Chase Elliott leaves no doubt about his Bowman Gray Stadium experience’s impact on the upcoming Clash

Chase Elliott recently shared his thoughts on his past experience at Bowman Gray Stadium and whether it would provide any advantage for the upcoming Clash. He revealed the details in conversation with motorsports journalist, Bob Pockrass.

Pockrass posted a video on X featuring Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Daniel Suárez discussing their previous races at Bowman Gray Stadium. The video specifically focuses on their opinions on whether that experience will be helpful in the upcoming Clash. The tweet was captioned,

“The East Series raced at Bowman Gray from 2011-15 so several Cup drivers do have experience racing there. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Daniel Suarez don't think that experience will help much for the Clash. Their thoughts:”

Elliott was clear in his response, saying that he does not believe his past experience at the track will provide much of an advantage. He mentioned that his last race at Bowman Gray was years ago, during the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East era, making it too outdated to be relevant. Instead, he talked about a recent experience at similar short tracks, like the L.A. Coliseum, likely to be more beneficial.

He said, “I know it's gonna be different for sure but do you think they'll be some similarities and just a track of size and kind of how quick things happen? How quickly the corners come up on you?”

The NASCAR Cup Series is returning to Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time since 1971. Although Elliott and other drivers like Bowman and Suárez have competed there in the past, the long absence of top-level NASCAR racing at the track means none of them have significant recent experience on the surface.

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Chase Elliott’s 2025 Clash paint scheme revealed by sponsors

Seven-time Most Popular Driver and 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott's new paint scheme for the upcoming 2025 season was revealed on Tuesday. While NAPA remains his primary sponsor, the Hendrick Motorsports driver will sport two different NAPA schemes, just as he did in 2024.

Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet will feature both a blue primary car and the popular icy-white variant. The 2025 version includes wrapped side skirts, a change NASCAR has permitted for the new season. The white scheme has also undergone subtle modifications, most notable among which is a shift in the hood logo color from yellow to blue. The images were ousted via NAPA's official X handle.

NAPA has been an important partner for Elliott since his Xfinity Series days in 2014, supporting him through his 2015 Xfinity Series championship and 2020 Cup Series title. The 2025 season marks NAPA’s 30th year in NASCAR.

The company also sponsors Daniel Hemric in the Truck Series with Bill McAnally Racing. Elliott’s new NAPA scheme will make its on-track debut at the Bowman Gray Stadium Clash, scheduled to happen on Sunday, the February 2.