A brand new NASCAR season is here, and along with it comes pre-race interview sessions filled with controversies and humor. Ahead of the Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium, Denny Hamlin answered questions from the press and backed a choice first voiced by Chase Elliott, in a discussion about where he would want the exhibition event to take place in the future.
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The Clash arrived at the short track in Winston-Salem after three years of racing in the L.A. Coliseum. There is no official word on where it might be held in the future, but Hamlin has an idea. He said, “I’m personally in the boat that I liked it at Daytona. It was just a really good warm-up for the 500.”
“I thought it provided tons of storylines for the 500, but it is a little bit different nowadays.” He continued to explain that someone driving well in the Clash used to mean that they had a car that handled great. Regardless of where they started in the Daytona 500, they were going to be hard to beat. However, in recent times, the starting position has come to play a bigger role.
He added, “Now that it is such a track position race, I don’t know that you will get the direct correlation, but it could certainly bring back some hype to the 500. I’m probably in that boat or really anywhere that helps grow and get some excitement going for the season.” Interestingly, Elliott expressed a fondness for Daytona when asked the same question.
Chase Elliott’s choice of where the Clash should be held
Elliott took his pre-race presser along with his close friend and competitor, Ryan Blaney. At first, he agreed with Blaney about taking the race to an international destination. He believes that doing so will grow the sport and add to its popularity. If not international, he isn’t too sure that the fixture is even required.
He said, “I almost feel like if we’re not going to do that, I’m not even sure that it’s totally necessary either.” He then suggested that NASCAR could continue utilizing the traditional venues such as Daytona and Bowman Gray. He concluded, “If they want to do it in Europe… if they want to not do it at all, I’d be fine with any of the above.”
Both Elliott and Hamlin are strong on the fact that NASCAR needs to do what will grow the sport. However, eliminating the race altogether would run against the beliefs of many drivers that the Clash serves as a warm-up following a two-month-long break. Elliott does not see sense in that.
Two months is not enough time for professional racers to go out of form, from his point of view. The Hendrick Motorsports superstar has only proven his contention by winning the Clash on Sunday night. He finished above second-placed Blaney and third-placed Hamlin, following a chaotic race at the Madhouse.
