February 3, 2025 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Chase Elliott wins Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Pole winner Chase Elliott held off a dramatic charge from Ryan Blaney to win Sunday night’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in front of a teeming, vociferous sellout crowd at the historic quarter-mile.

Adroitly working lapped traffic in the closing stages of the 200-lap season-opening exhibition race, Elliott crossed the finish line 1.333 seconds ahead of Blaney, who started last among the 23 competitors on a driver points provisional.

Elliott claimed his first victory in the Clash, which came to Bowman Gray after a three-year stint in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet reveled in the NASCAR Cup Series’ return to the iconic short track after an absence of 54 years.

“This environment is special,” said Elliott, who led 171 laps, including the first 96 before surrendering the lead to eventual third-place finisher Denny Hamlin. “This is a place that has a deep history in NASCAR. I think they deserve this event, truthfully.

“I hope we didn’t disappoint. It was fun for me at least, and we’ll hopefully come back here one day.”

Hamlin led twice for 28 laps, but faded after Elliott retook the top spot from him on Lap 126. And when Blaney slipped past Hamlin’s Toyota on Lap 147, it became a two-driver race.

But Blaney’s car tightened up in the late going, preventing the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford from challenging for the win. Blaney thought better of making an overly aggressive move on the series’ seven-time most popular driver.

“I’m not going to bulldog into him and get chased out of here with pitchforks,” Blaney quipped… “I just didn’t quite have enough right rear at the end to make a move on him.”

Joey Logano finished fourth, followed by Bubba Wallace, who advanced from his 14th-place starting position. Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, Shane van Gisbergen and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

Hamlin rued the final restart on Lap 121, after the seventh caution for Brad Keselowski’s spin off Wallace’s bumper.

“I just didn’t do very well on that restart there, and kind of lost the bottom, and Chase took advantage of it,” Hamlin said. “Once you get the lead, it’s a lot easier to hang on to it.

“I thought that they were just a little better that second half than we were, along with the 12 (Blaney) was as well. We just have to get a little bit better, but overall, a good day for our Sport Clips Toyota.”

In the last chance qualifier that determined positions 21 and 22 in the main event, Kyle Larson charged from the 10th starting position and survived nine cautions to win the 75-lap event and advance to the Clash.

On Lap 72, Larson grabbed the lead from Josh Berry, who was making his first competitive start for Wood Brothers Racing at the track where team patriarch and NASCAR Hall of Famer Glen Wood secured all four of his Cup Series victories.

Larson took the top spot for the first time on Lap 30 and led a race-high 36 circuits en route to the win. However, Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sustained damage after he surrendered the lead to Erik Jones for a restart on Lap 65.

In a melee moments after racing resumed, Jones spun in a three-wide mishap with Berry and Larson and dropped out of contention.

“My car was way better than it was yesterday,” said Larson, whose eighth-place finish in his Saturday heat relegated him to the last chance qualifier. “That was fun. I was able to get to the front without really getting into too many people.

“But then after that long break (for local champion Burt Myers hard wreck on Lap 61), I cycled really tight for that restart and allowed Erik to get in front of me and just kind of lost control of the race at that point. Then, the next restart, it got crazy, and I got a bunch of damage.”

Berry, who started 13th, held second to secure the 22nd spot in the Clash. Berry and Larson finished 13th and 17th, respectively, in the main event.

“It got pretty rough,” Berry said. “You hate that it comes to that, but it is what it is—it’s the Madhouse, it’s Bowman Gray Stadium, it’s a tight race track, and you’re going to run into each other.”

Notes: Elliott is the 26th different driver to win the Clash and the eighth different driver to win the event in the last eight years. He’s the first driver to win in a Chevrolet since Jimmie Johnson did so in 2019… This was the sixth time the Clash has been won from the pole position.


Race Results for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray - Sunday, February 2, 2025
Bowman Gray Stadium - Winston-Salem, NC - 0.25 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 50. Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 2/2/2025 @ 10:28 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 200   0 Running 2 171
2 23 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford 200   0 Running  
3 3 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 200   0 Running 2 28
4 7 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 200   0 Running  
5 14 23 Bubba Wallace Leidos Toyota 200   0 Running  
6 17 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Chevrolet 200   0 Running  
7 16 2 Austin Cindric Freightliner Ford 200   0 Running  
8 4 45 Tyler Reddick Jordan Brand Toyota 200   0 Running 1 1
9 10 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # Trackhouse Chevrolet 200   0 Running  
10 2 17 Chris Buescher Kroger/Tree Top Ford 200   0 Running  
11 12 60 Ryan Preece Fastenal Ford 200   0 Running  
12 8 20 Christopher Bell Mobil 1 Toyota 199   0 Running  
13 22 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 199   0 Running  
14 20 34 Todd Gilliland Long John Silver's Ford 199   0 Running  
15 13 8 Kyle Busch zone Chevrolet 199   0 Running  
16 15 77 Carson Hocevar Delaware Life Chevrolet 199   0 Running  
17 21 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 199   0 Running  
18 11 24 William Byron Liberty Univeristy Chevrolet 199   0 Running  
19 19 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 199   0 Running  
20 9 4 Noah Gragson TrueTimber Ford 199   0 Running  
21 5 6 Brad Keselowski BuildSubmarines.com Ford 199   0 Running  
22 18 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 198   0 Running  
23 6 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 120   0 Steering  

