Sunday’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium was a hit from the moment the green flag dropped.
After entertaining heat races and an intense Last-Chance qualifier earlier on Sunday afternoon, expectations were high for the first NASCAR Cup Series race in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, since 1971.
It’s safe to say that the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series delivered.
With the Cook Out Clash behind us, here are the major storylines from the season-opening exhibition.
Ryan Blaney is still NASCAR’s long-run king
There may not be a NASCAR driver more lethal on a long green-flag run than 2023 champion Ryan Blaney. A plethora of mechanical issues forced Blaney’s team to make repairs on Saturday. Blaney was all but locked into the Clash via the points provisional, but would have to start 23rd – dead last. At the halfway break, Blaney had moved up to 10th, and on lap 147, he took second-place away from Denny Hamlin. While he was unable to track down race winner Chase Elliott, Blaney’s run on Sunday was another example of the No. 12 team being unstoppable on long runs.
Hamlin, Elliott put on a tire war
Denny Hamlin is famous for tire conservation in key moments. On Sunday evening, Hamlin was the only driver that could challenge Chase Elliott during the first half of the race, taking the lead on lap 97. On the radio, Elliott complained of a lack of rear grip, which Hamlin was able to take advantage of. In the second half of the race, however, the script flipped. While Hamlin was still fast enough to bring home a third-place finish, Elliott was the one who was able to conserve tires, holding off a hard-charging Blaney to win the race. Elliott clearly learned from his mistake in the race’s first 100-lap stint, and used his newfound knowledge to claim the victory.
Bowman Gray lives up to the hype
As neat as it was to see NASCAR Cup Series cars racing in Los Angeles, the Clash at the Coliseum was beginning to feel slightly sterile. NASCAR chose to take the exhibition event to a track near and dear to so many in the industry, leading to a much more intimate setting for a season-opening race. The 17,000 fans that crammed into a sold-out Bowman Gray Stadium were as rowdy for the Clash as they are every Saturday night during the season, and the track lived up to its ‘Madhouse’ moniker. There were plenty of classic Bowman Gray stackups and spins over the course of the weekend, and the fans in attendance made sure to bring the energy. Nothing is known about NASCAR’s plans for the Clash or Bowman Gray Stadium in 2026, but all signs point to Bowman Gray’s return to the schedule being a massive success.
Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium Results
- Chase Elliott
- Ryan Blaney
- Denny Hamlin
- Joey Logano
- Bubba Wallace
- Ross Chastain
- Austin Cindric
- Tyler Reddick
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Chris Buescher
- Ryan Preece
- Christopher Bell
- Josh Berry
- Todd Gilliland
- Kyle Busch
- Carson Hocevar
- Kyle Larson
- William Byron
- Alex Bowman
- Noah Gragson
- Brad Keselowski
- Daniel Suarez
- Chase Briscoe
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