Elliott dominates Madhouse, SVG gets ‘comfortable’ top 10
The Clash at Bowman Gray was old-school NASCAR racing on a flat half-mile oval called the Madhouse and Shane van Gisbergen impressed with a top 10.
The start of the main race was straightforward, with Elliott charging ahead of Buescher, followed by Reddick and Hamlin.
The mid-pack, however, was congested, and eventually, Busch’s outside run saw him getting turned around by Gragson in turn three on lap 20, just as SVG’s spotter warned them to stay low and watch the #8
With Busch in the pits and Gragson dropping positions, van Gisbergen was now in seventh place at the restart.
Bump-and-run is allowed in NASCAR, and Keselowski used it to move into fifth with a solid nudge on Bell, who reclaimed the spot on the next lap. SVG had now moved up to seventh but soon faced pressure and dropped to ninth. He was having trouble with his brake cooling fans, which were upsetting the balance of the car.
Maybe the only bloke finding it easy was Elliott, who, by lap 50, was set to start lapping cars. Gilliland was his first target, but Gragson became his first victim. Gilliland, in his Ford, somehow managed to run in front of the leader, leaving Gragson as the first to be lapped. Elliott doubled his lead but lost it all when Byron got spun while running on the outside of Gilliland, right in front of Elliott.
The caution period bunched the field together again, reigniting the battle for the lead. On the restart, Hamlin stepped up to chase Elliott, while Reddick also passed Buescher. On lap 96, four laps before the compulsory break, Hamlin wrestled the lead away from Elliott, with Reddick moving into second place, and Hamlin, who had led the first 96 laps, went into the 15-minute break in third.
Top 5 @ 100 Laps – Hamlin, Reddick, Elliott, Buescher, Keselowski.
Berry started from the rear of the field after a choose violation, meaning he changed his choice of inside or outside line for the restart after the yellow strike on the track.
Larson was the first to spin in the second half, squandering any chance of snagging the win after a tussle with Austin Cindric, while Chase Briscoe also spun further up the field following contact with van Gisbergen. A few laps later, Hocevar found himself in the wall after Bell made contact after being bumped into him by Logano.
The next yellow was only six laps later, when Hocevar and Larson bumped into each other. Larson ended up spinning with Byron.
Up front, Elliott was on the move, passing Reddick for second, who then dropped a spot to Buescher as well. This was how the order stood during the next yellows, with Keselowski spinning out of second after making contact with Wallace. Bowman and Hocevar also spun while trying to avoid the incident in front of them.
That made it four cautions in 20 green laps.
On the restart, Elliott worked his way to the inside line on Hamlin and the pair ran a few laps side-by-side before the pole sitter took control, with Blayney now in third after starting last.
Reddick was dropping like a stone in a pond, and soon Logano was doing the bump and run and running the low line for the pass.
Blayney worked his way inside on Hamlin, and by lap 146, the provisional starter was now running second and beginning to chase down Elliott.
The #12 appeared to be the fastest car on the track at this time, practically able to choose any line he liked and easily switch between the high and low lines. He closed in on Elliott as they approached some lapped traffic, starting with Suarez, who dropped off the lead lap on lap 160.
Logano eventually made his way past Wallace for fourth, the entertaining battle lasting 10 laps. Logano set off after Hamlin.
On lap 189, while lapping Busch, Blayney ran wide in turn four, giving Elliott a big gap with not many laps left, and from there, Elliott pushed towards a win that seemed inevitable despite coughing up the lead at half distance.
Van Gisbergen came home in ninth, a fantastic job in his first full-time NASCAR drive.
“I felt comfortable in the car right from the start of practice,” van Gisbergen said.
“We had really good preparation with Stephen (Doran, crew chief) and Josh (Williams, spotter). I just felt good from the start and pushed on with it. It was pretty fun.
“It’s like Martinsville. I’m good there because there’s a little bit of a road course technique, I guess. It just seems to suit me.”
Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray
- Chase Elliot
- Ryan Blaney
- Denny Hamlin
- Joey Logano
- Bubba Wallace
- Ross Chastain
- Austin Cindric
- Tyler Reddick
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Chris Buescher
READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE
Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.
