Chase Elliott is the only person who can say he drove a NASCAR Cup Series car to Victory Lane at Bowman Gray Stadium this millennium. He’s hoping to keep it that way.
The Cook Out Clash, NASCAR’s exhibition opener, is set to return to the historic 0.25-mile oval in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in the unofficial opener for the 2026 season.
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The quarter-mile track hosted points-paying Cup races from 1958 until 1971, but the series finally returned last February, when Elliott drove the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a thrilling win after leading 171 of 200 laps.
“I’m looking forward to going back. I thought it was a great event last year,” Elliott said. “A lot of energy and excitement around it. I think the crowd, the vibes were great. Obviously, it went really well for us. But even outside of that, I thought it was really good. So yeah, I’m ready to get going.”
Elliott went on to win two points-paying races in 2025, first at his hometown track of EchoPark Speedway and then with a dramatic last-lap pass at Kansas Speedway during the postseason. That marked his first multi-win season since 2022, when he earned five wins and finished fourth in the championship. But Elliott knows a Clash victory means no guarantees for a good year ahead.
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“I mean, look, it was great to win the race. It didn’t change our season,” he said. “And I said that after the race I’m pretty sure that, hey, this was great, but it’s not going to make or break or totally define your year because we’ve had great years where we didn’t run well in the Clash. It’s not a ‘hey, this has to be perfect for the rest of it to go well.’ But look, it’s a competition. It’s an opportunity to go win a race. Everybody’s trying. It’s not like it’s a performative thing. It’s a very competitive event, one that I find to be a lot of fun and I look forward to getting up there and trying to go back-to-back.”
Chase Elliott performs a burnout after winning the 2025 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Elliott got a chance to get back in action with many of his Cup compatriots in an organizational test on Jan. 13 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Getting back to the track with crew chief Alan Gustafson proved valuable for Elliott and the No. 9 team as they prepare for the 2026 season.
“Thought that went well for us,” Elliott said. “You know, got a good day under our belt of being back at the track and kind of going through those motions. First time we’ve had a test in — I don’t know. How long’s it been since we tested? Two years?”
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“Two years — at least,” Gustafson responded from the next seat over.
“At least two years,” Elliott continued. “Been a long time since we’ve had a test, and that was nice to do ahead of the Clash. We like to go to work, so we’re just ready to go.”
RELATED: Scenes from North Wilkesboro test
An additional change this year comes with body updates for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Elliott has been through different body panel changes over the years, quelling any possible concerns over building a new notebook with the upgraded Chevy.
“I think you go through those experiences and you learn and you try and not make the same mistakes in the past,” Elliott said. “But a lot of things have changed. Everything is very, very minor. You know, there’s nothing that is crazy over the top. They have everybody in a really small box, so it’s not like you’re gonna get totally out in left field on the good end and hopefully not on the bad end, either. But definitely a lot more room to mess it up than there is to make it better.
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“But certainly a lot of effort came from GM and Chevrolet and trying to help and make sure we’re making the right decisions. I couldn’t tell a difference at Wilkesboro last week — obviously, slow pace, not a real racing situation being a test. So a lot of those answers will just have to be answered when we get rolling.”
The 2026 season begins at full speed with the 68th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 15 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
