Larson has established himself as the driver to beat three races into the Chase, with his second-place finish at Bristol making him the new points leader and giving him a one point advantage over previous frontrunner Denny Hamlin.

Bristol Motor Speedway was once known as the place to come to for contact-filled, intense finishes. The modern version of Bristol doesn’t always deliver the same product, but for a few fleeting moments at the end of Saturday’s race, contact and chaos returned.

AJ Allmendinger scored his first NASCAR Cup Series pole in a decade Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Denny Hamlin led the way in NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway with a lap of 125.848 mph (15.247 seconds).Hamlin was quickest over rookie Austin Cindric, who ran 125.028 mph. Joey Logano, Cindric’s teammate, was third-fastest at 124.963 mph.Kyle Busch was fourth-fastest at 124.857 mph ahead of...

Denny Hamlin knew he had a shot at the pole based on how the Friday practices had gone at Bristol, and he wound up being correct.Hamlin scored his -- and Toyota’s -- first pole of the season with a lap of 129.230 mph (14.848 seconds). One of the last drivers...