NASCAR
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – NASCAR’s most popular driver had a banner night at The Madhouse. Starting on pole for the Cook Out Clash, Chase Elliott was rarely anywhere but the lead across all 200 laps. Following in his Hall of Fame father’s footsteps yet again, the 2020 Cup champion added another major win in the preseason exhibition race.
The first 100-lap segment was dominated by Elliott, who led the opening 96 circuits. Late in this run, however, Denny Hamlin came to life and took lead just before the halfway break.
Elliott soon retook command in the second half, only to face a new challenger in his rearview mirror. After starting last with the points provisional, Ryan Blaney hounded Elliott’s mirror with 50 laps left. Despite being best friends off track, the High Point, NC native in the 12 did not race Elliott with any ease.
The Napa No. 9 Chevrolet’s speed never faltered, and Elliott never put a wheel wrong all race long. Following a dominant 171 laps led, Chase Elliott picked up his first Clash win.
“First off thanks everyone for coming out,” Elliott said to a standing-room only crowd at The Madhouse. “Y’all made a really fun environment for us, we don’t race in stadiums like this, so this is cool. Appreciate y’all making that moment special for me and my team, this is awesome. I know it’s not a points race but it is nice to win, for sure. Just really proud of our team for just continuing to keep our heads down and push forward, for sure.”
“Had a tough race. Ryan kept me honest there at the end. Denny was really good at the second half of that break. I just felt like he was kind of riding, and I was afraid to lose control of the race and not be able to get it back.”
“Yeah, fortunately it worked out. Great way to start the season. Huge thanks to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, a lot of hard work over the off-season, NAPA Auto Parts, Chevrolet, some great partners. Excited to get to Daytona. It’s a great way to start the season.”
“Y’all deserved it. I hope it was a good show for you. This environment is special. This is a place that has had deep history in NASCAR. I think they deserve this event truthfully. I hope we didn’t disappoint. It was fun for me at least. We’ll hopefully come back here one day.”
Behind Elliott and Blaney, the rest of the top-five were: Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Bubba Wallace. Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, Shane van Gisbergen, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-10 finishers.
After a week off for Super Bowl LIX, NASCAR will return in two weeks for Daytona Speedweek leading into the 67th Running of The Great American Race, the Daytona 500.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
