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.
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.