Motorsports when watching Jimmie Johnson win championships.

William Byron took the lead for the first time after the final restart with six laps left to win in Texas.

Kyle Larson gave Rick Hendrick his 299th win in the NASCAR Cup Series last week at Darlington.

NASCAR celebrated at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when its Garage 56 entry fielded by Hendrick Motorsports completed the iconic endurance race.

Alex Bowman will miss at least the next three NASCAR Cup races with a fractured vertebra he suffered in a sprint car crash.

NASCAR superstar Chase Elliott has had surgery on his left leg after being injured in a snowboarding accident earlier Friday in Colorado.

Ross Chastain skyrocketed to motorsports infamy for wall-riding his way into NASCAR’s championship race with a video-game style move that has overshadowed the finale and his fellow title contenders.

Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR retirement and IndyCar experiment lasted all of two seasons.

Trackhouse Racing will make its 100th start on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway with drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez still in the championship competition.

Alex Bowman and Cody Shane Ware will miss this weekend’s NASCAR race because of injuries suffered driving the new Next Gen car.

NASCAR champion Kyle Larson has signed a three-year contract extension through 2026 with Hendrick Motorsports.

Kyle Larson has just two wins this season and both came at the expense of teammate Chase Elliott.

Alex Bowman felt he underperformed last year when NASCAR brought the Cup Series back to the Nashville area for the first time in 37 years.

Kyle Busch won at Bristol Motor Speedway over the weekend to tie Richard Petty for at least one victory in 18 consecutive seasons.

William Byron is making the guy that made the No. 24 Chevrolet famous proud.

It was quite the weekend in motorsports, which is typically the bit player on the massive stick-and-ball sporting landscape so eager for its own time in the spotlight.

Alex Bowman beat NASCAR champion Kyle Larson in a door-to-door overtime battle at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that sent Hendrick Motorsports to victory lane for the second consecutive week.

Chase Elliott skipped the free agency process and agreed to a five-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports announced mere hours before the season-opening Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of the most popular race car drivers in history, has been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, joining his late father.

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus won a record-tying seven NASCAR championships over a successful 17-year partnership.

Before he headed onto the track for the biggest race of his career, Kyle Larson heard Mario Andretti praise him as one of the most well-rounded drivers in all of motorsports.

Kyle Larson closed out his comeback season in NASCAR with his first national title.

Phoenix Raceway will finally get to host championship weekend in front of a packed house.

Alex Bowman spun Denny Hamlin from the lead with six laps remaining at Martinsville Speedway and then went on to win his fourth race of the season.

The NASCAR championship will pit Rick Hendrick against Joe Gibbs as both team owners put a pair of drivers in the final four.

Kyle Larson stepped out of the spotlight during last year’s NASCAR suspension and quietly turned his attention to charitable efforts for communities in need.

Kyle Larson drove to his ninth victory of the season and most meaningful to date in his new job with Hendrick Motorsports.

Kyle Larson is the first driver in NASCAR's championship four.

NASCAR has ordered a cease fire in the feud between Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick, warning of severe consequences if the two drivers continue to tangle on the track.

Rick Hendrick wants NASCAR to intervene in the ongoing feud between reigning Cup champion Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick after another on-track incident between the two.

Jimmie Johnson returns to IndyCar on Sunday to tackle the street course in Nashville.

Kyle Larson has received a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports through 2023 and full sponsorship through the length of the deal.

Justin Marks is a former race car driver who just bought a seat at the table with NASCAR's biggest powerbrokers.

Jeff Gordon is ready to assume a daily role at Hendrick Motorsports as vice chairman.

Alex Bowman made it six straight wins for Hendrick Motorsports when he took the checkered flag at Pocono Raceway.

Jeff Gordon will leave the Fox Sports booth for a daily role at Hendrick Motorsports as vice chairman.

Kyle Larson went to victory lane for the fourth consecutive week after a dominating run in the first Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway.

Kyle Larson beat teammate Chase Elliott in overtime at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday to win his second consecutive race.

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

Kyle Larson ended six years of struggles at Charlotte Motor Speedway, winning the Coca-Cola 600 in dominating fashion to give team owner Rick Hendrick a record-setting victory.

Hendrick Motorsports’ quest to pass Petty Enterprises as the all-time winningest NASCAR Cup Series race team got off to a good start when Kyle Larson captured the pole for the Coca-Cola 600.

NASCAR unveiled its new car for next season and believes the sleek new pony cars have put the stock back into stock car racing.

