The checkered flag is waved as Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands crosses the finish line to take first place during the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Saturday, March 2.

Associated Press

Chevrolet continues to pace the field through three weeks of the NASCAR season. Kyle Larson gave the manufacturer its third straight win in the Cup Series at Las Vegas. It was the second win for Hendrick Motorsports following William Byron’s Daytona 500 victory. The manufacturer has won eight of nine races thus far. The only non-Chevy winner was John Hunter Nemechek in a Toyota in the Xfinity Series at Las Vegas. Max Verstappen started the F1 season the way he finished last year, winning the season-opener in Bahrain. it was his eighth straight win and 20th in the last 23 races.

All Times Central

NASCAR CUP SERIES

Shriners Children’s 500

Site: Avondale, Arizona.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 4:05 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 1:10 p.m.; Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (TV: FOX).

Track: Phoenix Raceway.

Race distance: 312 laps, 312 miles.

Last year: William Byron won after starting third.

Last race: Kyle Larson swept all three stages and won at Las Vegas.

Fast facts: Larson’s victory was the third straight for Chevrolet to start the season and the second for Hendrick Motorsports. … It also was Larson’s second in a row at Las Vegas and the third win of his career there. … Tyler Reddick was second, followed by Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain and Ty Gibbs. … Chastain won the season finale at Phoenix last season, while Blaney won his first series championship.

Next race: March 17, Bristol, Tennessee.

NASCAR Cup Series Points Leaders (Through March 4): 1. Kyle Larson, 118. 2. Ryan Blaney, 110. 3. Martin Truex Jr, 104. 4. William Byron, 103. 5. Ross Chastain, 98. 6. Kyle Busch, 95. 7. Chase Elliott, 95. 8. Daniel Suárez, 90. 9. Ty Gibbs, 87. 10. Denny Hamlin, 87. 11. Austin Cindric, 86. 12. Tyler Reddick, 84. 13. Alex Bowman, 82. 14. Bubba Wallace, 76. 15. Erik Jones, 71. 16. John H. Nemechek, 68. 17. Corey LaJoie, 66. 18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 64. 19. Daniel Hemric, 58. 20. Chase Briscoe, 53. 21. Christopher Bell, 52. 22. Michael McDowell, 52. 23. Chris Buescher, 50. 24. Joey Logano, 48. 25. Carson Hocevar, 48.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

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NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Call 811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200

Site: Avondale, Arizona.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 11:30 a.m., qualifying, noon and race, 3:30 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Phoenix Raceway.

Race distance: 200 laps, 200 miles.

Last year: Sammy Smith won after starting 11th.

Last race: John Hunter Nemechek beat pole-sitter Cole Custer by 4.3 seconds at Las Vegas.

Fast facts: Nemechek led five times for a race-high 99 laps for his 10th win in the series. … His victory in a Toyota is the lone non-Chevrolet win in the three national series thus far through nine races. … Custer was second, followed by Chandler Smith — who led 74 laps — and Austin Hill. … Hill and Smith have finished in the top five in all three races this year.

Next race: March 23, Austin.

NASCAR Xfinity Points Leaders (Through March 4): 1. Austin Hill, 148 (2). 2. Chandler Smith, 126 (0). 3. Riley Herbst, 121 (0). 4. AJ Allmendinger, 105 (0). 5. Cole Custer, 99 (0). 6. Sheldon Creed, 96 (0). 7. Jesse Love, 96 (0). 8. Justin Allgaier, 94 (0). 9. Sammy Smith, 86 (0). 10. Brandon Jones, 81 (0). 11. Parker Kligerman, 76 (0). 12. Anthony Alfredo, 71 (0). 13. Ryan Sieg, 71 (0). 14. Parker Retzlaff, 68 (0). 15. Ryan Truex, 64 (0). 16. Shane Van Gisbergen, 60 (0). 17. Ryan Ellis, 53 (0). 18. Brennan Poole, 53 (0). 19. Jeremy Clements, 51 (0). 20. BJ McLeod, 46 (0).

Online: http://www.nascar.com

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NASCAR TRUCK SERIES

Last race: Rajah Caruth became the third Black driver to win in one of NASCAR’s three national series, winning after starting on the pole at Las Vegas.

Next race: March 16, Bristol, Tennessee.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Points Leaders (Through March 4): 1. Tyler Ankrum, 133. 2. Ty Majeski, 128. 3. Corey Heim, 126. 4. Rajah Caruth, 123. 5. Nicholas Sanchez, 104. 6. Taylor Gray, 103. 7. Matt Crafton, 94. 8. Bret Holmes, 89. 9. Christian Eckes, 85. 10. Grant Enfinger, 85. 11. Daniel Dye, 66. 12. Stewart Friesen, 66. 13. Tanner Gray, 64. 14. Spencer Boyd, 55. 15. Jake Garcia, 55. 16. Timmy Hill, 53. 17. Ben Rhodes, 52. 18. Chase Purdy, 52. 19. Bayley Currey, 50. 20. Dean Thompson, 49.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

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FORMULA ONE

Saudi Arabia Grand Prix

Site: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; Saturday, practice, 7:30 a.m. and qualifying, 11 a.m.; Sunday, race, 11 a.m. (ESPN).

