LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on the NASCAR race in Las Vegas (all times local):

1:35 p.m.

Kevin Harvick is leading from the pole after the first stage of the NASCAR Cup Series race in Las Vegas.

The defending race champion also swept both stages of this race last year, and he remained up front after leading 62 of the 80 laps in a fairly uneventful opening stage.

Kyle Busch moved up to second in his quest for a three-race weekend sweep in his hometown. Joey Logano was third, and Denny Hamlin was fourth.

Kyle Larson was hurt by a pit-road penalty for the second straight week. After a speeding penalty knocked him out of the lead in Atlanta, his crew had too many members over the wall in Vegas, sending him back to the middle of the field.

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12:55 p.m.

The third race of the NASCAR Cup Series season is underway in Las Vegas.

Kevin Harvick stayed in the lead off the pole, and hometown driver Kyle Busch moved up to second before falling back to fifth in the early going.

Drivers expect difficult racing under NASCAR's new rules package, which should keep them bunched up and unable to pull away.

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10:25 a.m.

Kyle Busch is going for a three-race weekend sweep when he takes to his hometown track in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Busch won the Trucks race on Friday and the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, giving him 197 career victories in all three series. He has won only one Cup race in Vegas, but he is among the favorites in NASCAR's third race of the new season.

Defending race champion Kevin Harvick is on the pole when NASCAR debuts the entirety of its new rules package designed to foster tighter racing and more passing.

Drivers expect to be in big packs of racers with plenty of lead changes due to the reduced speeds and increased downforce.

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