Ryan Preece overcomes weather and 18th-place starting spot to win Cook Out Clash: Neither rain nor sleet nor snow nor gloom of night could keep Ryan Preece from his appointed rounds at Bowman Gray Stadium. On wet-weather tires, on a track peppered with a wintry mix during the 100-lap break, Preece navigated the glazed asphalt at the historic quarter-mile track to win the second Cook Out Clash staged in Winston-Salem, N.C.[Read More]

Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage is complete. All clear. No issues.

#60-Ryan Preece won the 2026 NASCAR Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Wednesday night. #24-William Byron finished 2nd followed by #12-Ryan Blaney, #7-Daniel Suarez, #11-Denny Hamlin, #19-Chase Briscoe, #3-Austin Dillon, #17-Chris Buescher, #1-Ross Chastain and #48-Alex Bowman.
Preece led 46 laps, starting late in the race, and overcame a large number of cautions to hold off the field and get his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The race was delayed about 30 minutes by rain at the halfway point. Teams ran wet weather tires for the second half of the race.
Pole sitter #5-Kyle Larson was involved in a number of accidents and ran out of gas at one point, finishing 16th.
There were 11 lead changes among 7 drivers and a record 17 cautions.
The average speed of the race was: 21.39mph.
See Race Results, Cumulative Report and Infraction Report.

Race Fast Facts – NASCAR Clash:
Ryan Preece won the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray, his first victory in the preseason non-points event.
Preece is the third driver to win the Clash before winning a Cup point races (Jeff Gordon, 1994; Denny Hamlin, 2006).
Preece’s previous best Clash finish was seventh in 2023 at the LA Coliseum.
Preece started the race 18th, the lowest starting position of a Clash winner since Kevin Harvick won from 27th at Daytona in 2009.
William Byron finished second. Ryan Blaney finished third.

