KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Brad Keselowski thought his playoff run would continue when he came to pit road for fresh tires before the first of two overtimes in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Denny Hamlin has been driving full time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2006. He has finished third in the season standings twice and as runner-up on one occasion. He had won 35 races in 501 starts, but the series' biggest trophy has remained beyond his grasp.

After Saturday's Kansas Lottery 300 took a sharp turn with 16 laps left, Brandon Jones sped away on two straight restarts to collect his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in a race that ended with Playoff drivers Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick brawling on pit road.

Talladega wasn't good to Chase Elliott.

Daniel Hemric may be out of the playoffs and out of his ride at Richard Childress racing next year, but that didn't stop the driver of the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet from winning the pole position for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Gray Gaulding's motorsports team said Friday that the NASCAR Xfinity driver was dealing with a "suspected allergic reaction" when their plane en route to Kansas Speedway made an unscheduled stop in St. Louis for medical care.

In any Playoffs, says defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, every driver will face a moment of truth.

Clint Bowyer reached agreement to return to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2020.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Playoff hopes and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup championship dreams are on the line this weekend as the series heads to Kansas Speedway for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Austin Theriault hasn't been cleared by NASCAR's medical team and won't take part in Sunday's Hollywood 400 at the Kansas Speedway, he announced Thursday on social media.

Ross Chastain has made a name for himself by consistently exceeding expectations -- winning NASCAR races and challenging for the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship even though he began the season with uncertainty about his future. The hard work and determination has paid off.

Ryan Blaney has spent the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season as the forgotten member in Team Penske's powerhouse stable of drivers.

Sunday's 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway has been postponed until Monday because of rain and impending darkness in eastern Alabama.

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Led by pole winner Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports reasserted its domination of superspeedway qualifying on Saturday at Talladega.

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Johnny Sauter did a celebratory burnout. He collected the checkered flag from the flag stand at Talladega Superspeedway.

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- More than 18 years ago, Kevin Harvick was thrust into a career change he could not have anticipated a week earlier.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It's hard to imagine the popular and frantic racing at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway being more intense than it naturally presents, but with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff stakes on the line in this Sunday's 1000Bulbs.com 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the chances for drama couldn't be higher.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: 1000BULBS.COM 500 (188 laps, 500.08 miles around a 2.66-mile D-shaped oval), Talladega Superspeedway; Talladega, Ala.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It was a tough race day start-to-finish at Dover International Speedway on Sunday for several Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders. In the case of reigning series champ Joey Logano, it was a tough day even before the start.

Mired in a two-plus-year winless streak, Kyle Larson has had to dig and claw his way through the last three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. But on Sunday, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver earned himself a chance to breathe easy for a week or two as he collected a huge victory at Dover International Speedway.

DOVER, Del. - In his 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series start, Cole Custer conquered the Monster Mile.

It was a friendly golf wager made good on the race track. Denny Hamlin began marking his 500th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race start this weekend with a record pole-winning speed Saturday afternoon at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

Alex Bowman earned headlines last weekend for his determined work behind the wheel of his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, rallying to a dramatic runner-up finish at the Charlotte ROVAL to earn a spot in the second round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Unquestionably the big news to transpire Friday morning at Dover (Del.) International Speedway -- where the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) -- was confirmation that the Ally Financial has re-upped its sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports and the Jimmy Johson-led No. 48 Chevrolet team through the 2023 season.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Chase Elliott may not be leading the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings as the series heads to Dover International Speedway for Sunday's Drydene 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), but with a victory last week at the Charlotte road course and the reigning champion of the Dover playoff race, he's got to be feeling confident and optimistic as the series rolls into the nation's first state.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: DRYDENE 400 (400 laps, 400 miles around a 1-mile D-shaped oval), Dover International Speedway; Dover, Del.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In the minutes and hours following the checkered flag in Sunday's first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff elimination race of 2019, drivers were simultaneously celebratory, stunned or simply relieved - depending on their fate - in an action-packed Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.

As he pondered his situation at the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield road circuit after practice on Friday, Chase Elliott called himself a driver in search of his groove. On Sunday, he quite obviously and very impressively had found that groove.

CONCORD, N.C. -- Momentum can be a fleeting thing.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ryan Blaney certainly takes pride in the race-winning effort he turned in at the inaugural Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL race last September. His charge from third place to the checkered flag on the race's final turns was highly dramatic and especially rewarding.

Martin Truex Jr. is certainly making a bold statement about both his championship determination and his racing ability in taking the trophies in each of the first two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff races.

Roush Fenway Racing announced Wednesday that it is parting ways with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after seven seasons in the No. 17 Ford.

Christopher Bell officially became the newest young NASCAR talent to sign a deal to race in the sport’s premier series, as Leavine Family Racing announced Tuesday afternoon that Bell will drive the team’s No. 95 Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series ranks beginning in 2020.

HAMPTON – The start times for all three races during Georgia’s NASCAR weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway are set as NASCAR released their race start times Tuesday. 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The scenario for Sunday's much-anticipated Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course provides exactly the intensity NASCAR fans want, but for the Playoff drivers competing to advance to the Round of 12 - the recently added road course also presents high anxiety.

Martin Truex Jr. started the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season with an 0-for-81 career record on the series' short tracks. Thanks to the venerable old .75-mile Richmond Raceway, Truex has now won twice.

RICHMOND, Va. -- Eager to add a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship to his resume in perhaps his final season in the series, Christopher Bell made an emphatic statement in Friday night's Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway.

RICHMOND, Va. -- In a battle of late qualifiers at Richmond Raceway, Brad Keselowski knocked Kevin Harvick off the provisional pole for Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 400 to claim the top starting spot for the second race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Second-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron shared the news this week that his longtime sponsor and current learning institution, Liberty University, will back him for at least another two years in NASCAR's premier series. And it seemed fitting, as Byron has been a stellar student in his first version of stock car racing's ultimate final exam -- the playoffs.

Certainly last week’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener at Las Vegas proved to be a compelling 400 miles of competition and energy with much of the drama involving drivers among the Playoff-eligible 16.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400 (400 laps, 300 miles around a .75-mile D-shaped oval), Richmond Raceway; Richmond, Va.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- There was certainly no shortage of drama -- both on and off the track -- in the opening race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs last weekend and that high energy will undoubtedly carry over to the second race of the 10-race Playoff this Saturday night in the Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway.

Xfinity Series crew chief Nick Harrison had cocaine, opioids and alcohol in his system when he died on July 21, Fox Sports reported on Wednesday.

Martin Truex Jr. did not arrive at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday night's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening race of the 10-event, 16-driver Playoffs on a hot streak.

LAS VEGAS – Tyler Reddick and his Richard Childress Racing Team gambled and hit the jackpot at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday evening – taking a chance on fuel mileage; racing just hard enough and simultaneously saving just enough fuel to hold off Christopher Bell by .738-seconds in the N…

LAS VEGAS -- Clint Bowyer won the pole position for Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, turning a fast lap of 178.926 mph in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson said he's leaning toward more years of racing if "forced to make a decision" by Hendrick Motorsports.

After 26 races of hard-nosed determination and hard-knocks competition, the 16-driver field for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set and the drivers begin their final trophy hunt in Sunday's South Point Casino 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: SOUTH POINT 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles around a 1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Las Vegas.

NASCAR driver Paul Menard will retire from full-time racing after the 2019 season.

The 16-driver Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field was set Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the same kind of drama and storyline fans can expect of the highly-anticipated 10-race Playoff that begins this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.