{"id":1895,"date":"2025-02-03T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/?p=1895"},"modified":"2025-05-04T12:40:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T16:40:46","slug":"chase-elliott-triumphs-in-cook-out-clash-at-bowman-gray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/03\/chase-elliott-triumphs-in-cook-out-clash-at-bowman-gray\/","title":{"rendered":"Chase Elliott Triumphs in Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.<\/strong> \u2014 Chase Elliott made a triumphant statement in his return to the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 season-opening exhibition race, winning the Cook Out Clash<\/strong> at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday night. Elliott, who started on the pole, fended off a hard-charging Ryan Blaney to take the checkered flag before a sold-out, raucous crowd at the legendary quarter-mile track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masterfully navigating lapped traffic in the final stretch of the 200-lap event, Elliott secured victory with a 1.333-second lead<\/strong> over Blaney, who impressively climbed from the back of the field after starting last on a driver points provisional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The win marked Elliott\u2019s first Clash victory<\/strong> and the event\u2019s inaugural return to Bowman Gray after a three-year stint at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Piloting the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Elliott embraced the significance of NASCAR\u2019s return to the storied short track\u2014absent from the Cup Series for 54 years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThis place has a deep history in NASCAR, and I think it deserves an event like this,\u201d said Elliott, who dominated 171 of 200 laps<\/strong>. \u201cI hope the fans enjoyed it as much as I did. Hopefully, we get to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Battle for the Win<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Denny Hamlin briefly stole the spotlight, leading 28 laps<\/strong> after overtaking Elliott on Lap 96<\/strong>, but the No. 11 Toyota driver couldn\u2019t hold on. Elliott reclaimed the lead on Lap 126<\/strong>, setting up a duel with Blaney, who surged into second by Lap 147<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Blaney\u2019s No. 12 Team Penske Ford tightened up in the closing laps, preventing him from making a serious bid for the lead. Though within striking distance, he opted not to use aggressive tactics against Elliott, NASCAR\u2019s seven-time Most Popular Driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to bulldoze him and get chased out of here with pitchforks,\u201d Blaney joked. \u201cI just didn\u2019t have quite enough grip at the end to make a move.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Clash Top 10 Finishers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Behind Elliott and Blaney, Joey Logano<\/strong> secured fourth place, followed by Bubba Wallace<\/strong>, who powered through from 14th on the grid. The top 10 finishers included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Chase Elliott<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Ryan Blaney<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Denny Hamlin<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Joey Logano<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Bubba Wallace<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Ross Chastain<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Austin Cindric<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Tyler Reddick<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Shane van Gisbergen<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Chris Buescher<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Last Chance Drama<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The Last Chance Qualifier<\/strong> provided its own share of action, as Kyle Larson<\/strong> stormed from 10th to first<\/strong> in a caution-filled 75-lap race to earn a spot in the Clash. Larson seized the lead from Josh Berry<\/strong> on Lap 72<\/strong>, clinching one of the final two transfer spots in dramatic fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Despite leading 36 laps<\/strong>, Larson\u2019s race wasn\u2019t without trouble. After a collision with Erik Jones and Berry<\/strong>, his No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet suffered significant damage. He ultimately finished 17th<\/strong> in the main event, while Berry, who also advanced, placed 13th<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    \u201cIt got pretty rough,\u201d Berry admitted. \u201cBut that\u2019s Bowman Gray\u2014it\u2019s the \u2018Madhouse.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Elliott\u2019s victory kicks off the NASCAR Cup Series season with a thrilling short-track spectacle, signaling a promising year ahead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. \u2014 Chase Elliott made a triumphant statement in his return to the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 season-opening exhibition race, winning the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,27],"tags":[141,142,143,50,41,34],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1895"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1895"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1897,"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1895\/revisions\/1897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromtheinfield.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}