Editor’s note: This story was published before it was known that Sunday’s on-track activity would also be postponed.
As winter weather continues to disrupt plans for the 2026 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, NASCAR officials are working around the clock to prepare the facility while balancing safety, logistics and competitive integrity.
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NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst said the organization has monitored forecasts closely throughout the week, consulting multiple weather services and delaying decisions as long as possible in hopes that conditions would improve.
“We‘ve been following the weather forecast all week,” Probst told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Friday morning. “… We waited as long as we could to make the call on Saturday, but unfortunately, we had to pull the plug on Saturday activities and then see the approach to see what actually does hit us so they can make the call for Sunday.”
MORE: Updated Clash schedule
With snowfall and ice affecting Winston-Salem and surrounding areas, track preparation has become only one part of a much larger challenge. Probst emphasized that clearing the racing surface is often manageable in short order, but ensuring safety across the entire facility and in-and-out logistics are far more complex.
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“It‘s actually pretty quick for us to clean the track off and get the surface of the track ready to go,” he said. “But you‘ve got the whole facility. You’ve got to park cars, places for the fans to see it. We‘ve got to be able to get emergency services in and out of there. Not just for us, but for the city. The city of Winston-Salem’s a great host to us, and we’ve got to make sure that that city continues to operate. So there’s all kinds of things that go into that decision.”
Local officials, track personnel and NASCAR staff have been working together to clear snow and ice, using specialized equipment normally reserved for race cleanup, deployed in parking lots and pedestrian areas. Probst praised the collaborative effort, noting that Speedway Motorsports and Charlotte Motor Speedway have provided equipment and manpower to assist.
“Just the amount of work going on up in that area right now to get that facility ready to race is just incredible. I couldn’t be more proud of them, the crew that’s out there. I mean, they’re using the jet dryers and the downdrafts to clear the parking lots. Probably a good story just in that alone; the work going on there to get that track ready.”
The sanctioning body did weigh, and continues to evaluate, a multitude of options for this year’s Clash, including even perhaps running the exhibition event at its former home — Daytona International Speedway. Probst explained, however, the unfeasibility of that scenario, from several angles.
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“We went through the full alphabet of options to make sure we put on a good show for our fans. You look at, you know, next Saturday and you look at going to Daytona, you look at the engines, the transaxles that are in the cars, what are all your options? … You look at the cars themselves. Right now the cars are configured for a short track within the 750 horsepower engines. And obviously you’re geared for that. So if you say, let’s just pivot to Daytona, you have two options. You can say, let’s run the oval, let’s run the road course. The Rolex 24 just put on a fantastic show down there … the most attended Rolex 24 in history.
“… Well, we could run the 750 down there. The other thing is the ‘Great American Race,’ the Daytona 500’s coming up here real soon, and (track president) Frank Kelleher and crew down there, they’re getting ready for campers in the infield down there and stuff. So that kind of rules out the road course. … So then you’re left with the oval. Once you go to the oval, now you’re on the super-speedway engines. … We race Daytona, we race (EchoPark Speedway) the week after. So there’s a pool of probably 100 or more engines that are put aside right now in the engine shops for the 500 and the EchoPark Speedway race, that follows it up right the week after. So you run into really a supply issue of engines to swap them out and like basically no time’s notice. So that’s not really all that appealing.
“And then if we look at the weather forecast in Orlando, Daytona area, that’s not spectacular either. They could be 20 degrees in Orlando this weekend. So, there certainly is no just shining oasis in the desert, ‘let’s just go here and all will be well.’ So, yeah, just a lot goes into it.”
NASCAR has also adjusted its competition format to preserve practice and qualifying sessions while eliminating heat races, a decision made in consultation with teams and competition leaders.
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“A lot of times they will circle up with a lot of the competition directors and crew chiefs on the race teams and they will go through and prioritize, ‘OK, guys, is it more important for you to practice and qualify? Or do you want to just line up and do the heats and main? We work hand-in-hand with our teams to figure out, one, what is the most fair way to do it from a competition standpoint? … It’s a mix of what’s good for competition and what’s good for the fans. So, we felt like abandoning the heats and getting some practice and qualifying will give our competition some laps perspective to the best they do to put on a good show.”
Fan experience also remains central to NASCAR‘s decision-making. Despite Saturday‘s postponement, inspection and fan events at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds have continued, allowing fans to see Cup Series cars up close.
“Our fans are our number one concern,” Probst said. “We know we have fans coming in from all over to see this or that, and we just have got to be careful that we make the right decision for them.”
Looking ahead, NASCAR remains flexible, working closely with broadcast partners, teams and city officials to determine when racing can safely begin. For now, NASCAR officials continue to monitor conditions and prepare the facility, with a focus on delivering a safe, competitive and entertaining event once circumstances allow.
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“(FOX has) been great partners and been flexible with us, and if we do get a lot of snow, working with them, we want to be ready to go Monday. We’ll be ready to go Tuesday, be ready to go on Wednesday. So we will fight this,” said Probst.
“It’s like the good old American spirit. We’ll deal with whatever’s thrown at us, and we’ll make this happen.”
