Fans, spectators, and drivers experienced an unexpectedly rousing evening at Bowman Gray Stadium during the Cook Out Clash and its prelude activities, including the qualifying rounds. Even Chase Elliott, who had previously suggested that the Clash could serve as a gateway for NASCAR to explore international venues, expressed his eagerness to return to the track. Amid these discussions, Denny Hamlin also shared his perspective on whether NASCAR should revisit this historic venue in the future.
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In his post-race reflections, Hamlin remarked, “In no way would I want to minimize kind of the weekend that was. I think certainly, I don’t want to say this wasn’t good enough. They took a facility here that’s been around for a long time and made it feel like a brand-new one. The fans obviously were very, very excited to see us. They were enthusiastic. We feed into that. It felt like a big event.”
Further continuing, Hamlin said, “Even though it’s not a points-paying event or anything like that, it still feels big. You want to go wherever can give you that feel and atmosphere. There’s surely bigger venues and bigger cities to go to, but will you have this type of feel or not? That’s really what matters.”
The four-time Clash victor, Hamlin, secured a third-place finish at the NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. While this result may not match the prestige of a victory, it undoubtedly is a promising beginning to the budding partnership between Chris Gayle, the new crew chief for the #11 team, and Hamlin.
When Hamlin aligned with Elliott’s perspective.
Ahead of driving at the Bowman Gray Stadium, the #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver had been a proponent of diversifying the Clash’s venue to broaden the sport’s global appeal.
Hamlin supported Elliott’s earlier position of altering the Clash venue, but instead of backing #9’s take to explore international tracks, the #11 JGR driver reflected on having the event’s previous setting back, saying: “I’m personally in the boat that I liked it at Daytona. It was just a really good warm-up for the 500. thought it provided tons of storylines for the 500, but it is a little bit different nowadays.”
He elaborated that the Clash once meant possessing a car with superior handling, an advantage regardless of their starting position in the Daytona 500.
However, he noted that recently, starting positions have become more influential. Nonetheless, Hamlin believes that reverting to Daytona for the Clash, as done previously, could reignite excitement and serve as a preamble to the Daytina 500 race.