Track: Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Race distance: 50 laps, 191.662 miles.

Last year: Sergio Perez won after starting from the pole position.

Last race: Three-time defending series champion Max Verstappen won from the pole position.

Fast facts: Verstappen set an F1 record with 10 consecutive wins last season, when he won 19 of 22 races, and has won the last eight F1 races. … Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished second.

Next race: March 24, Melbourne, Australia.

Formula One Points Leaders (Through March 3): 1. Max Verstappen, 26. 2. Sergio Perez, 18. 3. Carlos Sainz Jr, 15. 4. Charles Leclerc, 12. 5. George Russell, 10. 6. Lando Norris, 8. 7. Lewis Hamilton, 6. 8. Oscar Piastri, 4. 9. Fernando Alonso, 2. 10. Lance Stroll, 1.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

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INDYCAR

Firestone Grand Prix

Site: St. Petersburg, Florida.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 1:45 p.m.; Saturday, practice, 8:35 a.m., and qualifying, 1-2 p.m.; Sunday, race, 11:15 a.m. (NBC).

Track: St. Petersburg road course.

Race distance: 100 laps, 180 miles.

Last year: Marcus Ericsson won after starting fourth.

Last race: Scott Dixon won last year’s season finale at Laguna Seca, his third win of the season, all in the last four races. The six-time champion gave Chip Ganassi Racing a 1-2 finish in the standings.

Fast facts: Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing last year became the first driver in 18 years to clinch the title before the final race of the season. It was his second championship in three years.

Next race: March 24, Thermal, California.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

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NHRA DRAG RACING

Next event: March 7-10, Gainesville, Florida.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

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WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Next events: March 8 and 9, Kennedale, Texas.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

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NASCAR Cup Series Schedule-Winners

Feb. 3 — x-Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum (Denny Hamlin)

Feb. 15 — x-Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at DAYTONA (Tyler Reddick)

Feb. 15 — x-Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 at DAYTONA (Christopher Bell)

Feb. 19 — DAYTONA 500 (William Byron)

Feb. 25 — Ambetter Health 400 (Daniel Suárez)

March 3 — Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (Kyle Larson)

March 10 — Shriners Children’s 500, Avondale, Ariz.

March 17 — Food City 500, Bristol, Tenn.

March 24 — EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, Austin, Texas

March 31 — Toyota Owners 400, Richmond, Va.

April 7 — NASCAR Cup Series Race at Martinsville, Ridgeway, Va.

April 14 — Autro EchoPark Automotive 400, Fort Worth, Texas

April 21 — GEICO 500, Talladega, Ala.

April 28 — Wurth 400, Dover, Del.

May 5 — AdventHealth 400, Kansas City, Kan.

May 12 — Goodyear 400, Darlington, S.C.

May 19 — x-NASCAR All-Star Open, North Wilkesboro, N.C.

May 19 — NASCAR All-Star Race, North Wilkesboro, N.C.

May 26 — Coca-Cola 600, Concord, N.C.

June 2 — Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter, Madison, Ill.

June 9 — Toyota / Save Mart 350, Sonoma, Calif.

June 16 — Iowa Corn 350, Powered by Ethanol, Newton, Iowa

June 23 — NASCAR Cup Series Race at New Hampshire, Loudon, N.H.

June 30 — Ally 400, Lebanon, Tenn.

July 7 — Grant Park 165, Chicago

July 14 — HighPoint.com 400, Long Pond, Pa.

July 21 — Brickyard 400, Speedway, Ind.

Aug. 11 — Cook Out 400, Richmond, Va.

Aug. 18 — FireKeepers Casino 400, Brooklyn, Mich.

Aug. 24 — Coke Zero Sugar 400, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Sept. 1 — Cook Out Southern 500, Darlington, S.C.

Sept. 8 — Quaker State 400 available at Walmart, Hampton, Ga.

Sept. 15 — Go Bowling at The Glen, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Sept. 21 — Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol, Tenn.

Sept. 29 — Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City, Kan.

Oct. 6 — YellaWood 500, Talladega, Ala.

Oct. 13 — Bank of America ROVAL 400, Concord, N.C.

Oct. 20 — South Point 400, Las Vegas

Oct. 27 — NASCAR Cup Series Race at Homestead-Miami, Homestead, Fla.

Nov. 3 — XFINITY 500, Ridgeway, Va.

Nov. 10 — NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Avondale, Ariz.

x-non-points race