“It’ll be a s— show.” Denny Hamlin’s sentiments from July last year were clear when it came to NASCAR’s plans to haul the Clash race to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025. The factors that worried him included freezing temperatures, as Winston-Salem’s climate is vastly different from Los Angeles. Then the reduced seating – 75,000 to 17,000 – also concerned him. Yet how the tables have turned will surely surprise you.

Last Sunday’s Cook Out Clash was met with waves of enthusiasm from gearhead fans who knew NASCAR inside out. The vibrant atmosphere, coupled with a few other factors, enthralled Denny Hamlin, the defending Clash winner. Although he could not defend his crown, he showered praise on NASCAR.

Denny Hamlin shows a thumbs-up

Well, the Cook Out Clash witnessed a rough-and-tumble race, while Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin dominated the front row. Elliott led for the first 96 laps and then yielded to Hamlin. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver started losing pace after the seventh caution on lap 121. Elliott retook the lead on lap 126, and then Ryan Blaney slipped past Hamlin on lap 147. Despite his heartbreaking loss of momentum, the sheer energy of the event impressed Hamlin. The roaring crowds had fans sporting tattoos of Richard Petty’s signature or the No. 3 wrapped in angel wings. Goodyear’s short-track package worked out well, and there were no passing difficulties.

So Denny Hamlin could not help but overturn the opinion he had entertained last year. He praised NASCAR’s efforts to go grassroots racing at Bowman Gray – a deep irony considering the NASCAR lawsuit is in progress right? Yet Hamlin’s words seemed genuine: “Well, it was a great exhibition. I think that NASCAR did a fantastic job. Kind of you know, putting the nice spice on this thing and certainly making the atmosphere feel like a big event. It was good. Overall, I was pretty pleased with our weekend.”

NASCAR didn’t cut any corners making sure the Clash was up to the mark. Having acquired the lease for the track last year, NASCAR invested $10 million in bringing the track to the standard quality of any other track, including safety regulations. With their plans announced nearly a year ago for the Clash, 17,000 fans from 44 states, five countries, and three continents planned their visit to the track, including some from Australia. Needless to say, even if the Coliseum had a larger audience capacity, Bowman Gray was making up for it with its energy.

At the same time, Denny Hamlin also shed light on losing track position during the race. The Clash is his arena, as the JGR driver owns four victories at the exhibition event. Although he received praises for cleanly racing Chase Elliott, his loss did sting him: “A little disappointed in myself not to do better on the restarts there and not hold the bottom. But I just made a mistake that I didn’t get back out of the car before we went green there. And so just didn’t quite have it there. I thought the 9 and the 12 were just better in that second segment. And we’re kind of the next best in line.” 

Nevertheless, Denny Hamlin was proud of what his team could execute. Even his new colleague considered it a win.

Good momentum in new shoes

One of the most jaw-dropping crew shuffles happened inside Joe Gibbs Racing last year. Chris Gabehart was dropped as Denny Hamlin’s crew chief. This shocked fans as this was a powerful duo – they clinched 22 Cup Series race wins including 13 across 2019 and 2020. However, Gabehart’s replacement, Chris Gayle is already proving his mettle. The former crew chief for Ty Gibbs aided Hamlin as the latter won a heat race on Saturday night and clinched a Clash spot. Hamlin also gave race leader Chase Elliott no rest, as the No. 11 held onto the top spot for 28 laps.

So Chris Gayle considers that a win, as he and Hamlin are collaborating in the Cup Series for the first time. They had run a couple of Xfinity Series races together before. Gayle recounted the positives after working with the 11 team at the Clash race, “It’s a good first attempt,” Gayle told RACER. “You’re here the first time, and I’m with a bunch of new guys. So you get to go through… not a normal process, but somewhat of a process of how these guys made decisions before me (being) in the loop of everything, understanding some of those things and how it was done.” 

The first race of the year clearly went well for Denny Hamlin. Let us see how he performs as we come back to the Cup Series in Daytona.