Ty Gibbs on Thursday declined to discuss the death of his father, which occurred just hours after the NASCAR driver clinched the Xfinity Series championship last month.

Ty Gibbs was promoted to NASCAR’s top Cup series on Tuesday in an expected announcement that was void of any celebration as Joe Gibbs Racing continues to mourn the loss of Gibbs’ father.

Coy Gibbs, the vice chairman at Joe Gibbs Racing for his NFL and NASCAR Hall of Fame father, died Sunday morning.

Ty Gibbs will race for his first NASCAR national championship on Saturday in the Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Ross Chastain has been criticized all season by his rivals for being too aggressive on the track.

Tua Tagovailoa got the Dolphins off to a fast start in his return from a concussion, and Miami held on throughout a scoreless second half to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-10.

It took two overtimes Saturday for AJ Allmendinger to remain undefeated on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway and seize the momentum for the next round of the Xfinity Series playoffs.

Tua Tagovailoa passed for 270 yards and a touchdown, and the Miami Dolphins provided an early look at their ability to contend in the AFC East as they beat Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots 20-7 Sunday.

Justin Allgaier held off JR Motorsports teammate Josh Berry in overtime to win the Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.

– Mississippi will increase the lowest monthly welfare payments in the nation under a bill signed into law Wednesday by the state's Republican governor. The payments in Mississippi have been $146 for a family of two, $170 for a family of three and $194 for a family of four. AdEven with the increase, the Mississippi welfare payments will still be only a fraction of the federal poverty level, according to the liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Brandon Jones, a Democratic former Mississippi House member and current policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund in Mississippi, called the increase long overdue. “This $90 increase gets Mississippi off the bottom and is desperately needed by struggling families throughout the state."

– The Mississippi House voted Wednesday to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls' or women's sports teams in the state's schools and universities. Mississippi is one of more than 20 states with lawmakers proposing restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year. The House voted 81-28 to pass Senate Bill 2536. The Republican-controlled state Senate passed the bill 34-9 on Feb. 11, with five senators not voting and four voting “present." During the Senate debate, nobody asked whether any transgender athletes are competing in Mississippi.

Hamlin raced to his fourth victory of the season and sixth at Pocono to cap a wild, marathon day of racing at the track, with three NASCAR races and a near-darkness Cup finish. Pocono doesn't have lights -- but the pit road numbers were lit up and glowed as Hamlin took the checkered flag for Joe Gibbs Racing. The rain wreaked havoc with the third NASCAR race of the day at Pocono. Brandon Jones opened the day with a win in the Truck Series race and Chase Briscoe won the Xfinity race. Pocono became the first track in NASCAR history to hold three national series races on the same day.

Its the first time three NASCAR National Series races will be raced on the same day at the same track. It will be the fifth time three National Series races will run on the same day, but those were at different tracks. The Truck race was rained out Saturday forcing the move to early Sunday. The Truck race never got any momentum and dragged from start to finish because of nine caution flags and two red flags on a sloppy day of racing at Pocono. He had 13 top-five finishes in the Truck Series just never the checkered.

Chase Briscoe smokes his tires in celebration after winning a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, June 28, 2020, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)LONG POND, Pa. Chase Briscoe held off Ross Chastain in overtime to win the crash-filled Xfinity Series at Pocono Raceway, the second of three NASCAR races at the track on Sunday. Pocono became the first track to hold a Truck, Xfinity and Cup race on the same day. 98 Ford and won his fourth race of the season, and second in three races. Hes always one of the hardest guys to race against.Chastain hit the jackpot with his runner-up finish. Pocono turned in a wreck-fest for the second straight race, the track-record tying nine cautions in Trucks was given a run for the money early in Xfinity.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. Chase Briscoe lost much of his team and got a win for them. Its just a testament to our team, Briscoe said. With 15 laps to go, it was basically down to a two-car race: Gragson was leading, about 2 1/2 seconds ahead of Briscoe. Gragson never had control of the race again, and Briscoe wound up in victory lane. That was a team win, for sure, Briscoe said.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. Chase Briscoe lost much of his team and got a win for them. Its just a testament to our team, Briscoe said. With 15 laps to go, it was basically down to a two-car race: Gragson was leading, about 2 1/2 seconds ahead of Briscoe. Gragson never had control of the race again, and Briscoe wound up in victory lane. That was a team win, for sure, Briscoe said.

BRISTOL, Tenn. Noah Gragson squeezed past JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier with four laps remaining, a move that caused Allgaier to crash, and Gragson held on at Bristol Motor Speedway for his second win of the season. His victory Monday night was set up by a caution with 13 laps remaining that wiped away Allgaier's lead. The Chevrolet teammates lined up side-by-side for the restart with seven laps remaining but Allgaier cleared him on the restart. I really apologize to Justin and the (number) 7 team, thats not how I want to race, Gragson said. I was terrible here in trucks and Xfinity, Gragson said.