AUTO RACING: Defending F1 champ Max Verstappen eyes another title and NASCAR heads to Vegas

Updated Mar. 11, 2025 1:18 p.m. ET

Associated Press

All Times Eastern

NASCAR CUP SERIES

Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube

Site: Las Vegas.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 1:35 p.m., qualifying, 2:40 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3:30 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Race distance: 267 laps, 400.5 miles.

Last year: Kyle Larson led a race-high 181 laps, surviving a late surge from Tyler Reddick that earned him his third-straight win in Vegas.

Last race: Christopher Bell became the first to win three straight races in the NextGen car, edging teammate Denny Hamlin by 0.049 seconds in Phoenix Raceway's second-closest finish.

Next race: March 23, Homestead, Florida.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

The LiUNA!

Site: Las Vegas.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 6:05 p.m., qualifying, 7:10 p.m.: Saturday, race, 4:30 p.m. (CW).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Race distance: 200 laps, 300 miles.

Last year: John Hunter Nemechek earned his first Las Vegas victory, leading a race-high 99 laps in a wind-swept race with gusts up to 70 mph.

Last race: Aric Almirola claimed an overtime victory in Phoenix after a dramatic last-lap pass of Alex Bowman.

Next race: March 22, Homestead, Florida.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

Ecosave 200

Site: Las Vegas.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 3:35 p.m., qualifying, 4:40 p.m., race, 9 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Race distance: 134 laps, 201 miles.

Last year: Rajah Caruth took the win from the pole position, becoming the third Black driver to win a NASCAR series race.

Last race: Kyle Busch pulled away from Stewart Friesen in the final seconds in Atlanta, earning him his 67th series victory.

Next race: March 21, Homestead, Florida.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix

Site: Melbourne, Australia.

Schedule: Thursday, practice, 9:25 p.m.; Friday, practice, 12:55 a.m.,: Saturday, qualifying, 12:35 a.m., race, 11:55 p.m. (ESPN).

Track: Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.

Race distance: 58 laps, 190 miles.

Last year: Carlos Sainz earned the win after taking advantage of Max Verstappen's early exit due to mechanical issues. Charles Leclerc finished in second place while Lando Norris took third after a dramatic crash from George Russell.

Last race: Lando Norris claimed his first championship in Abu Dhabi, ending Verstappen’s four-year winning streak.

Next race: March 23, Shanghai, China.

Online: http://www.formula1.com