Chase Elliott won a clash at Bowman Gray and notices landmarks with this with the victory of Daytona 500 – New Castle News

Winston-Salem, NC (AP) -NASCAR returned to its roots with a pre-season exhibition without a fight at Bowman Gray Stadium and a popular win with Chase Elliott won the Sunday night clash.

Elliot won his Heat on Saturday night to start from the pole and essentially dominates the quarter -mile track, where the NASCAR CUP series last competed in 1971.

The NASCAR Kingdom The most popular driver won the clash for the first time in his career and joined his father, Bill as winners in the unofficial opening season. Bill Elliot won the clash in 1987 and then put this victory in a win in Daytona 500 a week late.

Chase Elliot gets his chance to repeat his father’s dominance when NASCAR’s season officially opens February 16 at Daytona International Speedway.

“Excited to get to Dayton. This is a great way to start the season, said Elliott. “I know it’s not a point race, but it’s nice to win for sure. We’re just really proud of our team that we’re just still holding our heads and pushing forward, for sure. “

Clash is an event without points that took place on Daytona International Speedway from 1979 to 2021 as a warming act to Daytona 500. NASCAR came out of the box in 2022 and moved it across the country to the Memorial Colosseum in Los Angeles, who was who was Transformed into a temporary short song for three seasons.

NASCAR this year moved it to Bowman Gray when returning to Rassroots Racing. The CUP series was held at Bowman Gray from 1958 to 1971, and the stadium is already used for weekly local competitions and is the football field for the State University of Winston-Salem.

The runway is known for cruel temperaments and battles, but has gone through two days of NASCAR races without a single quarrel.

“This environment is special. This is a place that had a deep story in NASCAR, “said Elliott. “I think they deserve this event, true. I hope we haven’t disappointed. It was fun, at least for me. We hope to go back here one day. “

Elliott led 172 out of 200 laps in his Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports to win the event in front of a fansful saved crowd of 17,000 fans. Most viewers were on their feet every time Elliot was lifting the car with a steaming while fighting door to door with Danny Hamlin and then held Ryan Blaney at the end,

“Thank you all for going out,” Eliot told the crowd. “We all did a really cool environment for us. We do not compete in stadiums like this, so it’s just really cool and we appreciate that you are making the moment special for me and my team. I hope this was a good show for you.

“I had a difficult race. Ryan kept me honest there at the end,” he continued. “Danny was really good in the second half of this vacation. I just felt that he was somehow riding and I was afraid to lose control of the race and I couldn’t return it. Fortunately, it turned out. A great way to start the season. “

Kyle Larson and Josh Berry rushed to the collision earlier on Sunday night, going 1-2 in the last chance, and Blaina won a place based on points noted last season to finish the field with 23 drivers.

This year’s race celebrated the first Cup series race of Mecca of Madhouse, but did not produce the exploded temperaments that Bowman Gray regularly used to watch during the weekly competitions at local playgrounds.

But the event was still special.

Richard Childers welcomed only 15 minutes and as a young man the owner of the Hall of Fame sold peanuts in Grandstands. He was on the stands on Sunday night, watching before the race started, he stopped at the Fox Sports stand to deliver peanuts and popcorn to the broadcast team.

“As a child, we jumped the fence and went in and sell peanuts and popcorn, then I would have been hanging with all the racing racers and had a devil of time,” Childers said. – I said, “A man, as much fun as they have, I have to be a racing driver. We will come here for battle and a race will break out. “

Blaina finished second in Ford for Team Penske and was followed by Hamlin in Toyota for Joe Gibs Racing.

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