Denny Hamlin took the lead off pit road and led the final 135 laps at Bristol, beating Kyle Larson by 2.462 seconds in the first elimination race of the Cup Series playoffs.

The series shifts to Texas Motorspeedway this weekend for the first leg of the Round of 12. 

Defending series champion Joey Logano, retiring Kevin Harvick, Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell were eliminated from the playoffs. Logano is the first defending champ not to make it out of the first round the following year. 

Bubba Wallace and Reddick, who drive for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Hamlin and Michael Jordan, also advanced in the playoffs. 

Pole sitter Christopher Bell led a race-high 187 laps. Hamlin led 142 laps in all, and Ty Gibbs led 102.

Practice and qualifying is at 11:30 am Saturday morning. Race tims is 2:30 pm Sunday afternoon.

Riverton native Justin Allgaier won at Bristol for the second time in his career — the first win came in 2010 — and earned a spot in the second round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.

The series continues its playoff run at Texas Motorspeedway this week.

The victory was Allgaier’s third of the season. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove his first race of the season and was contending before his car caught fire with 29 laps remaining. Earnhardt plans to race again at Homestead-Miami in late October. 

Daniel Hemric, who will move up to the Cup Series next year for Kaulig Racing, finished second after starting the race ranked 11th in the 12-driver playoff field. John Hunter Nemechek finished third, followed by Cole Custer and Chandler Smith. Regular season champ Austin Hill finished 32nd after contact with Richard Childress Racing teammate Sheldon Creed caused him to crash.

Practice and qualifying is at 9:30 am Saturday morning. Race time is 2:30 pm Saturday.

The Craftsman Truck Series is off this week. Its playoffs continue next weekend at Talladega.