Denny Hamlin tops Ryan Blaney in Martinsville Cup practice

Hamlin, who is one of six drivers vying for two spots in the Championship 4 at Phoenix, posted the fastest overall lap speed and fastest in Group B (95.079 mph).

Hamlin is also a five-time winner at Martinsville but struggled in the spring race at the track.

Ryan Blaney (95.074 mph) and Chase Elliott (94.922 mph) – both playoff drivers trying to advance to compete for the 2022 championship – were second and third-fastest respectively.

Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-five.

Among those drivers who completed at least 10 consecutive laps, Blaney had the fastest average speed (94.770 mph). William Byron and Chase Briscoe were second and third-best respectively in that category.

Group B

Hamlin led the way in the second 20-minute session with an average speed of 95.079 mph.

Playoff driver Briscoe was second (94.779 mph) and Cole Custer was third (94.694 mph).

Playoff drivers Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain rounded out the top-five.

There were no on-track incident in the session.

Group A

Blaney waited for other cars to put rubber down on the track in the first 20-minute session and the result was he posted the fastest average speed (95.074 mph).

Elliott was second-fastest (94.922 mph) and Larson was third (94.869 mph).

Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones rounded out the top-five.

The only other playoff driver in the group, Byron, ended up sixth-fastest. He also won the spring race at Martinsville.

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

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	11	Denny Hamlin		Toyota	33	19.916			95.079
2	12	Ryan Blaney		Ford	48	19.917	0.001	0.001	95.075
3	9	Chase Elliott		Chevrolet	50	19.949	0.033	0.032	94.922
4	5	Kyle Larson		Chevrolet	43	19.960	0.044	0.011	94.870
5	8	Tyler Reddick		Chevrolet	38	19.969	0.053	0.009	94.827
6	43	Erik Jones		Chevrolet	38	19.973	0.057	0.004	94.808
7	24	William Byron		Chevrolet	40	19.976	0.060	0.003	94.794
8	14	Chase Briscoe		Ford	50	19.979	0.063	0.003	94.780
9	6	Brad Keselowski		Ford	31	19.984	0.068	0.005	94.756
10	10	Aric Almirola		Ford	50	19.996	0.080	0.012	94.699
11	41	Cole Custer		Ford	45	19.997	0.081	0.001	94.694
12	20	Christopher Bell		Toyota	49	20.006	0.090	0.009	94.652
13	3	Austin Dillon		Chevrolet	49	20.016	0.100	0.010	94.604
14	45	Bubba Wallace		Toyota	44	20.024	0.108	0.008	94.567
15	99	Daniel Suarez		Chevrolet	48	20.049	0.133	0.025	94.449
16	16	A.J. Allmendinger		Chevrolet	29	20.058	0.142	0.009	94.406
17	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		Chevrolet	38	20.063	0.147	0.005	94.383
18	1	Ross Chastain		Chevrolet	43	20.068	0.152	0.005	94.359
19	18	Kyle Busch		Toyota	40	20.092	0.176	0.024	94.246
20	21	Harrison Burton		Ford	35	20.106	0.190	0.014	94.181
21	2	Austin Cindric		Ford	34	20.107	0.191	0.001	94.176
22	19	Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota	33	20.107	0.191	0.000	94.176
23	22	Joey Logano		Ford	57	20.112	0.196	0.005	94.153
24	7	Corey Lajoie		Chevrolet	42	20.136	0.220	0.024	94.041
25	34	Michael McDowell		Ford	47	20.139	0.223	0.003	94.027
26	38	Todd Gilliland		Ford	33	20.147	0.231	0.008	93.989
27	17	Chris Buescher		Ford	36	20.166	0.250	0.019	93.901
28	31	Justin Haley		Chevrolet	35	20.169	0.253	0.003	93.887
29	77	Landon Cassill		Chevrolet	41	20.177	0.261	0.008	93.849
30	4	Kevin Harvick		Ford	36	20.179	0.263	0.002	93.840
31	23	Ty Gibbs		Toyota	47	20.191	0.275	0.012	93.784
32	42	Ty Dillon		Chevrolet	41	20.215	0.299	0.024	93.673
33	48	Noah Gragson		Chevrolet	42	20.228	0.312	0.013	93.613
34	51	Cody Ware		Ford	15	20.264	0.348	0.036	93.447
35	15	J.J. Yeley		Ford	24	20.407	0.491	0.143	92.792
36	78	B.J. McLeod		Ford	11	20.790	0.874	0.383	91.082