NASCAR playoffs open with Truex win

Martin Truex Jr. backed up his regular-season dominance with a victory Sunday in NASCAR’s playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.

Truex solidified himself as the driver to beat over the final nine races as he chases his first Cup championship. Truex raced to his fifth victory of the season and an automatic berth in the second round of the playoffs, earning even more points in his bid to compete for the title in the finale in Homestead, Fla.

Truex had a nearly sevensecond lead over Chase Elliott in the final laps and won at Chicagoland for the second straight season.

“I don’t really care a whole lot about statements. I’m just having fun,” Truex said. “It’s important to come here and not let the pressure get to you, and I think we did a good job with that.”

Elliott was second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.

Truex’s No. 78 Toyota needed four tries through pre-race inspection before the car was cleared and later overcame an early pit-road penalty. By the end, there was no doubt the path to the NASCAR championship goes through Truex.

Truex won this race last season — also holding off Elliott for the second straight time — and again seemed right at home on the 1.5-mile track. Truex had wins this season on 1.5-mile tracks at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Kentucky Speedway.

Formula One: Lewis Hamilton profited from the chaos to win the Singapore Grand Prix and extend his championship lead. Meanwhile, title rival Sebastian Vettel lost huge ground after crashing out on the first lap.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo prevented a Mercedes 1-2 by finishing ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who placed third.

Vettel can have little complaint as he seemed to cause the first-turn mayhem, despite starting from the pole position. The crash caused a domino effect, taking out his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.