For the previous four days, NASCAR Cup Series officials and Bowman Gray Stadium representatives battled snow removal to make Wednesday night’s delayed Cook Out Clash raceable.
Then came the frozen rain at halftime.
That was about it for Kyle Larson. The defending series champion opened the 2026 season in dominating fashion, leading 67 of the initial 71 laps.
But once Larson failed to maintain his inside position at the iconic quarter-mile flat track, the No. 5 Chevrolet fell back to P10 when the season-opening, 200-lap exhibition paused for halftime.
As the precipitation picked up and the temperature hovered around 35 degrees, Larson received a bump from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott and crashed into the wall before completing the first second-half lap.
Ryan Preece utilized his short-track racing experience to claim his first Cup win. He joined Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin as drivers who claimed the Clash title before earning a points-race win.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Preece told Fox Sports. “It’s been a long road. It’s been years and years of grinding. Two years ago, I didn’t think I’d have a job.”
In a rarity, the drivers discovered a second-half high groove in the sleet. In the 77 years that the facility hosted stock-car racing events, it proved to be a unique line.
The groove lowered as the track dried, leading to constant changes in track conditions and 17 caution periods.
“I felt like we were fighting adversity all day,” Preece said. “It was as much a mental game as anything.”
Larson, in his first outing donning the 2-time champion patch, finished P16.
NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Clash Results
Here are the results from the NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Cut Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Wednesday:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
- 2, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 3, Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- 4, Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 5, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
- 6, Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
- 7, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 8, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- 9, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 10, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 11, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- 12, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- 13, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- 14, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
- 15, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 16, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 17, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 18, Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 19, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 20, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Chevrolet
- 21, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
- 22, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- 23, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