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 13 Mins, 15 Secs. Average Speed: 40.956 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.333 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10:
Stage 2 Top 10:

Race Comments: Chase Elliott has won the NASCAR Cup Series annual exhibition event, the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, his first win in the season-opening race. No cars to the rear prior to the start of the event.

Failed to Qualify: (16) 3 Austin Dillon, 42 John Hunter Nemechek, 71 Michael McDowell, 38 Zane Smith, 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 7 Justin Haley, 10 Ty Dillon, 15 Tim Brown, 51 Cody Ware, 41 Cole Custer, 66 Garrett Smithley(i), 54 Ty Gibbs, 16 AJ Allmendinger, 43 Erik Jones, 35 Riley Herbst #, 50 Burt Myers.

Caution Flags: 7 for 0 laps; Laps: 20-20 (#99, 4, 8 Incident Turn 3 [None]); 78-78 (#24, 34 Incident Frontstretch [4]); 100-100 (Halfway Break [24]); 102-102 (#2, 5, 19 Incident Turn 1 [8]); 108-108 (#77, 20, 22 Incident Turn 3 [8]); 115-115 (#24, 5, 77, 19 Incident Turn 2 [None]); 120-120 (#23, 6 Incident Turn 1 [None]).

Lead Changes: 4 among 3 drivers; C. Elliott 1-96; D. Hamlin 97-115; T. Reddick 116; D. Hamlin 117-125; C. Elliott 126-200.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: February 13, 2025 - Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875




NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 0
Race Results for the Clash Last Chance Qualifying Race - Sunday, February 2, 2025
Bowman Gray Stadium - Winston-Salem, NC - 0.25 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 75 Laps - 18.75 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 2/2/2025 @ 07:53 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 10 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 75   0 Running 2 36
2 13 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 75   0 Running 1 6
3 5 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet 75   0 Running  
4 12 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 75   0 Running  
5 4 71 Michael McDowell Workforce Chevrolet 75   0 Running  
6 2 38 Zane Smith Speedy Cash Ford 75   0 Running 1 4
7 11 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SUNNYD Chevrolet 75   0 Running  
8 9 7 Justin Haley The Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet 75   0 Running  
9 1 10 Ty Dillon Sea Best Chevrolet 75   0 Running 2 7
10 19 15 * Tim Brown Dairi-O/Jerry Hunt/Hayes Ford 75   0 Running  
11 14 51 Cody Ware Mighty Fire Breaker/Red Cross Ford 75   0 Running  
12 16 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 75   0 Running  
13 18 66 * Garrett Smithley(i) Veterans Ranch Ford 75   0 Running  
14 3 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 73   0 Running 1 18
15 8 16 AJ Allmendinger Campers Inn RV Chevrolet 68   0   
16 6 43 Erik Jones Family Dollar Toyota 65   0  1 4
17 7 35 Riley Herbst # Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota 65   0 Running  
18 15 50 * Burt Myers Citrusafe Cleaners Chevrolet 61   0   
19 17 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford 23   0   

Time of Race:  Average Speed: 0 MPH Margin of Victory: 0 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10:
Stage 2 Top 10:

Race Comments: Kyle Larson has won the Cook Out Clash Last Chance Qualifier Race at Bowman Gray Stadium. Prior to the start of the race the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: Nos. 12, 16, 41, 42 (Unapproved Adjustment).

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 9 for 0 laps; Lap: 16 (#10, 43 Incident Backstretch [None]); 23 (#3, 38, 43 Incident Turn 3 [None]); 43 (#66 Spin Turn 3 [35]); 56 (#54, 21 Incident Turn 2 [66]); 57 (#21, 7, 71, 42 Incident Turn 4 [35]); 61 (#50, 47 Incident Turn 1 [Red Flag: 00:07:20] [35]); 64 (#7, 54 Incident Turn 1 [35]); 65 (#21, 5, 43, 16, 41, 3 Incident Turn 4 [35]); 75 (#54 Stopped On Track [None]).

Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers; T. Dillon 1; Z. Smith 2-5; T. Dillon 6-11; T. Gibbs 12-29; K. Larson 30-61; E. Jones 62-65; J. Berry 66-71; K. Larson 72-75.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: February 2, 2025 - Bowman Gray Stadium
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875