WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WBTV) – The most popular driver in NASCAR won in the sport’s return to a historic North Carolina racetrack on Sunday night.
Chase Elliott, driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 car, dominated in the Cup Series’ return to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem.
Elliott led 171 of 200 laps en route to his first victory at The Clash. Sunday marked the first time Bowman Gray hosted the preseason event, and was the first time the Cup Series raced at the historic quarter-mile track since 1971 when Bobby Allison won.
NASCAR’s defending seven-time most popular driver started on the pole for Sunday’s main event and held the lead for nearly the first 100 laps before Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick each briefly took the lead.
After the race, Elliott thanked fans for making the return to Bowman Gray “special.”
“Thanks to everybody for coming out,” he said right after getting out of the car. “Y’all made for a really fun environment, and you know, we don’t race in stadiums like this, so it’s just really cool and I appreciate y’all making that moment special for me and my team. This was awesome.”
The venue serves as the football stadium for Winston-Salem State’s football team but has long hosted races, including weekly ones throughout the middle part of the year. Elliott said the fans “deserved” to see a Cup race there and said he hopes NASCAR’s highest level returns to the unique short track.
2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney — who started dead last — made a charge through the field and put pressure on Elliott for the last few dozen laps of the race but was unable to get by him and came home second. Hamlin, Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five, respectively.
Next up on the NASCAR schedule is Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday, Feb. 12, followed by the duels on Thursday and then of course the running of the race itself on Sunday, Feb. 16.