Clash updates:
Checkered flag for Ryan Preece at 8:34pm/et. He wins over Byron Blaney Suarez and Hamlin.
White flag for Preece.
Lap 198 – Three to go. Preece by .17 second.
Lap 195 – Preece leads by 1.7 seconds now.
Lap 191 – 10 laps remaining. Preece over Byron by 1 second. Then Blaney Briscoe Suarez Hamlin ADillon Buescher Chastain Bowman.
Lap 186 – 15 to go. Preece got a great restart and leads Byron by 1 seconds.
Lap 182 – Green with Preece Blaney Byron Briscoe Suarez the top 5.
Lap 182 – CAUTION out for the 17th time! It’s Larson in turn 4. Before the flag, Blaney took second place from Byron. Hocevar gets the free pass.
Lap 181 – Green flag with Preece leading.
Lap 181 – 20 to go. Preece ahead of Byron by .8 second. Third place Blaney is 1.9 seconds back and now a CAUTION for Hocevar around in turn 3 after contact from Wallace.
Lap 173 – Preece continues to lead. Byron up to second then Briscoe Blaney and Suarez.
Lap 171 – 30 laps to go. Preece Briscoe Suarez Byron and Blaney the top 5.
Lap 165 – Green flag – Preece Briscoe Suarez SVG Byron.
Lap 165 – Green flag comes out but another CAUTION right out for SVG, Wallace and Zilisch. NASCAR is going to allow cars to leave the track to take fuel.
Lap 165 – Briscoe is up to second. CAUTION comes out for Elliott stopped on track. Fox is shifting their coverage to FS2 due to how late the race is running.
Lap 158 – Preece takes the lead back from SVG. Briscoe remains third.
Lap 153 – Green flag: SVG Preeece Briscoe Suarez Wallace.
Lap 153 – CAUTION out for Larson stopped on track. He lost power and says he ran out of fuel. Berry gets the free pass.
Lap 151 – 50 laps remaining. SVG still leads. Preece second, Briscoe back up to third.
Lap 145 – Green flag. SVG Preece Gibbs Hocevar Zilisch the top 5.
Lap 145 – CAUTION … again. Gibbs and Hocevar in an accident.  SVG takes the lead before the yellow.
Lap 144 – Green flag with Preece SVG Hocevar Gibbs Zilisch Briscoe Busch Suarez Byron Buescher and Reddick the top 10.
Lap 144 – CAUTION back out again after a spin by Logano that collected Elliott and Hamlin. Before the caution, Preece took the lead. Cindric gets the free pass but is still a lap down.
Lap 143 – Green flag back out. Cindric is two laps down, the only driver not on the lead lap.
Lap 143 – CAUTION for Elliott around in turn 4. Blaney gets the free pass.
Lap 141 – SVG to the lead. Hocevar second, then Preece Gibbs and Briscoe.
Lap 140 – Back to green. Hocevar Briscoe SVG Suarez and Gibbs up front.
Lap 140 – CAUTION for a spin by ADillon in turn 2. Hamlin gets the free pass.
Lap 139 – Back to green. Hocevar Briscoe Suarez Preece SVG the top 5.
Lap 139 – CAUTION is out for a spin by Hamlin in 3 & 4. Hamlin and Blaney are now a lap down.
Lap 137 – Blaney spins and falls to the last car on the lead lap.
Lap 131 – Hocevar and Briscoe have pulled away. Third place Suarez is more than 5 seconds back.  Gibbs and Elliott made contact but continue on.
Lap 123 – Hocevar takes the lead on the restart.
Lap 122 – Back to green. Still 79 laps remaining.
Lap 122 – CAUTION back out. A bunch of cars stacked up in turn 4.
Lap 120 – Back to green. Briscoe Gibbs Byron Hocevar Zilisch Logano Elliott SVG Suarez Reddick.
Lap 120 – CAUTION out for Berry stopped on the track after contact with the wall. Larson gets the free pass.
Lap 111 – Briscoe continues to lead Gibbs Byron and Hocevar. Zilisch has moved up to 5th.
Lap 102 – Back to green. Briscoe Gibbs Byron Hocevar Blaney. Larson is now the only driver a lap down.
Lap 102 – Briscoe takes the lead on the restart. Then CAUTION out for a number of cars spinning including Hamlin Larson Preece.
7:54pm/et – Race is back to green. 100 laps remaining. Gibbs leads Briscoe.
7:49pm/et – Engines have been re-fired. The track has been dried some. Wet weather tires will stay on the cars.
7:41pm/et – NASCAR is going to send drivers back to the garage while they try to dry the track some.
7:40pm/et – Drivers are reporting the main problem is the glare off the track and the lights.
7:35pm/et – Cars are on track and drivers are checking the condition of the track. It’s believed that this rain/sleet cell is about out of the area.
7:30pm/et – Engines have been re-fired.
7:25pm/et – NASCAR is going to have teams put wet weather tires on.
7:20pm/et – Cars are on track but rain has picked up. NASCAR will bring the cars back in to try to dry the track some. Drivers will stay in the cars.  NASCAR will make a determination in a bit about the use of wet weather tires.
7:17pm/et – The halfway break is complete and the race will resume soon.
Lap 101 – CAUTION out for the halfway break. Gibbs leads Briscoe Byron Blaney Hocevar Bell Hamlin Logano Preece and Larson. There are reports of a few sprinkles. Rain tires are available if needed.
Lap 97 – Gibbs takes the lead from Briscoe. Byron back up to third.
Lap 90 – Now Briscoe Gibbs Hocevar Byron and Hamlin in the top 5.
Lap 86 – Briscoe retakes the lead.
Lap 85 – After leading 67 laps early, Larson has fallen to 8th.
Lap 77 – Back to green. Byron Briscoe Gibbs Larson Hocevar Blaney Hamlin Bell Elliott Buescher the top 10.
Lap 77 – CAUTION out for a spin by Cindric in turn 4.
Lap 75 – Now Byron Briscoe Gibbs Larson and Hamlin as Larson’s tires are falling off.
Lap 72 – Byron takes the lead from Larson.
Lap 70 – Larson continues to lead. Byron has moved back to second. Briscoe back to third.
Lap 58 – Larson back to the lead after he and Briscoe run side by side since the restart.
Lap 55 – Briscoe takes the lead from Larson.
Lap 54 – Back to green. Larson still leads Briscoe Byron Gibbs and Hamlin.
Lap 54 – CAUTION for a spin by Wallace after contact from behind.
Lap 51 – 50 laps complete. Larson Briscoe Byron Gibbs Hamlin the top 5.
Lap 41 – Back to green. The caution was for NASCAR to treat a weeper on track.
Lap 41 – Caution is out. Debris on the track. Larson leas Byron Briscoe Gibbs Hamlin Bell Buescher Wallace Reddick Hocevar.
Lap 25 – Larson leads Byron by .76 second. Third place Briscoe is 1.9 seconds back.
Lap 11 – Larson leads Byron, Briscoe, Gibbs, and Hamlin.
Lap 2- Larson leads the first lap.
• 6:23pm/et- Green flag for the Clash. 200 laps. Only green flag laps count. Competition caution around lap 100. Race must end under green.
• 6:17pm/et – Engines are fired.
• 6:07pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
• 5:30pm/et – Green flag still scheduled for 6:20pm/et. No precipitation in the immediate area.
• 5:30pm/et – No cars reported to the rear …yet.

