The Latest on the NASCAR race at Dover International Speedway (all times local):
5:55 p.m.
Kyle Larson pulled away late and won the playoff race at Dover International Speedway to snap a 75-race winless streak and earn an automatic berth in the next round.
Joey Logano (22) pits during the Drydene 400 NASCAR Cup Series playoff auto race, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. (AP PhotoJason Minto)
Larson had nine runner-up finshes in the No. 42 Chevrolet since his last win Sept. 9, 2017, in Richmond, keeping the Chip Ganassi Racing driver in championship contention.
Larson has six career Cup victories and his first one in the playoffs. He led 154 laps late after Denny Hamlin went from dominant to dud midway through the race. Hamlin led 219 laps before fading.
Larson did win the non-points All-Star race this year.
NASCAR playoff drivers took the top six spots: Martin Truex Jr. finished second, followed by Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick, Hamlin and Kyle Busch.
4:40 p.m.
Denny Hamlin led 219 laps but faded at the end of the second stage to allow Martin Truex Jr. to zip by him and win the stage at Dover.
Truex, Kyle Larson and Hamlin took the top three spots as the stage in the NASCAR playoff ended.
Hamlin led most of the race from the pole as he chased his first win at Dover in a career that started in 2006. He is making his 500th career start and Dover is celebrating its 100th race.
3:45 p.m.
Pole sitter Denny Hamlin has won the first stage of the NASCAR race at Dover. Playoff drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson followed Hamlin.
Hamlin is trying to win at Dover for the first time in 28 races.
Joey Logano and Chase Elliott had their races ruined with major issues with their cars inside 10 laps.
3 p.m.
Reigning series NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano and Chase Elliott both ran into major issues in their playoff push early at Dover International Speedway.
Logano's No. 22 Ford had an issue with the rear of the car and was forced to the garage before the green flag dropped. Elliott, who won last week at Charlotte, also had his Chevrolet sent to the garage before 10 laps were complete with a blown engine.
Both drivers are among the 12 in the NASCAR playoff field. Dover was the first race of the second round.
2:45 p.m.
Denny Hamlin is on the pole as he goes for his first victory at Dover International Speedway.
Hamlin is for 0 for 27 in races on the concrete mile track dating to 2006. He has only four top-five finishes, did not finish four times and his average finish is just 17.5 place. He finished 21st in the No. 11 Toyota in the May race at Dover.
Martin Truex Jr. won the spring race.
Hamlin will lead the field to green for the second round of the playoffs in his 500th career NASCAR Cup Series start. Richard Petty at Trenton in 1970 and Matt Kenseth at New Hampshire in 2013 are the only drivers to win their 500th start.
Joe Gibbs Racing has 15 wins this season and needs three more in seven races to match Hendrick Motorsports' record total of 18 in 2007.
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DETROIT (AP) — Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Ram and Dodge brands and the unofficial voice of American muscle cars, is retiring after nearly 32 years with Stellantis.
The announcement Friday comes as Stellantis struggles with U.S. sales as it begins the transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles. Through April, its sales were down 14.1% while the industry as a whole saw a 3.1% increase, according to Motorintelligence.com.
For years Kuniskis was the spokesman for high-performance American cars, introducing many powerful models including last year's 1,025 horsepower Challenger SRT Demon 170.
But in March, Kuniskis led the unveiling of two battery-powered versions of the Charger muscle car, while keeping one gas-powered version of the Charger without a big Hemi V8.
Recently Kuniskis was CEO of both the Dodge and Ram brands. He’ll be replaced at Ram by Chris Feuell, who will take on Ram in addition to her duties leading the Chrysler brand.
Matt McAlear will become Dodge brand CEO. He led Dodge sales and has broad automotive experience, the company said in a statement.
Both brands are struggling with Dodge phasing out the old versions of the gas powered Charger and Challenger as it moves to electric vehicles. Dodge sales through April are down more than 17%. The brand also is selling the Hornet small SUV made in Italy, but it hasn't caught on.
Ram sales are down over 29% so far this year as a Michigan factory is retooled to build an updated full-size pickup.
Kuniskis' passion and vision for the Dodge brand will be a loss, but someone else at Stellantis may be able to take over, said S&P Global analyst Stephanie Brinley.
“Dodge muscle car future is going through change, regardless of who is at the helm," Brinley said in an email. “Success will still come to product execution and whether the vision for the Dodge brand aligns with how customers see the brand. It wouldn’t be wise to presume no one else can champion the brand.”
At a March event in Detroit showing off the new electric Chargers, Kuniskis also exhibited a gas-fueled Charger powered by a new 3-liter six-cylinder engine with two turbochargers. A high-output version will have 550 horsepower.
Kuniskis defended keeping the gasoline version and said the electric muscle cars, which will roar like gas-engine vehicles, will emphasize performance over efficiency.
Under normal circumstance, he said, about 17 million vehicles are sold annually in the U.S. “You know what? People need choices,” he said.
Kuniskis said he would expect criticism from environmental groups if Dodge had not come out with electric versions of the Charger.
“It’s designed for performance and it has low range, but it’s still a battery electric vehicle. They’re going to hate on that? Seems kind of odd,” he said.
Globally, Stellantis' first quarter global vehicle shipments fell 10% from a year ago to 1.34 million, and revenue dropped 12% to 41.7 billion euros ($44.8 billion).
The company blamed the revenue dip on lower sales as it manages production and inventory while launching 25 new models this year, including 18 electric vehicles. Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight said Stellantis believes the new models will bring “materially improved growth and profitability in the second half."
FILE - Tim Kuniskis, head of Dodge Brand talks about the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept before its unveiling on Aug. 17, 2022, in Pontiac, Mich. Kuniskis, the unofficial voice of American muscle cars, is retiring from Stellantis after nearly 32 years with the company. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
FILE - Tim Kuniskis talks about the company's Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept during its unveiling, Aug. 17, 2022, in Pontiac, Mich. Kuniskis, CEO of the Ram and Dodge brands and the unofficial voice of American muscle cars, is retiring from Stellantis after nearly 32 years with the company. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