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

Larson will make his return to the popular online racing platform Wednesday night when NASCAR launches the 10-race eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The car he'll use will be “sponsored” by the Kyle Larson Foundation and feature three organizations he's designated for support. 5 Chevrolet in the iRacing Series and Larson funds the “Drive for 5 Campaign” through his on-track performance. Through the first five races of the NASCAR season, Larson has committed $22,205 via three top-fives and 1,441 laps. “I think he's been trying to get back to normalcy but I think he's also changed the way he's approached life,” Sanneh said.

Larson wasn't sure he'd race in NASCAR again until Rick Hendrick took a chance on a him. Last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson raced to his first NASCAR victory since he was reinstated from a nearly yearlong suspension. He was hired by Hendrick Motorsports when NASCAR said the suspension would lift at the start of this year. KEEP IT COOLLast year's spring race in Phoenix was a hot one, with temperatures pushing close to 90 degrees. ... Jason Biggs, host of “Cherries Wild” on NASCAR broadcast partner Fox, is the grand marshal.

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Larson is back in NASCAR and back in victory lane. On Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson raced to his first NASCAR victory since he was reinstated from a nearly yearlong suspension. Larson is considered one of the top talents in NASCAR but won just six times in six seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson isn't exactly a surprise and Las Vegas was supposed to be the track in which the large teams finally took control. He was one of eight drivers tied for the longest odds to win Las Vegas.

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.

Alex Bowman and William Byron swept the front row Wednesday night in qualifying for the Daytona 500, giving Hendrick its 14th pole and sixth in the last seven years. “Here it really just comes down to who built the fastest race car. It’s the fourth consecutive year Bowman will start from the front row, but he's got a completely new look this time. Only the front row was set Wednesday, the first time Daytona 500 qualifying has been held at night under a condensed Speedweeks schedule. “My motto is, ‘No more excuses.’”Hamlin, who is trying to become the first driver to win three consecutive Daytona 500s, was 12th.

Larson was banished from NASCAR for all but the first month of his last season, his punishment for using a racial slur while racing online. NASCAR reinstated Larson late last year and he found a soft landing with Hendrick Motorsports, one of the top teams in motorsports. Larson made amends with fellow driver Bubba Wallace, NASCAR's only Black full-time driver. When asked about his relationship with Wallace, Larson chuckled and said the two had been texting earlier Monday about gaming consoles and golf. Like Larson, Wallace has moved into better cars in 2021, and Larson believes they each have platforms to help NASCAR's diversity push.

Without that charter, Marks had almost no chance to get his team on track in 2021. As NASCAR plans for the 2022 cost-cutting introduction of the “NextGen” new car, the demand for charters has soared. Denny Hamlin has also entered team ownership and explored several charter opportunities before he and Michael Jordan last month bought out Germain Racing. Hamlin, as Spire had done two years ago, studied the economics of NASCAR’s planned new car and determined team ownership will be more affordable in 2022. The NextGen car was supposed to debut next season but has been delayed a year by the pandemic.

The most coveted seat in NASCAR went to Alex Bowman in a Hendrick Motorsports lineup shuffle to replace seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in the iconic No. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The most coveted seat in NASCAR belongs to Alex Bowman in a Hendrick Motorsports lineup shuffle to replace seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in the iconic No. Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives, who won five championships with Johnson as his engineer, will move from the No. “Every season, Alex gets better. “He earned his way into the 88 car through hard work and dedication and doing the stuff nobody else wanted to do," Johnson said.

(AP Photo/Steve Helber)RICHMOND, Va. Jerry Falwell Jr. has been toppled, at least temporarily, from the presidency of evangelical Liberty University, but whether he will break permanently with the Christian institution that is synonymous with his family name is another matter. Jerry Falwell Sr. into the ministry, took over as president following his fathers death in 2007. The vision laid out by Falwells father rests in part on athletic success, which has improved under his son, who has outfitted the Liberty Flames with top-notch facilities. Adam Laats, a professor at Binghamton University in New York who studies American education, predicted that Falwell would return to Liberty not as president but in another capacity. Harkening back to a sentiment expressed by the elder Falwell, Carson observed: Its not Jerry Jr.s university.

FILE - In this May 11, 2012, file photo, drivers take the green flag for the start of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C. NASCAR will re-fire the engines moments after mask-clad drivers climb into their cars at Darlington Raceway. (Tyler Barrick/Pool Photo via AP, File)DARLINGTON, S.C. NASCAR will not be as you remember it when racing returns at old egg-shaped Darlington Raceway. He tested at Darlington shortly before the season was suspended and determined then he was fit to race again. Busch and Hill are adding Xfinity Series races at Darlington and Charlotte, and a Truck Series race at Charlotte to their calendar. His only victory so far this season was the Truck Series race at home track Las Vegas.