By David Morgan, Associate Editor
The wait is over.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off this weekend with the annual Cook Out Clash exhibition race.
For the second year in a row, the best of NASCAR’s premier series will take on the tight confines of Bowman Gray Stadium, the quarter-mile oval in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the epicenter of NASCAR country.
Originally planned to be a two-day show consisting of practice, qualifying, and heat races on Saturday, followed by a last-chance qualifier and the main event on Sunday, has been thrown for a loop by Mother Nature.
With escalating chances of winter weather for the area over the weekend, NASCAR elected to postpone the Saturday events to Sunday, making it a one day show at the Madhouse. The revised schedule will see practice, qualifying, the last chance qualifier and the main event running from early Sunday afternoon through the evening.
After the heat races were cut from the program with the condensed Sunday schedule, the top-20 from qualifying will transfer into the main event, with the next two positions going to the top-two finishers in the LCQ and the final spot being reserved for the driver that finished the highest in points last season that did not previously transfer in.
The main event will be a 200-lap feature with a halfway break at lap 100. Only green flag laps will count toward the total.
By the Numbers
What: Cook Out Clash, NASCAR Cup Series Exhibition Race
Where: Bowman Gray Stadium – Winston-Salem, North Carolina
TV/Radio: FOX, 6:00 pm ET / MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90
Track Size: 0.250-mile oval
Race Length: 200 laps (Two segments: 100 laps each)
2025 Race Winner: Chase Elliott — No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Started on pole, 171 laps led)
From the Driver’s Seat
The Clash at Bowman Gray is just a cool event, and I had never been there in my life until last year,” said A.J. Allmendinger.
“What they say is true—the Bowman Gray crowd is unique and very passionate, and it was fun to be able to see what it was all about. The energy was high, and you couple that with crazy racing, meaning you’re just going to beat and gouge on each other around that place.
“It’s full contact, so you just have to be mentally prepared for that going into it. I think it’s a fun kickoff event. Obviously, it’s not for points, but it is going out there for prestige. You try to win it and do the best that you can. It’s a great way to get back to racing, and it’s not far from home, which is a bonus.”
New Faces, New Places
The shifting sands of the NASCAR Cup Series will see changes not only in the driver’s seat, but also different numbers and manufacturers for established drivers in the series.
Xfinity Series standout Connor Zilisch makes his full-time Cup Series debut with Trackhouse Racing, taking over the seat previously occupied by Daniel Suarez. Zilisch will pilot the No. 88 Chevrolet, with Shane van Gisbergen, who ran the No. 88 a year ago, now carrying the No. 97 for Trackhouse.
Suarez moves over to Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 Chevrolet that Justin Haley ran a year ago. Haley returns to the Craftsman Truck Series this season.
Haas Factory Team and Rick Ware Racing, which previously ran under the Ford umbrella, will now be running Chevrolets from the 2026 season. Haas has entered an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports for Cole Custer’s No. 41 car, with Rick Ware Racing teaming up with Richard Childress Racing for Cody Ware’s No. 51 entry.
For just this weekend at Bowman Gray, Corey LaJoie will pilot the No. 6 Ford for RFK Racing in relief of Brad Keselowski, who is recovering from a broken leg sustained in a skiing accident in December.
LaJoie will remain on standby for Keselowski once the season starts and is scheduled to drive a fourth RFK Racing entry in the Daytona 500.
Last Year’s Clash Results
Chase Elliott Wins Cook Out Clash at Historic Bowman Gray Stadium
Weekend Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Sunday, February 1
- NASCAR Cup Series Clash Practice and Qualifying (2:00 pm – FOX Sports 2)
- Busch Light Clash Last Chance Qualifier (6:00 pm – FOX)
- Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray (8:00 pm – 200 laps – FOX)
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