From format to forecast, what to know about NASCAR's Clash at Bowman Gray

Fox Sports

30-01-2025

The NASCAR season begins with a little bit of tradition as the preseason Clash on FOX goes green this weekend.
The exhibition race, though, will be at a new venue for the first time. A venue steeped in NASCAR tradition.
Bowman Gray Stadium, a quarter-mile racetrack that encircles a football field, played host to Cup races from 1958-1971. Known as "The Madhouse" from a reality television show in 2010 that followed the rambunctious modified racing series at the track, Bowman Gray is also the site of football games for Winston-Salem (N.C.) State University.
The track is owned by the city of Winston-Salem, and last March, NASCAR obtained the promotional rights to the racing at the facility. Eight drivers entered in the Clash have experience in stock cars at Bowman Gray from NASCAR East Series (think single-A baseball) events held there from 2011-2015.
Here are the answers to five questions about the Clash, with the main event happening on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX.
Why are they racing at Bowman Gray?
Think of it as NASCAR's Field of Dreams game, a tribute to the roots of the sport. NASCAR proved it could have a race on a quarter-mile track with the last three Clash events on a temporary track built inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
While the Clash in Los Angeles was designed to generate new fans and was filled with musical acts, this race carries an old-school NASCAR vibe.
The race certainly will touch the heart of those yearning for years past. Team owner Richard Childress sold peanuts and popcorn at the track as a kid.
"There's something about Bowman Gray that brings out the worst in people — or the best," said Wood Brothers Racing co-owner Eddie Wood, who saw his father, Glen Wood, win races at the track in the 1960s. "You can say it either way you want it, but I think everybody is really amped up about doing well there."
What improvements were made to the facility?
NASCAR had to improve the catch fence and put in SAFER (steel-and-foam energy reduction) barriers. But instead of making the barriers nice and smooth in the turn, NASCAR tried to keep the character of the imperfectly shaped guard rail that was once there.
The walls in Turns 3 and 4 pinch into the track a little bit, making it narrow like it was previously with Turn 3 and more of a funnel.
They also added new permanent LED lighting and will need to have some temporary lighting brought in for the event.
There will be an expected sellout crowd of between 18,000 and 20,000 fans.
What is the format?
There are 39 entries, and the track is too small to have 39 Cup cars on it at one time. The 39 cars will be split into three groups and each group will get two practice sessions of eight minutes apiece on Saturday night. Then, each group will be split into two groups, and the drivers will have one final four-minute practice session where their best lap will set the lineups for the heat races.
There will be four heats — three with 10 cars, one with nine cars — of 25 laps apiece Saturday night. The fastest car from qualifying will be on the pole for the first heat, the second-fastest on pole for the second heat and so on.
Only green-flag laps count and there will be no overtime.
The top five in each heat advance to Sunday night's main event. The remaining 19 cars will compete in a 75-lap (only green-flag laps count, no overtime) race on Sunday, with the top-two cars advancing to the main event. Of the 17 cars remaining, the competitor who had the highest driver points from the 2024 season will get the 23rd and final spot in the main event.
The winner of the first heat will be on the pole for the main event, the winner of the second heat on the front row, the winners of the third and fourth heats will comprise Row 2 and so on. The main event will be 200 laps. Only green-flag laps count. There will be a halftime break after 100 laps.
Who has raced there?
The eight drivers entered who have experience in stock cars at the track: Alex Bowman, William Byron, Cole Custer, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace,
"It's been so long since I've been there. Those [East] races were years ago. I don't really think that's going to help," Elliott said. "The last few years having been at the Coliseum, I know it's going to be different for sure, but I do think there will be some similarities in just a track of that size and how quick things happen."
Four drivers have raced modifieds at the track: Ryan Preece and Cody Ware are full-time Cup drivers who have a few starts here, while two of Bowman Gray's most notable and famous modified champions and rivals, Tim Brown and Burt Myers, have secured rides for the Clash.
"Racing at the stadium is hard," said Brown, who is a mechanic in the Rick Ware Racing shop and has worked on the car that he will race. "It's going to be more difficult than even racing at the Coliseum in L.A., just because of the asphalt difference and the weather, the temperature difference.
"But it's going to be the same for everybody. I think the bottom will definitely be dominant and you just have to have your car turning really good in the center and have plenty of forward drive and you'll be fine."
Will it rain … or snow?
Temperatures will be in the 40s Saturday night and could dip into the high-30s Sunday night, according to FOX Weather.
But the good news? There's less than a 10 percent chance of rain.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
recommended
Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more