NASCAR
Who Has Won The Clash and the Daytona 500 in the Same Year?
For the past 46 years, The Great American Race has seen The Clash ran as a prelude. While the exhibition race has not been at Daytona International Speedway the last four years, the list of those to sweep both races remains short. A driver has won both The Clash and the Daytona 500 to start a season only six times before. These represent some of the sport’s all-time best talents, and some of the most prolific around Daytona. Can Chase Elliott become the seventh man to join this elite club next Sunday?
Bobby Allison – 1982
DiGard Motorsports and Bobby Allison were in another league on superspeedways in 1982. That year’s Clash, only consisting of 20 laps between 13 drivers, saw Allison take over on lap five and never look back.
The next week in the Daytona 500, the No. 88 Buick spent much of the day out front again. Allison took home one of the most dominant Daytona 500 wins yet, leading 147 of 200 laps. This win did stir some controversy, however, due to Allison’s rear bumper falling off. Known at the time as ‘Bumpergate,’ this change did result in Allison’s car being noticeably faster than others in the draft. Intentional or not, the errant bumper did not lead to any post-race penalty. Allison went on to also win the 1982 Firecracker 400, being the last driver to sweep both Daytona points races until Jimmie Johnson in 2013.
1982 was the fifth time Allison was championship runner-up, not hoisting a Winston Cup until the next season.
Allison recently passed away in November, weeks after being recognized as the 1971 Bowman Gray Stadium race winner. Showing respect to the fallen Hall of Famer, the Cook Out Clash trophy was named in his honor.
Bill Elliott – 1987
Few saw more sustained superspeedway success than Bill Elliott across the 1980s. Despite not winning the championship, 1987 for the No. 9 is one of NASCAR’s best ever year-long runs. Elliott’s Melling Racing Ford was as fast as a rocket at countless superspeedway races, setting all-time qualifying track records at both Daytona and Talladega in 1987. Both of these quick times still stand to this day.
Elliott was untouchable across Daytona Speedweeks, leaving both fields in the dust from pole position. 38 years after this banner year from Awesome Bill, his son Chase will try and equal this impressive feat.
Dale Jarrett – 1996, 2000
If Bill Elliott was the 1980s superspeedway ace, Dale Jarrett was a contender for this title in the next decade. Across an eight year span the second-generation driver won three Daytona 500s, tied for third-most all time. Jarrett’s last two triumphs in The Great American Race both mirrored a Clash win as well, being the only man to pull off this sweep twice.
Robert Yates Racing horsepower under the hood of the iconic No. 88 Ford was tough to beat in their prime era.
The last Daytona 500 on CBS was a largely forgettable day for 42 drivers not named Jarrett. Starting on pole and leading 89 laps, Jarrett captured his final Daytona 500 in one of the race’s most dominant efforts ever.
Jeff Gordon – 1997
‘Wonder Boy’ was bound to make this list, when Hendrick Motorsports put the racing world on notice in Speedweeks 1997. The Clash sprint race saw the No. 24 lead its entire second half, serving as a true preview for next Sunday.
Gordon’s first of three Daytona 500 wins, this victory had added significance for team owner Rick Hendrick. Gordon, Terry Labonte, and Ricky Craven all gave Hendrick a top-three sweep in The Great American Race, a mark not repeated until 2019.
Both Speedweeks victories were some of the many high points amidst Jeff Gordon’s reign of terror. From 1996-1999, Gordon’s rainbow 24 went to victory lane an unparalleled 40 times, with a worst championship result of sixth. Speedweeks 1997 was the start of a second championship season for the Gordon/Evernham dynasty, racking up ten wins.
Denny Hamlin – 2016
From one three-time Daytona 500 champion to another, 2016 saw Denny Hamlin’s first taste of NASCAR’s biggest race. A week after he took a third career win in the Clash, Hamlin was fourth in a Toyota train at the white flag.
Pulling out of line ahead of a fast-charging outside lane, momentum carried the No. 11 to third, then second, with aggressive side drafting in effect. Juking to Matt Kenseth’s outside only to cut low, Hamlin had his opportunity but left the bottom lane open. Martin Truex Jr. quickly was on the 11’s door handle, with a neck and neck final push to the checkers. By 0.01 second, Hamlin was the victor in the closest ever Daytona 500 margin of victory.
Hamlin has since won the Daytona 500 twice more (2019, 2020) and the Clash one additional time in 2024. Hamlin also remains the closet to pulling off the Speedweeks triple threat. 2014 saw the 11 win the Clash, his Duel race, and be second in the Daytona 500.
To put it bluntly, Hamlin is one of the best drivers ever around Daytona’s high banks. Next week will see him try and become only the third member of the four-time winner’s club. Should Hamlin take another Harley J. Earl Trophy, he would stand alongside Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough as the Daytona 500’s winningest drivers.
Whether at Daytona, the L.A. Coliseum, or Bowman Gray, The Clash acts as a teaser trailer for the new racing season. Since 2022 there’s been a great contrast between a quarter-mile bullring and Daytona’s 2.5-mile grand stage. Should Chase Elliott be able to pull off both victories, it would only be another feather in his cap for a one day Hall of Fame career.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Sean Gardner, Jared C. Tilton, and Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
