Sports briefs: Denny Hamlin wins pole at Ma..

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auto racing • Denny Hamlin won the pole position Friday for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Hamlin led the way as 18 drivers broke Jimmie Johnson's track qualifying record with a speed of 99.595 mph. Johnson, the points leader who set the mark in April, and Kyle Busch tied for second at 99.344 mph, with Johnson getting the second spot Sunday based on the owner points tiebreaker.

Matt Kenseth, a teammate of Hamlin and Busch who trails Johnson by just four points in the championship battle with four races left, will start fourth, meaning the five-time series champion and Hendrick Motorsports star will be surrounded by rivals from Joe Gibbs Racing at the green flag on Sunday.

Former player Rogers dead at 49

football • Reggie Rogers, the former University of Washington and Detroit Lions defensive lineman who served time in prison in Michigan for killing three teenagers in a drunken car crash, has died. He was 49. The King County Medical Examiner's Office said Rogers died Thursday. Officials are waiting for toxicology reports to determine the cause of death.

From wire reports

Sports briefs: Denny Hamlin wins pole at Martinsville