The 2026 Cook Out Clash was a non-championship exhibition NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 4, 2026, postponed three days from February 1, at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Contested over 200 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Ryan Preece won the race, joining Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin as a driver to win the Clash before winning their first points race. William Byron finished 2nd, and Ryan Blaney finished 3rd. Daniel Suárez and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five, and Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top ten.
Due to snowfall around the area, the race was postponed multiple times to Wednesday, February 4. This was the first Cup Series race on a Wednesday since the 2020 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500.
Report
Background
Bowman Gray Stadium is a NASCAR sanctioned asphalt flat oval short track and longstanding football stadium located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most legendary venues, and is referred to as "NASCAR's longest-running weekly race track". Bowman Gray Stadium is part of the Winston-Salem Sports and Entertainment Complex and is home of the Winston-Salem State University Rams football team. It was also the home of the Wake Forest University football team from 1956 until Groves Stadium (later BB&T Field) opened in 1968.
On August 17, 2024, NASCAR announced that the Clash would be moved to Bowman Gray Stadium, becoming the first NASCAR-sanctioned race at the track since 1971.
Scrutineering will take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Post-race inspection will take place in both Winston-Salem and also at NASCAR facilities in Charlotte.
On January 29, 2026, NASCAR announced that practice and qualifying, and the Last Chance Qualifier, would be held on February 1 due to weather and extreme coldness. The four heat races would be canceled. On January 31, it was announced the race would be postponed to February 2. On February 1, 2026, it was announced that the Clash would be postponed to Wednesday, February 4.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Corey LaJoie RFK Racing Ford 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50 Burt Myers Team AmeriVet Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 66 Chad Finchum (i) Garage 66 Ford 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Christopher Bell was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 14.193 with an average speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.193 63.411 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14.219 63.295 3 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 14.255 63.135Official practice results
Qualifying Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 14.137 and a speed of . Josh Berry will start on the pole for the Last Chance Qualifier.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.137 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.141 3 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.146 4 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.147 5 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.150 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14.151 7 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 14.153 8 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 14.167 9 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 14.184 10 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 14.195 11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.198 12 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 14.204 13 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14.209 14 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 14.211 15 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14.213 16 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14.215 17 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 14.231 18 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 14.234 19 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 14.237 20 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 14.242 21 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 14.243 22 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 14.245 23 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 14.263 24 6 Corey LaJoie RFK Racing Ford 14.272 25 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.290 26 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 14.299 27 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 14.314 28 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 14.323 29 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 14.334 30 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 14.351 31 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 14.372 32 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 14.392 33 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 14.413 34 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 14.448 35 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 14.455 36 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 14.493 37 66 Chad Finchum Garage 66 Ford 14.515 38 50 Burt Myers Team AmeriVet Chevrolet 15.024Official qualifying results
"Last Chance" qualifying race Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 1 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 752 3 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 753 4 6 Corey LaJoie RFK Racing Ford 754 8 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 755 10 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 756 15 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 757 13 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 758 12 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 759 14 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 7510 16 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 7411 2 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 7412 9 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 7313 17 66 Chad Finchum Garage 66 Ford 7314 18 50 Burt Myers Team AmeriVet Chevrolet 7315 7 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 7316 6 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 7217 5 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 5618 11 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 47Official last chance race results
Josh Berry and Austin Cindric, the top two finishers, qualified for the main event. Alex Bowman also qualified as the highest driver in previous season's standings that have not yet qualified.
Starting lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 4 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 7 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 8 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 9 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 10 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 12 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 13 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 14 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 15 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 16 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 17 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 18 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 19 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 20 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 21 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 23 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletOfficial starting lineup
Race
Race results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 18 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 2002 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2003 16 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 2004 20 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 2005 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2006 4 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2007 15 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 2008 8 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 2009 9 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 20010 23 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20011 14 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 20012 21 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 20013 5 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20014 3 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20015 12 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 20016 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20017 11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20018 19 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 20019 13 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 20020 17 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 20021 22 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 20022 10 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 20023 7 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 199Official race results
Media
Television Fox covered the race on the television side. Due to time constraints, the race went over the 3-hour window provided by Fox, the race moved to FS2 after 9:00 PM EST. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and three-time Clash winner Kevin Harvick handled the call in the booth for the race. Josh Sims and Regan Smith handled the pit road duties, and Larry McReynolds provided insight on-site during the race.
FOX/FS2Booth announcersPit reportersIn-race analyst Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Clint BowyerColor-commentator: Kevin Harvick Josh SimsRegan Smith Larry McReynolds
Radio MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Todd Gordon called the action from the broadcast booth when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the action for MRN when the field raced down the backstretch. MRN Lead Pit Reporter Steve Post, Chris Wilner & Jacklyn Drake covered the action for MRN on pit lane.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Backstretch: Dave Moody Steve PostChris WilnerJacklyn Drake
References