Paint Schemes

NASCAR Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium starting lineup.

#21-Josh Berry and #2-Austin Cindric advanced to the Cook Out Clash by finishing first and second in the Last Chance race.
They were followed by #6-Corey LaJoie, #16-A.J. Allmendinger, #42-John Hunter Nemechek, #38-Zane Smith, #4-Noah Gragson, #10-Ty Dillon , #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and #43-Erik Jones.
#48-Alex Bowman got the final spot in the Clash by being the driver highest in 2025 points that had not already made the race.
There was just one caution during the race and two lead changes among two drivers.
See the NASCAR Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium last chance race results page.

Last Chance race updates:
Checkered flag – Berry wins. Cindric finishes second to advance. They were followed by LaJoie, Allmendinger, Nemechek, Smith, Gragson, TDillon, Stenhouse and Jones. Bowman takes the provisional.
Lap 74 – Two to go. Cindric to second.
Lap 71 – LaJoie around Cindric with 4 to go.
Lap 70 – Cindric back to second.
Lap 68 – LaJoie back to second.  Berry with a 4.9 second lead.
Lap 66 – Ten to go. Berry in control of the race. Cindric now second as LaJoie falls to third.
Lap 63 – LaJoie to second and Cindric to third as Allmendinger falls to fourth.
Lap 60 – Berry with a lead of more than 2 seconds. Allmendinger, LaJoie and Cindric running virtually nose to tail for second.
Lap 55 – LaJoie is closing in on Allmendinger for second, now just .7 second back.
Lap 50 – Cindric is now fourth as Nemechek has fallen to fifth.
Lap 48 – LaJoie to third place, 2.5 seconds back of the lead.
Lap 46 – Thirty laps remaining. Berry with a 1 second lead over Allmendinger. Third place Nemechek is 2.7 seconds back.
Lap  39 – Race is halfway complete. Berry and Allmendinger still in position to transfer to the Clash. Nemechek still third, then LaJoie TDillon Cindric Smith Jones McDowell and Gragson.
Lap 18 – Berry back to the lead.
Lap 16 – Allmendinger, Berry, Nemechek, LaJoie, TDillon the top 5.
Lap 8 – Allmendinger to the leader over Berry.
Lap 6 – Back to green with Berry leading Cindric, Allmendinger, and LaJoie.
Lap 6 – NASCAR says McDowell jumped the start. He must go to the rear of the field.
Lap 6 – CUATION out for spins by Ware and Herbst after the field stacks up. Nemechek runs into Herbst. Bowman drops to the rear and he will take the provisional to get into the Clash.
Lap 2- McDowell leads the first lap.
• 4:34pm/et – Race is green.
• 4:28pm/et – Engines are fired.
• The race will be 75 laps. Only green flag laps count. There is no overtime.
• The Last Chance race is scheduled to go green at 4:33pm/et.

