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NASCAR Postpones Cook Out Clash For 2nd Time Due To Wintry Weather

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Bowman Gray Stadium

For the second time, NASCAR has postponed the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Due to the lingering effects of the winter storm that dropped more than a foot of snow on parts of North Carolina on Saturday, NASCAR announced on Sunday afternoon that it has moved the preseason exhibition race back two additional days.

NASCAR announced on Saturday that it had rescheduled the race, originally set for Sunday night, to Monday. But that won’t happen now.

Keep reading for all the details on when the event will now take place.

When Is The Cook Out Clash Now Set To Run?

The Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium has been moved to Wednesday, three days later than originally scheduled.

To ensure a safe event, NASCAR is working closely with the City of Winston-Salem and North Carolina Department of Transportation to deal with the ongoing impacts of the historic winter weather in the city and surrounding region.

“This event is for the fans, and the fans at The Madhouse are some of the most passionate fans in all of sports,” Justin Swilling, Project Lead, Cook Out Clash, said in a NASCAR-issued news release. “Moving the Cook Out Clash to Wednesday, February 4 gives us the best opportunity to hold this event with fans at Bowman Gray Stadium while allowing the City of Winston-Salem to dedicate all of their resources to respond to the needs created by this historic weather event.”

Coverage of NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying is slated for 1:30 p.m. EST Wednesday. It will air live on the FOX Sports app. A last-chance qualifier will get underway at 4:30 p.m. on FOX, followed by the Cook Out Clash main event at 6 p.m. on FOX.

Parking lots will open at 11:30 a.m., with off-site shuttle services beginning at noon. Gates will open at 12:30 p.m.

The non-points-paying affair marks the unofficial start of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Bowman Gray Stadium hosted the Clash, which has been around since 1979, for the first time last season. Fan-favorite Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports captured the win.

Bowman Gray holds a special place in NASCAR history as the longest-running weekly facility. The fabled short track hosted 29 NASCAR Grand National, now NASCAR Cup Series, races from 1958 to 1971. It hosted several East Series races from 2011 to 2015.

The Cook Out Clash Format, Explained

Being a non-points event, the Cook Out Clash features an atypical format and some unique race procedures.

Final practice determines the starting order for four heat races, each consisting of 25 laps. The top five finishers from the heat races will fill the first 20 of 23 spots available for the 200-lap main event, with the winner of Heat 1 starting on the pole, the winner of Heat 2 rolling off second, etc.

The remaining cars will compete in the 75-lap last-chance race from which the top two finishers will advance to the main event. The 23rd spot will go to the driver not already in the main event who finished highest in the 2025 Cup Series standings.

The main event will include a halfway break at the conclusion of Lap 100. Only green flag laps count during the heat races, last-chance race and main event. There is no overtime in the heat race and last-chance qualifier. However, the main event must finish under green-flag conditions.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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