Hamlin tops Cindric in NASCAR Cup practice at Bristol

Hamlin ended up fastest in Group B and fastest overall with an average lap speed of 125.847 mph.

Following his first run in his 20-minnute practice, Hamlin reported an issue with the power steering and his team worked under the hood of his No. 11 Toyota for several minutes before he returned to the track.

The top-five overall speeds all came from Group B as Austin Cindric ended up second (125.027 mph) and Joey Logano was third (124.962 mph).

Rounding out the top-five were Kyle Busch and A.J. Allmendinger.

Among those drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps, Hamlin had the best average speed (124.978 mph). He was followed by Allmendinger, Larson and Bell in that category.

Group B

Hamlin got off to a slow start but ended up topping Group with an average lap of 125.847 mph.

Cindric was second, Logano third, Busch fourth and Allmendinger fifth.

With just over six minutes left in practice, Busch spun off Turn 2 to bring out a brief caution. He did not impact the wall with his No. 18 Toyota.

That was CLOSE @KyleBusch | @AustinCindric pic.twitter.com/0KuSnomhz1

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 16, 2022

However, Cindric just managed to avoid contact with Busch at the last minute.

Group A

Bell led the way in the first 20-minute session with an average lap speed of 124.702 mph.

Larson ended up second-fastest (124.694 mph) and Hendrick teammate Bowman was third (124.443 mph).

“It’s just the easiest thing I’ve ever driven around Bristol, so much grip, you can get back to the gas super-quick,” Larson said. “It honestly doesn't feel like you’re going that fast.”

Blaney and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-five.

Playoff drivers Daniel Suarez and Austin Dillon both struggled in practice, coming in 15th and 16th, respectively, out of the 18 cars.

“The Toyotas are unbelievable fast. We have to stay in the game and keep fighting,” Dillon said.

There were no on-track incidents in the first session.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	31	15.247			125.848
2	2	Austin Cindric	Ford	32	15.347	0.100	0.100	125.028
3	22	Joey Logano	Ford	47	15.355	0.108	0.008	124.963
4	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	31	15.368	0.121	0.013	124.857
5	16	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	45	15.377	0.130	0.009	124.784
6	20	Christopher Bell	Toyota	51	15.387	0.140	0.010	124.703
7	5	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	49	15.388	0.141	0.001	124.695
8	6	Brad Keselowski	Ford	49	15.395	0.148	0.007	124.638
9	41	Cole Custer	Ford	46	15.402	0.155	0.007	124.581
10	14	Chase Briscoe	Ford	36	15.402	0.155	0.000	124.581
11	17	Chris Buescher	Ford	49	15.407	0.160	0.005	124.541
12	48	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	48	15.419	0.172	0.012	124.444
13	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford	51	15.421	0.174	0.002	124.428
14	10	Aric Almirola	Ford	57	15.437	0.190	0.016	124.299
15	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	42	15.447	0.200	0.010	124.218
16	24	William Byron	Chevrolet	38	15.461	0.214	0.014	124.106
17	43	Erik Jones	Chevrolet	40	15.473	0.226	0.012	124.010
18	31	Justin Haley	Chevrolet	39	15.483	0.236	0.010	123.929
19	1	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	47	15.520	0.273	0.037	123.634
20	23	Ty Gibbs	Toyota	51	15.526	0.279	0.006	123.586
21	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	57	15.536	0.289	0.010	123.507
22	7	Corey Lajoie	Chevrolet	37	15.537	0.290	0.001	123.499
23	45	Bubba Wallace	Toyota	50	15.539	0.292	0.002	123.483
24	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	40	15.541	0.294	0.002	123.467
25	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Chevrolet	39	15.546	0.299	0.005	123.427
26	15	J.J. Yeley	Ford	42	15.558	0.311	0.012	123.332
27	38	Todd Gilliland	Ford	39	15.560	0.313	0.002	123.316
28	8	Tyler Reddick	Chevrolet	49	15.565	0.318	0.005	123.277
29	51	Cody Ware	Ford	37	15.566	0.319	0.001	123.269
30	21	Harrison Burton	Ford	42	15.572	0.325	0.006	123.221
31	34	Michael McDowell	Ford	55	15.576	0.329	0.004	123.190
32	99	Daniel Suarez	Chevrolet	50	15.608	0.361	0.032	122.937
33	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	39	15.681	0.434	0.073	122.365
34	77	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	50	15.737	0.490	0.056	121.929
35	42	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	28	15.759	0.512	0.022	121.759
36	78	B.J. McLeod	Ford	11	15.820	0.573	0.061	121.290