Chase Elliott shares honest feelings after achieving a historic landmark bested by only Dale Earnhardt and his son Dale Jr.

Chase Elliott has expressed true feelings after joining Dale Earnhardt Sr. and his son Dale Jr. as the only other father/son duos to win the preseason exhibition race. The Hendrick Motorsports driver etched the prestigious fate after acing The Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium.

NASCAR returned to the Winston-Salem facility after 54 years and witnessed the seven-time Most Popular Driver Award winner lead 171 laps before taking the checkered flag.

Interestingly, until Elliott reigned supreme at the quarter-mile oval, only the Earnhardts' father/son duo boasted the fate of triumphing in the preseason race. Dale Sr. accomplished the win six times while Junior raked in two. And with Chase's recent win and Bill Elliott's 1987 exhibition race victory at the Daytona International Speedway, the Elliotts have become the second father/son duo to join the ranks.

Thus, the #9 Chevy driver expressed pride in attaining the momentous achievement after claiming the 200-lap victory.

"I'm certainly gonna take some time to reflect on that cause that's pretty neat, to join Dale and Dale Jr. is a pretty elite group to be a part of. So I certainly don't take that for granted, it was a great weekend not just tonight but just a really good effort all around for our team," Elliott said via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (0:16).

It's worth mentioning that the #9 Chevy driver led the most laps ever in the history of The Clash.

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NASCAR insider opines on Chase Elliott's victory being a "statement" for rivals

Chase Elliott advanced to the Round of 8 in the past Cup Series season. However, since his winless 2023 season, the Georgian claimed a solitary triumph in the 2024 season, at the Texas Motor Speedway. Other than that, the #9 Chevy driver claimed 11 top-5s and 19 top-10s, but couldn't taste the victory burnouts again.

But the #9 team's remarkable display in the preseason Clash delivered a clear indication of their resurgence. Not only did Elliott exhibit a dominant performance throughout but he also successfully kept Ryan Blaney at bay, whose #12 Ford Mustang delivered strong pace.

Blaney kicked off from the last place but surged among the frontrunners for the highly-coveted win. Still, he couldn't outperform Elliott's defense, thus losing the elusive win by 1.333 seconds.

NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck hailed the HMS driver's run, opining the outcome to be a stern statement for his rivals.

"Chase had a really good car. Maybe Blaney was a little bit faster but Chase's team brought an elite car this weekend...I think for Chase Elliott to show up and be the class of the field for most of the time, yeah he got passed by Denny Hamlin, they made an adjustment in the halfway break and there you go, that was impressive. That's a statement to start this season," Gluck said via Dirty Mo Media.

Notably, Denny Hamlin jeopardized Chase Elliott's odds of reigning supreme by leading 28 laps but the latter regained control of the pack on Lap 127.