NASCAR's preseason Clash was once a Daytona 500 preview. Chase Elliott hopes that's still the case

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One win — particularly in an exhibition race — does not guarantee anything.

But if this was NASCAR of only five years ago, then Chase Elliott's dominating victory in the preseason Clash would make him the favorite to win the Daytona 500. That's what the Clash was all about from 1979 to 2021, when it was the warmup at Daytona International Speedway for NASCAR's version of the Super Bowl.

The drivers used the event to see who had the car to beat in the 500. Elliott's own father did that in 1987 when ''Awesome Bill from Dawsonville'' won the Clash, then won the 500 from the pole seven days later for his second victory in ''The Great American Race.''

Six times the winner of the Clash went on to win the 500; the exhibition event was that important of a test for NASCAR's biggest race of the season.

But the event now has been moved twice in the last four seasons. NASCAR ran it for three years on a temporary track inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and then last weekend returned to its roots with the first Cup Series race since 1971 at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem.

Now, a Clash victory is worth nothing more than a trophy and pride, and perhaps a little bit of momentum before the season officially begins. Although the energy and enthusiasm was palpable over two days at sold-out Bowman Gray, the exhibition was nothing more than a throwback event for those longing for NASCAR's good ol' days.

NASCAR raced at Bowman Gray from 1958 to 1971, then began expanding into bigger markets and modern venues. Denny Hamlin, the last driver to win the Clash and then the 500 when he did it in 2016, was one of the few drivers who lamented that the race is no longer the warmup to the 500.

''I thought it provided tons of storylines for the 500," Hamlin said. ''Back then, if you saw someone that was really dominate in the Clash, it was like, ‘They have a great handling car, they are going to be tough to beat, doesn't matter where they start.' Now that it is such a track position race, I don't know that you will get the direct correlation.''

Hamlin's one hope was that Sunday night's race at Bowman Gray would ''bring back some hype to the 500,'' and that's quite possible given Chase Elliott's victory.

Elliott, after all, is NASCAR's seven-time reigning fan-voted most popular driver and his win was naturally enthusiastically embraced by the 17,000 in attendance. He won his Saturday night heat race to start from the pole and led 172 of the 200 laps on the quarter-mile track to win the exhibition for the first time.

But he's 0 for 9 in the Daytona 500, where he's twice started from the pole but his 2021 runner-up finish is his best showing. He lost that year to underdog journeyman Michael McDowell as Elliott, then the reigning Cup champion, wasn't even a true contender and other drivers crashing aided his second-place finish.

So, no, his Clash victory is not an indicator of what Elliott might do when teams head to Florida next week to begin preparations for the Feb. 16 Daytona 500.

He remained hopeful that, if nothing else, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports crew will at least have some momentum when it gets to Daytona International Speedway.

''I mean, look, I know it's not a points race, but I don't care,'' Elliott said. "These things, man, they are so hard to win. Whether it's a points race, not a points race, before the season, the All-Star — this garage has become so competitive, these guys are so good at what they do, it's very rewarding to cross the finish line first in whatever type of event it is when you're racing against those types of drivers and teams.

''That to me is very enjoyable from our perspective. We'll take the positives from the weekend. For sure we recognize there's 37 more (races) to go. There's a lot of racing left. Just hope we can build on this.''

Elliott hasn't made it to the championship four since 2022 and has just one points-paying victory over the last two seasons. But for crew chief Alan Gustafson, seeing Elliott win the Clash was a step in the right direction and provided hope for what's to come this season.

''I'm pretty sure everyone wanted to win who was here. The fact is that we did, so we're pleased with that. Doesn't pay any points, doesn't pay any bonus points. We certainly understand that,'' Gustafson said. "I think it's just some validation to we all tried to come here and win, we all tried to come here and be successful. Gives you validation in your process, validation in how your team is operating and working.

''Certainly I think it's going to give Chase some confidence and validation seeing he did an amazing job to win the race. Basically did everything right. Those are all good things. How far is that going to carry you? Not 'til you get to Daytona, you unload and have to do it all over again.''

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