Chase Elliott was the fastest man in qualifying on Saturday going into The Clash, NASCAR's pre-season exhibition race. Getting into the main race Sunday relies on a different format than the usual Cup Series race weekend, but Elliott used a tried-and-true method: he ran the fastest qualifying lap, then lead every lap in Heat #1 to secure the best starting position in the field. As it turns out, the pole-sitter for each of the four heat races went on to win their 25-lap sprint. At Bowman Gray Stadium's cramped quarter-mile oval, field position will be the key for the 200-lap feature event on Sunday.
As Saturday's heat races show, drivers in the pack struggled to make up ground without putting their front bumpers to use; outside passes only worked on restarts or when the inside got stacked up. Elliott knows that's a sign of things to come, saying, "it’s going to be tough to win from the third or fourth row. I think the first couple of rows certainly have a massive advantage on the rest of the field."
