A 40% turnout from the localities- one can very well imagine the excitement for the opener. While the race is the first of the season, the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray unexpectedly turned into an electrifying battle between Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. For Chase Elliott, this win was personal—it paid tribute to his father, Bill Elliott, who dominated a pre-season opener at Daytona in 1987.

However, Blaney who had a hole prelim issue resulting in last place finish in qualifying, did put on quite a show. Charging from the back of the field to challenge Elliott in a nail-biting finish, Blaney was a contender for the win. Even the fans were on the edge as the two went head-to-head, but Elliott ultimately took the victory. And, Blaney reaction to their intense duel. Let’s hear him out.

Blaney’s splendid run after starting from P23rd 

Chase Elliott secured the pole position and dominated the race. He led 171 out of 200 laps to claim victory (which is the highest laps led in the clash) with a 1.3-second margin over Blaney. Despite starting from the back in 23rd, Blaney steadily worked his way through the field. However, in the final laps, Elliott smoothly maneuvered through lapped traffic. This caused minor setbacks for Blaney and forced him to allow the No. 9 car to maintain the lead.

Speaking of how the drive panned out and despite driving hard, he had to give in, Blaney in the post-race pitlane interview said, “I think we were pretty evenly matched. When I started to go, I just didn’t have enough right rear. And I’m like, Oh shit… I am not gonna make this pass right? And I am not gonna just bulldog into him and get chased out of here with pitchforks.”

Even though Blaney did not have much space at the right rear to topple over Elliott, which would inevitably cause contact, he did pretty well for himself.

However, if we look at his Saturday sprint, the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang failed to secure a top-five finish in the 25-lap sprint. This forced him into Sunday’s Last Chance Qualifier. Consequently, Blaney and his team relied on a provisional entry to move forward. 

Citing a similar turn of events at the 2024 Clash, Blaney said, “That’s a fun time, so I hope the fans enjoyed it. I was saying last year we came from last to third and this year last to second. I just got to not start last so we might have shot to win one of these things.” At Coliseum, Blaney finished third primarily due to a combination of starting from the back, navigating through the field effectively, and taking advantage of well-timed restarts. He had also admitted how his team was slow which forced him to take a provisional spot just to get into the race. While, a few restarts had worked in his favor, helping him gain track position, a poor final restart ultimately cost him a better shot at victory. 

Meanwhile, Elliott also opened up about what made him “afraid” during his battle with Denny Hamlin. Well, apart from calling him a ‘9-year-old’ previously, Hamlin has not done much right? But, today’s race was close.

Hamlin and Elliott get involved in high-tension drama for the lead

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Chase Elliott ensured that right after he started from the pole position, he could dominate the tracks, at least for the first 100 laps. However, this is when Denny Hamlin who was in the third position, took over. But, Elliott was able to claim back the charge. The last crash occurred on lap 120 and then, he led his way to the apex of the race, once again.

Speaking of how he regained his lead and the race, Elliott said, “I know it’s not a points race but it is nice to win for sure and just really proud of our team for you know, just continuing to keep our heads down and push. Had a tough race, Ryan (Blaney) kept me on a set at the end you know Denny (Hamlin) was really good there at the second half of that break and I just felt like he was kind of riding and I was afraid to lose control of the race and not be able to get it back.”

Elliott’s determination to control the race paid off as he reclaimed the lead and held off intense competition. Meanwhile, Hamlin’s strong mid-race push wasn’t enough, leaving him to settle for third. With this, Elliot has won his first Clash with the fastest lap timing of 14.161 seconds!