Week 0: Bowman Grey Stadium

By: Jeffrey Norris | Feb. 2, 2025

PC: AP

WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA -

NASCAR returned to its roots with a smooth and fight-free exhibition event at Bowman Gray Stadium, where Chase Elliott took home the win in The Clash on Sunday evening.

Elliott dominated the race after starting from the pole position, a result of his victory in the heat race on Saturday. He led for most of the 200-lap race on the quarter-mile track, where NASCAR last raced in 1971. This marked Elliott’s first victory in The Clash, and he became the second member of his family to win the event, following in the footsteps of his father, Bill Elliott, who won in 1987.

Chase now looks ahead to the Daytona 500, which kicks off the official NASCAR season on February 16, hoping to replicate his father’s success, as Bill also won the Clash and then went on to win the Daytona 500 the following week.

"Really excited for Daytona. It’s a great way to start the year," Elliott said. "Even though this isn’t a points race, winning feels great, and I’m really proud of my team for pushing forward."

The Clash, typically held at Daytona International Speedway from 1979 to 2021, is a non-points event that serves as a prelude to the Daytona 500. In 2022, NASCAR moved the race to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where a temporary short track was created for three seasons. This year, the event was relocated to Bowman Gray Stadium, a venue with deep NASCAR history. The track hosted Cup Series races from 1958 to 1971 and now serves as both a home for local racing and the football field for Winston-Salem State University.

Although Bowman Gray is notorious for its rowdy atmosphere, the race went off without any physical altercations, providing fans with an exciting and incident-free experience.

"I think this place deserves an event like this. It’s been a big part of NASCAR history," Elliott reflected. "I had a lot of fun, and I hope we can come back someday."

Elliott led for the majority of the race, ultimately securing the win in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The 17,000 fans in the sold-out crowd were on their feet as Elliott weaved through lapped traffic and faced stiff competition from Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. "Thanks to everyone for making this such a cool environment," Elliott said to the crowd after the race. "We don’t usually race in stadiums like this, so it was really special."

Blaney finished second in his Ford, while Hamlin claimed third in his Toyota. This year’s event also featured a thrilling last-chance qualifier, where Kyle Larson and Josh Berry earned their spots in the race, and Blaney qualified based on his points from the previous season.

The race highlighted the legacy of Bowman Gray, with NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Childress, who grew up just 15 minutes away from the track, in attendance. As a child, he sold peanuts and popcorn in the grandstands and recalled how he was drawn to the excitement of the track. "We’d come for the fights and then the races would break out," Childress said, reminiscing about his youth.