Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium Preview: NASCAR's Kickoff to 2026

Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium Preview

The 2026 NASCAR season will kick off with the annual exhibition race the Cook Out Clash. Most fantasy racing leagues don't recognize this NASCAR exhibition event in the fantasy racing season, but some do along with many daily fantasy racing games and racing pools that form specifically for this event and its unique format. The Clash has historically been held at Daytona International Speedway since its inception in 1979. Four years ago, NASCAR broke with tradition and moved the event to a purpose-built small oval in the Los Angeles Coliseum. The facility constructed a quarter-mile asphalt oval in the historic venue. Last season, the sanctioning body departed with the temporary oval in the Coliseum and moved to the historic Bowman Gray Stadium for the Clash. Bowman Gray is a quarter-mile asphalt short track (flat) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The historic oval opened in 1937 and has played host to countless races, seasons and championships across multiple racing series.

The racing for this event will be broken down into five qualifying heat races, and then a main event. The competition is open to all NASCAR Cup Series teams, and the entry list shows that there are 38-drivers entered for this intriguing exhibition event. 

The following is an outline of the competition format this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium:

On early Saturday evening, NASCAR Cup Series competitors will take to the track for group practice sessions prior to group qualifying runs to determine the starting order for the first four scheduled heat races. The track will be open to all entrants.

Later Saturday night, on-track action will begin with four 25-lap heat races consisting of about 10 cars each. Below is a breakdown on how the heat races will be filled out:

• The top four fastest qualifiers from Saturday's qualifying session will be on the pole for each heat race, while cars that qualified fifth through eight will make up the other half of the front row in each heat.
• The remainder of each field will be filled out using this methodology (Ex. – heat one will be made up cars with qualifying positions of one, five, nine, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37).
• The top five finishers (20 total cars) from each heat race automatically advance through to the Cook Out Clash, with the winner of heat one winning the pole and the heat two winner earning the outside pole.
• The winners of heats three and four will fill out the second row, with the remaining order of these 16 cars being determined in the same manner.

The remaining five finishing positions from each heat (20 total cars) that did not advance will continue through to the 75-lap Last Chance Qualifying race on Sunday. Below is a breakdown on how the Last Chance Qualifiers will be filled out:

• The starting order for this event will be determined based on finishing positions in the heat races.
• The sixth-place finishers from heats one and two will be on the pole and outside pole for the Last Chance Qualifying race. The sixth-place finishers from heats three and four will be on the second row.
• This pattern will continue to fill out the field for this event.
• The top two finishers from the Last Chance Qualifying race will advance to the Cook Out Clash, filling out positions 21 and 22 of the 23 available positions.

The final spot in the Clash is reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2025 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heat races or Last Chance Qualifying race. All other drivers will be eliminated from competition in the main event.

This exhibition race will be unlike most NASCAR race weekends due to the unique venue and unique competition format for the event. The teams that show up with fast race cars right off the hauler, and with capable short track drivers will be the ones to beat. For our statistical analysis, we've looked back at the past season of short track racing to get a feel for our top contenders this week. Below are the statistics for the last seven Cup Series events on tracks under one-mile in length. These include Bristol, Martinsville, Iowa and Richmond.    

This race and the four prior Clashes are completely different than any Cook Out Clash before it due to the extremely short track wrinkle and multiple qualifying heat race format. From the recent stats above we get a very clear picture of who has been the top performers in this style of racing the last year. We'll also cast a discriminating eye towards the results from the prior four Clashes to see who has had success in this event recently. Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and William Byron dominated these facilities last season. Those four drivers will be a focus of our attention this week. There are some outside contenders in the mix, and we'll visit those as well. Short track racing can get pretty wild at times, and this oval's newness and uncertainty will add to that mix. We have to keep that possibility in mind as we examine the field.

This exhibition race is unlike any of the normal Cup Series events, so we'll handle the prognostications a bit differently as well. We'll give you our picks for who'll contend for the win in the Cook Out Clash main event of 200 laps. That field will consist of 23 drivers who advance from the earlier rounds, and these are the ones who we see as the top threats to win the first race of 2026 and take the big purse in this Sunday evening spectacle.

The Contenders – Drivers in the hunt for the win

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 3:00 PM ET Wednesday

Ryan Blaney (+650) – The runner-up finisher at Bowman Gray last season was also a third-place finisher the previous season in the last running of the Clash at the LA Coliseum. The Penske Racing star has shown a real growth in short track performance as the statistical table above attests. Blaney led the second-most laps of anyone on the short track circuit last season and he registered a razor-sharp 4.3 average finish on these small ovals, easily the best in the Cup Series. Blaney has never won the Clash, but he's been very close the last two seasons. The driver of the No. 12 Ford has to be seen as the top contender to win this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium.       

