“We are so back”: NASCAR world reacts to Chase Elliott’s pole position in The Clash

After setting the fastest time in the final four-minute practice session, NASCAR's most popular driver Chase Elliott bagged the pole position for Sunday's (January 2) Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Elliott's team, Hendrick Motorsports, shared the exciting news on its X account, with fans showcasing their enthusiasm in the comments section.

Elliott has a long history on the track and used to compete at the historic track in his teenage days. After his decade-long return on the track, Elliott secured his first-ever pole position in the pre-season exhibition of his NASCAR Cup Series career; this is the second time he started the event inside the top 10.

Reflecting upon Elliott's success, Hendrick Motorsports captioned the post:

"Statement made. P1 in qualifying."

Fans congratulated Chase Elliott on his phenomenal run in the comments, with one saying:

"We are so back"

Another wrote:

"Aggressive in a fast car ~> like a CHAMP @chaseelliott ~> let’s go"

Here are some more comments by the fans on Elliott's pole position:

"This is the year," commented a NASCAR fan.

"He's back!!!!! #Di9" stated a Chase Elliott fan.

"Congratulations @chaseelliott #NASCARClash," wrote a motorsports fan.

"Chase's gonna have a great 25 season. Way to go!" said one fan congratulating the Hendrick Motorsports diver.

Elliott will share the front row with Heat 2 winner Chris Buescher. Followed by Heat 3 and 4 winners Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick starting the race in third and fourth place, respectively.

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Chase Elliott's take on NASCAR's new Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) rule

The Open Exemption Provisional rule grants the 'world-class' drivers a chance to compete in the Cup Series. To do so, the driver needs to convey their interest to the governing body 90 days before the event they want to compete in, and NASCAR will pass the final verdict to them.

IndyCar legend Helio Castroneves is the most recent example of a driver doing so in the series. He bagged the opportunity to drive the #91 Chevy Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing at the Daytona 500. Reflecting upon the rule, Chase Elliott gave a balanced take and said (via Speedway Digest):

"You’d hate to have a Helio Castroneves, a Max Verstappen, a Lewis Hamilton or someone come in to run a race and then miss the show due to something silly. So I can certainly see that aspect of it from a promotor side of things, where you wouldn’t want to risk that because that’s obviously going to be a big deal for you."

The 29-year-old professional stock car driver highlighted that giving non-NASCAR drivers a chance to compete in the most prestigious crown jewel events like the Daytona 500 could put a question mark on the sport's integrity.