In the final laps of Sunday’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney found himself in pursuit of Chase Elliott, as the pair battled for the lead and a victory in NASCAR’s historic return to the Winston-Salem, North Carolina short track.
While the pair of rising stars ended up close to each other at the end of the 200-lap main event, their paths to reach that point were substantially different.
Elliott managed to secure the pole position for the main event, after being fastest in qualifying and dominating his 25-lap heat race on Saturday. In contrast, Blaney had to rely on a provisional (awarded based on last season’s points) to even get into the 23-driver field, after being spun late in his heat race.
Blaney did take to the racetrack for the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), after the team discovered a hole in the water cooler, forcing it and the radiator to be changed on the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Work ongoing on @Blaney’s car. They discovered a hole in the water cooler and swapped that and the radiator out. Plan is to run some laps in LCQ & take the provisional. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/yI2NqXTHGy
— Jamie Little (@JamieLittleTV) February 2, 2025
Choosing to take the provisional, Blaney started shotgun on the field.
With the tight confines of Bowman Gray Stadium, it wasn’t necessarily easy to make a pass, especially without laying the bumper to the driver in front. However, Blaney had methodically worked his way into the top-10 by the halfway break.
“I got to tenth before the break and I kind of got to the top five relatively quick,” Blaney said. “A couple of restarts went my way — and by the time I got to second I saved a pretty good bit even to get to second because I knew it might go the whole way.”
After a rash of cautions to start the second half of the pre-season exhibition event, the final 80 laps of the race were contested under the green flag — a far departure from what was expected based on the spirit of ‘The Madhouse’.
“Then it was just kind of like a game between [Chase Elliott] and myself, like who can save more right-rear tire,” Blaney added. “I just didn’t quite have enough to lean on there at the end. I started pushing with 25 laps to go and I just didn’t have enough. I needed some help by lappers and I just never really could get there.”
In the midst of substantial traffic to finish the race, Elliott managed to extend his margin of victory to over a second, but there were several times during the final green-flag stint that Blaney could have made a lunge.
“When I started to go, I didn’t have enough right rear. I’m like, Oh shit, I’m not going to make this pass. I’m not going to bulldog into him and get chased out of here with pitchforks,” Blaney quipped.
It’s the second straight year that Blaney has had to start shotgun on the field after taking the points provisional to get into the Cook Out Clash, and each time, the Team Penske driver has managed to recover for a top-five finish — a third last season, and a runner-up result this season.