Denny Hamlin (+700) – Hamlin claimed a victory and three Top 5's on the short tracks last season. He also led a good number of laps with 277 total. The Joe Gibbs Racing star won the final Clash at the LA Coliseum in 2024 and he led 28 laps and finished a brilliant third in his debut at Bowman Gray last season. Hamlin has done well in these pre-season exhibition races dating all the way back to his first Bud Shootout in 2006. He's won a total of four of these pre-season exhibition races during his long career. Hamlin has won 15 of his 60-career victories on short tracks (25%) so this is in his comfort zone. He'll be focused on topping the third-place that he scored in this event one year ago.

Chase Elliott (+650) – The winner of last season's Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium will return to defend his title this weekend. Elliott should never be underestimated on short tracks. Even though he struggled to get a grip on the LA Coliseum track, he took immediately to the oval at Bowman Gray. Elliott led 171 of the 200 laps and left the field in the dust last year. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet did not win on any points-paying short tracks last season, but Elliott did lead nearly 200 laps and rack up three Top 5's. He showed he can still battle it out with the best in the series on the bull ring circuit. Elliott has a very good chance to defend his race win of one year ago.

Kyle Larson (+800) – Larson was a superb short track performer in 2025. He collected one win, led nearly 500 laps and grabbed four Top-5 finishes on the small ovals. That's a pretty typical season on the bull rings for the Hendrick Motorsports star. While Larson's debut at Bowman Gray would be a subpar finish last season, he did crack the Top 5 three-seasons running at the LA Coliseum. Larson proved he can be strong on these micro-ovals. Larson and the No. 5 Chevrolet team have yet to win a pre-season Clash, so you know it's pretty high on his priority list. This could be the year where he adds this accomplishment to his ever-growing list of racing accolades.   

Christopher Bell (+850) – Bell was consistent and competitive on short tracks last season. He racked up a victory and four Top-10 finishes. The Joe Gibbs Racing star was no ace but he came to the short tracks with a sluggers chance each week. Bell's background on dirt racing in Sprints is evident when you watch him compete on NASCAR bull rings. While he's yet to leave his mark on either the LA Coliseum or Bowman Gray to this point, we still believe he warrants close consideration. Bell's victory at Bristol and runner-up at Martinsville grab our attention immediately. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota has the skillset to dominate this exhibition race, so don't sleep on Bell.   

William Byron (+850) – With two short track victories last season and close to 500 laps led on the bull ring circuit, we can't exclude Byron from this list of contenders. The Hendrick Motorsports star has yet to leave a big mark in this exhibition event, although he did nab three Top 10's at the LA Coliseum. Byron was pretty subpar at Bowman Gray Stadium last season, but he could turn that around with a strong car this weekend. The 200-lap main event is very dependent on qualifying well, so if Byron does well in his heat race, then good starting track position is possible. It's difficult to pass under green at Bowman Gray, so that good starting track position is very important. Byron is not to be underestimated in this season-opening exhibition race.  

Joey Logano (+1200) – He won the inaugural Clash at the LA Coliseum in 2022 and he's finished Top 5 in the last two Clashes, so it's impossible to overlook the Penske Racing veteran. Logano registered a series-best six Top-10 finishes on the bull ring circuit in 2025 and while he didn't grab any wins, he was in contention to win more than once. The 9.7 average finish on the small ovals was third-best in the series and speaks volumes of Logano's consistency in this form of racing. With a strong short track racing resume and being a two-time winner of the Clash, we can't overlook Logano and the No. 22 Ford team. He's almost a certainty to qualify well and that will put him in the mix for the win at Bowman Gray Stadium.      

Chase Briscoe (+1100) – As far as contenders to win this weekend go, Briscoe is likely the highest odds of the top contenders. Still, we can't overlook what he did in his first full season with Joe Gibbs Racing last year. He led over 200 laps and grabbed four Top 10's on the short track circuit. Briscoe has excellent short track skills thanks to his background racing on dirt. That skillset translates well to NASCAR short tracks. Although Briscoe had a bumpy outing in last year's race at Bowman Gray, we expect he'll fully rebound this time around. He started sixth on the grid in last season's Clash and that's half the battle to success. Hopefully his luck will be better this weekend and he'll throw his hat in the ring for the win.