CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP)— Nothing is guaranteed by a single victory, especially in an exhibition race. However, if this were NASCAR only five years ago, Chase Elliott would have been the clear favorite to win the Daytona 500 after his resounding victory in the preseason Clash. From 1979 until 2021, the Clash served as the warm-up for NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl at Daytona International Speedway. In order to determine who had the car to beat in the 500, the drivers used the event. When “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” won the Clash and then won the 500 from the pole seven days later for his second victory in “The Great American Race,” Elliott’s own father accomplished it in 1987. Six times the victor of the Clash went on to win the 500; the exhibition event was that important of a test for NASCAR’s biggest race of the season.
However, in the past four seasons, the event has now been rescheduled twice. For three years, NASCAR held it on a makeshift track inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Last weekend, Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem hosted the first Cup Series race since 1971, bringing it back to its origins. These days, a Clash victory is only worth a trophy, pride, and maybe a tiny boost of confidence before the season starts. The exhibition was merely a throwback event for those who missed NASCAR’s glorious past, despite the fact that the excitement and passion were evident throughout the two days at a sold-out Bowman Gray. From 1958 until 1971, NASCAR had races at Bowman Gray before starting to branch out into larger markets and more contemporary locations. Denny Hamlin, the last driver to win the Clash and then the 500 when he did it in 2016, was one of the few drivers who lamented that the race is no longer the warmup to the 500.
According to Hamlin, “I thought it provided tons of storylines for the 500.” When someone was truly dominant in the Clash back then, you thought, ‘They have a wonderful handling car, they are going to be tough to beat, regardless of where they start.’ I’m not sure if you’ll see the direct correlation now since it’s such a track position race.
Given Chase Elliott’s triumph, Hamlin’s only hope was that the race at Bowman Gray on Sunday night would “bring back some hype to the 500.” Since Elliott has been NASCAR’s most popular driver for seven consecutive years, the 17,000 spectators naturally cheered him on when he won. He started by winning his heat race on Saturday night from the pole and led 172 of the 200 laps on the quarter-mile track to win the exhibition for the first time. But he’s 0 for 9 in the Daytona 500, where he’s twice started from the pole but his 2021 runner-up finish is his best showing. He lost that year to underdog journeyman Michael McDowell as Elliott, then the reigning Cup champion, wasn’t even a true contender and other drivers crashing aided his second-place finish. So, no, his Clash victory is not an indicator of what Elliott might do when teams head to Florida next week to begin preparations for the Feb. 16 Daytona 500.
He maintained his optimism that the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team would arrive at Daytona International Speedway with at least some momentum. Elliott remarked, “Look, I know it’s not a points race, but I don’t care.” “Dude, these things are so difficult to win. It’s very satisfying to cross the finish line first in any kind of event when you’re competing against drivers and teams like that. Whether it’s a points race or not, the All-Star before the season, or something else entirely, this garage has become extremely competitive. These guys are very good at what they do.From our point of view, I find that to be really pleasurable. We’ll focus on the weekend’s positives. Indeed, we recognize there’s 37 more (races) to go. There’s a lot of racing left. Just hope we can build on this.”
The racing is far from over. I hope we can continue to build on this. Elliott has only won one points-paying game in the last two seasons and hasn’t advanced to the championship four since 2022. However, crew chief Alan Gustafson saw Elliott’s victory in the Clash as a positive step that gave him hope for the rest of the season. “I’m fairly certain that everyone present wanted to win. In actuality, we did, and we’re happy about it. no points nor bonus points are paid out. “We definitely comprehend that,” Gustafson remarked. “We all tried to come here and win, and we all tried to come here and be successful,” I believe. provides you with confirmation in validation in your process, validation in how your team is operating and working.“Certainly I think it’s going to give Chase some confidence and validation seeing he did an amazing job to win the race. Basically did everything right. Those are all good things. How far is that going to carry you? Not ‘til you get to Daytona, you unload and have to do it all over again.”
