$65M worth JGR superstar regrets the repercussions of avoiding a “cliche” move on Chase Elliott at The Clash

Chase Elliott secured victory in the pre-season Clash, dominating the field for most of the race. The only real challenge came from Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who briefly took the lead but couldn’t fend off Elliott’s charge on Sunday night. Reflecting on the race, Hamlin recently shared his thoughts on why he didn’t attempt the same aggressive move Elliott used to reclaim the top spot.

Elliott began the Cook Out Clash from pole position and controlled the race for the first 97 laps. His dominance was briefly interrupted when Denny Hamlin, who is worth $65M (as per Celebrity Net Worth), made a bold move after taking the inside line at Turn 1, becoming the only other driver to lead during the 200-lap event. However, following a restart on lap 123, Elliott reclaimed the top spot by nudging Hamlin’s #11 JGR Toyota at the same corner where he had initially lost the lead.

In the most recent episode of Dirty Mo Media's Actions Detrimental Podcast, Hamlin reflected on why he didn't make his 'cliche' move on Chase Elliott to take back the lead, and how 'the natural way' did not work in his favor.

"When Chase got around me, I spent five laps really trying to get it back. I should have just kind of moved him out of the way like he moved me out of the way, but I was like, I don't know, I just thought, 'It's all right, I'm good enough. I'm good enough to get him the natural way'. But I wasn't," said Hamlin.

"I went into the next corner, I'm like, it's so cliche to just run back into them. I'm not going to do that. And so I didn't. And so I was like, I'm just going to work him, I'm going to work him for a little while, and I just didn't have it," he added.

Chase Elliott, who pilots the #9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, is known to have a rivalry with Hamlin and the #11 team. While the HMS driver emerged victorious at Bowman Gray, it will be interesting to see if Elliott can outperform the three-time Daytona 500 winner on one of his winningest tracks.

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Chase Elliott sends message of unfulfilled potential after Clash victory: "I don't think we're at our best yet"

Former Cup Series champion Chase Elliott recently reflected on his performance at the historic short track, acknowledging areas for improvement ahead of the new season. In a post race interview with SiriusXM, the Hendrick Motorsports driver expressed that the win was a 'great way' to kick start the 2025 Cup Series campaign; however, he also outlined the scope for improvement.

"I know it's not a point to win, but a great way to start the year, no doubt. And I hope we can just keep building. We have a great group. You know, I think we're all making each other better. And I don't think we're at our best yet, which I think is, which is good. And I really believe that. So we just got to keep pushing ahead and 37 weeks to go and try to be a little better," Elliott said.

The Daytona 500 is scheduled for February 16 at 2:30 PM Eastern time. Catch the action live on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM.