Shane van Gisbergen wins fifth road course victory and Cup Series playoffs heat up with Round of 8

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South Point 400

Playoffs — Round of 8

Site: Las Vegas.

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Race distance: 267 laps, 400.5 miles.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 4:30 p.m., qualifying, 5:40 p.m.; Sunday, race, 5:30 p.m. (USA).

Last year: Joey Logano took the lead in the final laps of the first race of Round of 8, holding off Christopher Bell and securing a spot in the Championship 4.

Last race: Shane van Gisbergen secured his fifth straight road course win while leading 57 laps and finishing over 15 seconds ahead of Kyle Larson in the last race of Round of 12 at Charlotte.

Next race: Oct. 19, Talladega, Alabama.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

Focused Health 302

Playoffs — Round of 8

Site: Las Vegas.

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Race distance: 201 laps, 301.5 miles.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 2 p.m., qualifying, 3:05 p.m., race, 7:30 p.m. (CW).

Last year: AJ Allmendinger clinched a spot in the Championship 4 after holding off a late surge from Ryan Sieg in his first win of the season.

Last race: Pole-sitter Connor Zilisch celebrated his tenth series win of the season, leading 61 of the 68 laps in a race that was cut short due to a caution.

Next race: Oct. 18, Talladega, Alabama.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

Last race: After recovering from a first-lap crash, Corey Heim earned a record-setting ten series wins in a single season with a win at Charlotte that secured him a spot in the Championship 4.

Next race: Oct. 17, Talladega, Alabama.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

Last race: George Russell's second victory of the season was overshadowed by McLaren securing its second straight Constructors’ Championship title at Singapore.

Next race: Oct. 19, Del Valle, Texas.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

Season Wrap: Alex Palou won his third consecutive series championship, securing the title in four of the last five seasons.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

Texas NHRA FallNationals

Site: Ennis, Texas.

Track: Texas Motorplex.

Race distance: 1/4 mile.

Next race: November 2, Las Vegas.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

Bayou Classic

New Egypt Showdown

Next race: Oct. 17 - 19.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing