What You Need to Know
From Daytona International Speedway to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and now Bowman Gray Stadium, NASCAR’s Clash has been through many changes over the years. Located conveniently in downtown Winston-Salem, NC, Bowman Gray Stadium is the definition of excellence in short track racing.
Bowman Gray Stadium is NASCAR's very first weekly track, a famed quarter-mile where the sound of roaring engines and cheering fans has been heard since 1949. Racing at Bowman Gray Stadium was started by Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, two men who were founding fathers of NASCAR itself. It's the track where Richard Petty won his 100th race. It's the track where a young Richard Childress fell in love with racing, hawking peanuts in the stands and then later taking the wheel himself.
It's the track where Junior Johnson, Glen Wood, David Pearson, Richie Evans, and Jerry Cook competed. It's the track that has been part of such racing dynasties as the Pettys, the Allisons, the Myerses, and the Earnhardts. It's the track with drivers whose fathers and grandfathers used to race at Bowman Gray, where fans come to see the racing action just like their great-grandparents did so long ago.
These guys know a thing or two about The Madhouse 🤠 pic.twitter.com/y2LGCDZm75
— Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (@nascarclash) January 30, 2025
The Clash
- Date: Sunday, February 2
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
- Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- TV: FOX
- Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Format
- The 2025 season unofficially begins this weekend as the Clash at Bowman Gray takes place Sunday in Winston-Salem.
- This is the first year of the Clash taking place at Bowman Gray Stadium, marking the Cup Series’ first return to the historic Bowman Gray Stadium since 1971.
- The format for the Clash remains similar to the 2024 edition held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as 23 cars overall will make the main event.
- Saturday features three practice sessions with entrants split into three groups. The fastest lap time in each car’s final session will determine the starting lineup for the four heat races, meaning no separate qualifying session will take place.
- The 25-lap heat races will feature up to 10 cars per race, with only green-flag laps counting in each heat with no overtime allotment.
- The top five finishers in each heat will automatically advance to Sunday night’s main event, while the drivers that finish below fifth will advance to Sunday’s last chance qualifier (LCQ). Starting positions for that race will be determined by the finishing order in the heats. The top two finishers in the LCQ will advance to the Clash and start 21st and 22nd, respectively.
- The 23rd and final position in the Clash is reserved for the driver who finished highest in the 2024 season points standings that did not otherwise transfer via the heat races or LCQ.
- The Clash will be 200 laps and feature those 23 cars.
- Saturday: 6:10 p.m. ET, Practice (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- Saturday: 8:30 p.m. ET, Heat Races Begin (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- Sunday: 6 p.m. ET, Last Chance Race (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- Sunday: 8 p.m. ET, Clash (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Weekend Schedule:
Last Year - Denny Hamlin started from the pole for Saturday night's event and showed up when it mattered most to capture his fourth clash victory of his career.