Practice and qualifying are complete for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Practice consisted of two 8 minutes sessions for drivers.
A final practice session served as qualifying.
Qualifying locked the top 20 drivers into the feature event tonight. The rest of the drivers move to the Last Chance race. They start the race in the order they qualified.
The top 10 starters for the Clash: #5-Kyle Larson, #24-William Byron, #54-Ty Gibbs, #19-Chase Briscoe, #20-Christopher Bell, #11-Denny Hamlin, #23-Bubba Wallace, #17-Chris Buescher, #1-Ross Chastain, and #45-Tyler Reddick.
The top 10 starters for the Last Chance Race: #21-Josh Berry, #71-Michael McDowell, #2-Austin Cindric, #6-Corey LaJoie, #48-Alex Bowman, #35-Riley Herbst, #51-Cody Ware, #16-A.J. Allmendinger, #41-Cole Custer, #42-John Hunter Nemechek.
The top two finishers in the Last Chance race will advance to the Clash.
The final spot in the race goes to the driver highest in the 2025 points not already in the race. That will be #48-Alex Bowman if he doesn’t race his way in.
See the NASCAR Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium Practice Results and Qualifying Results pages.

Practice and qualifying: will be held from 12:30pm-2:30pm/et Wednesday. There will be three 8-minute practice sessions followed by a qualifying session that will be split into groups. Each car will have four minutes to record a qualifying time over as many laps as desired within the time window. The top 20 cars from qualifying will lock into the main event. The top two cars will advance from the Last Chance Qualifier, and the 23rd position will be claimed by the highest-ranked driver in the 2025 points standings who has yet to qualify.

Practice Groups

Qualifying Groups

The Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Feb. 4 due to the impacts of historic winter weather in Winston-Salem and across the North Carolina region.

The Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium has been postponed to Monday, Feb. 2 due to the impacts of winter weather in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Crew Rosters

The entry list for the 2026 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium is posted.
The 36 chartered teams are entered plus two additional teams: #50-Burt Myer & #66-Chad Finchum.
Corey LaJoie will sub for Brad Keselowski.
23 drivers will compete in the feature event.
See the complete list on the 2026 Cook Out Clash Entry List page.

Goodyear Tire Notes:
NASCAR Cup Series teams will pair a new left-side Goodyear Racing Eagle with a familiar right-side tire at the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium this weekend.
The new left-side tire is designed for more fall-off than its predecessor, continuing the effort from Goodyear to improve short track racing. Teams are familiar with the right-side tire, having used it at last year’s Clash and at six other points-paying Cup Series events.
See more information  on the Tire Notes page.

NASCAR News & Notes:

Bowman Gray Stadium Storylines and Insights:

• 2026 is the 48th running of the Clash, just the fifth held outside of Daytona since its inception in 1979
• Between 1979-2020, the Clash was held on the NASCAR oval in Daytona, 2021 was held on the Daytona road course, 2022-2024 was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and moved to Bowman Gray in 2025
• The Clash was won by a different driver each of the last eight years
• Five drivers won the Clash in their first attempt: Buddy Baker (1979), Dale Earnhardt (1980), Jeff Gordon (1994), Dale Jarrett (1996) and Denny Hamlin (2006)
• Joe Gibbs Racing (eight) and Team Penske (four) combined won the Clash 12 of the last 15 years (Hendrick Motorsports, with two, and Richard Childress Racing, with one, won the other three)
• Joe Gibbs Racing leads all teams with 12 Clash wins, all 12 came in the last 25 years

See much more on the NASCAR News & Notes page.

Statistical Advance:
A statistical look at this weekend’s exhibition event the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1, 2026 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. This year marks the 48th running of the Clash and the second-time in NASCAR Cup Series history the traditional exhibition-style event will tackle the historic Bowman Gray Stadium. Sunday’s event will be broadcast live on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio starting at 6 p.m. ET.

Format announcement

Format:

• Three practice groups with each group having three sessions.
• Final practice determines the starting order for the four Heat races (fastest on pole for Heat 1, 2nd on pole for Heat 2, 3rd on pole for Heat 3, 4th on pole for Heat 4 etc.)
• Heat races are 25 laps each.
• The top-five finishers from Heat races fill the first 20 of 23 spots for the Main event with the winner of Heat 1 on the pole, winner of Heat 2 in 2nd, Heat 3 in 3rd, Heat 4 in 4th.
• The remaining cars compete in a 75 lap last chance race, the top 2 finishers advance to the main event.
• The 23rd spot goes to the highest driver from 2024 driver points standings that is not already in the main event.
• 200 lap Main event with 23 cars.
• Only green flag laps count during the Heats, LCQ and Main (no overtime in the Heats and LCQ but the Main must finish under green)
• Halfway break at Lap 100 in Main event.

Weekend Event Schedule