NASCAR Cup Series

Ryan Blaney passed Aric Almirola for the lead with 22 laps to go and pulled away to win the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville, winning his way into the Championship 4.

The third-generation Blaney from High Point, North Carolina, led 145 of 500 laps and beat runner-up Aric Almirola by nearly nine-tenths of a second to claim his third Cup Series victory of 2023 and secure his first Championship 4 berth.

This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Martinsville Speedway to set the field for the Championship 4 Playoffs. Cup Series winners Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) and Christopher Bell (Homestead-Miami Speedway) have secured their spot in the Playoffs.

As Christopher Bell said, "I've never been more excited for a 'berth' in my life," Bell said. "And that will also be the case after I have children."

The 2017 NASCAR Truck Series champion from Norman, Oklahoma, led 26 of 267 laps, including the final 15, en route to his second Cup Series victory of 2023 and claim a Championship 4 berth for a second consecutive season.

NASCAR travels to Homestead-Miami Speedway this week as the Playoffs continue. It will be the second race in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. With the win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend, Kyle Larson claimed his spot in the Championship 4 round.

Larson won Stage 1 and held off Christopher Bell down the stretch to win the South Point 400 at Las Vegas.

The 2021 Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led a race-high 133 of 267-scheduled laps and fended off a last-lap charge from Christopher Bell to become the first Playoff contender to clinch a Championship 4 berth.

Christopher Bell earned the NASCAR Cup Series pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon with a qualifying lap of 186.355 mph in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was his sixth pole this season and his 10th series career pole.

This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the Playoffs continue with the first race in the Round of 8.