It was an ignominious start for NASCAR’s Cup Series ahead of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15. The Clash was originally scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 1, but the massive snowstorm in North Carolina kicked the race to Monday and eventually to Wednesday. Yet the four-day delay didn’t even save NASCAR from the elements.

The NASCAR Cup Series begins unofficially with the Cook Out Clash on Feb. 4 at Bowman Gray Stadium following a couple postponements for weather. Once on Sunday, then moved to Monday, the now-Wednesday Clash is a non-points paying race to give teams a chance to get back to the track once before the season starts officially in Daytona.

William Byron led Hendrick Motorsports with a second-place run while Alex Bowman joined him in the top 10, finishing 10th. Starting from the pole , Kyle Larson led 67 laps early on before relinquishing. Byron also found his way to the point prior to the halfway break, leading 14 laps.

NASCAR leadership provided more weather and race updates less than 24 hours before The Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray.

Denny Hamlin will compete in the 2026 NASCAR Cup season despite a shoulder injury aggravated after a house fire that killed his father and injured his mother.

Despite multiple postponements and sleet falling during the race, plenty of fans showed up to Bowman Gray Stadium on Wednesday evening.

James Small was not happy with NASCAR bringing cars into the garage area to fuel up, and let his team know about it on the radio.

Dario Franchitti will make a one-off NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start for Tricon Garage at St Petersburg on 28 February