Saturday’s Cook Out Clash heat races had the feel of a classic Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium.
At a track affectionately known as ‘The Madhouse’, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series weren’t afraid to let their tempers flare on the first day of the 2025 NASCAR season.
Just a few short laps into Heat Race 1, Kyle Busch was the center of attention. After Justin Haley and Noah Gragson traded blows, contact with Haley sent Busch spinning into the infield grass.
While the incident was unintentional, Busch didn’t see it that way. The two-time Cup Series champion spent the subsequent caution period beating the back bumper off of Haley’s No. 7, which earned him a warning from NASCAR officials.
Heats 2 and 3 were largely uneventful, with Heat 4 featuring crashes involving John Hunter Nemechek, A.J. Allmendinger and Cole Custer.
Chase Elliott earned the pole for Sunday’s Cook Out Clash. 20 of the 23 spots in the lineup for the Clash are secured, with three drivers looking to make the main event on Sunday. Two drivers will race their way in via the 75-lap Last-Chance qualifier, with the highest-finishing driver in the 2024 points standings who didn’t lock themselves in via the heats or LCQ making the Clash as well.
One driver advancing to Sunday’s Cook Out Clash is Auckland, New Zealand, native Shane van Gisbergen. A third-place finish in Heat 2 netted van Gisbergen the 10th-place starting spot for Sunday’s Clash. For a driver who’s still relatively new to the physicality of short-track racing, van Gisbergen was calm and comfortable on Saturday.
“Right from the start of practice, I was having fun,” van Gisbergen told Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass. “I’m getting used to the (track) shape, I’ve never driven a track shaped like this. It was pretty fun.”
Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano has a penchant for winning races at new venues on the Cup Series schedule. In 2022, Logano won the first Clash at the LA Coliseum. He finished second in Heat 3 to Denny Hamlin.
“It’s not like the Coliseum much at all,” Logano told Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass regarding the unique characteristics of Bowman Gray. “It’s harder to pass, there’s no doubt about that. I think that’s why it’s pretty physical here. LA had more space on the racetrack; you had the apron which gave you an opportunity to turn underneath people and pass cars without contact. I don’t think we’ve seen a pass tonight that didn’t have contact. That’s why the Modifieds do it, that’s why everyone gets mad at each other. It’s the only way to get around.”
‘We’re towards the front. If we can keep (the car) in one piece and not be the one getting dumped, we’ll be fine.”
The Cook Out Clash will go green shortly after 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, with the LCQ going green shortly after 6 p.m. ET. Coverage of both races can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Starting lineup:
- Chase Elliott
- Chris Buescher
- Denny Hamlin
- Tyler Reddick
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Briscoe
- Joey Logano
- Christopher Bell
- Noah Gragson
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Wiliam Byron
- Ryan Preece
- Kyle Busch
- Bubba Wallace
- Carson Hocevar
- Austin Cindric
- Ross Chastain
- Daniel Suarez
- Alex Bowman
- Todd Gilliland
- LCQ Winner
- LCQ second-place finisher
- Highest driver in 2024 points not already locked in
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