There will not be a race this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium. Instead, NASCAR has moved the Clash to Monday night. Snow and winter weather in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area have caused a bit of a headache for the sanctioning body. Hey, at least it isn’t too far to travel for teams and drivers.
NASCAR made the announcement Saturday morning, well ahead of the start time scheduled for Sunday.
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Having the Clash at Bowman Gray has upsides and downsides. Downsides? Weather this time of the year can be unpredictable and, at best, is likely going to be cold, regardless. Upsides? Again, not far for teams to travel, and fans are likely to turn out regardless of when the race is held. That’s the charm of the Madhouse.
Revised Schedule and How to Watch Monday’s Clash at Bowman Gray
Chase Elliot, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney in Clash at Bowman Gray.Peter Casey-Imagn Images
(Peter Casey-Imagn Images)
NASCAR unveiled the updated schedule for Monday’s preseason race, which will officially begin at 6 p.m. ET and feature 23 drivers on the starting grid. The fastest 20 cars in qualifying will automatically advance, plus the top two LCQ finishers and one provisional “reserved for the driver who finished highest in 2025 driver points that did not otherwise advance,” per NASCAR.
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Here is a closer look at the full day:
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9 a.m. ET: Parking lots open
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11 a.m. ET: Practice and qualifying (broadcast on FS2)
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4:30 p.m. ET: Last Chance Qualifier (Fox, HBO Max, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
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6 p.m. ET: Cook Out Clash race begins (Fox)
Multiple Winter Storms Made for a Challenging Week
It is often joked that NASCAR will bring precipitation no matter where it goes. NASCAR has managed to bring rain to the deserts of Phoenix and Las Vegas in the past. This time, it takes on a new meaning. Snow had already fallen and made things difficult for race officials, hoping to have the track cleared and ready for racing. Then more snow came.
With an additional coat of snow on the ground this morning and more potentially on the way, NASCAR got ahead of things and let fans know the race is postponed. That’s not the worst move, and it has been a practice that the sanctioning body has adopted in recent years, especially when it concerns a race like the Clash, where there are no points up for grabs.
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We are going to see racing at Bowman Gray Stadium. It just won’t be this weekend. Get ready for Monday night, make sure you clock out and get home in time for the green flag. Chase Elliott won the race last year. Can he find a way to repeat, or will someone else claim the Clash trophy?
NASCAR Marketing Director Talks Delays, Fans for Clash
Of course, with these delays, there are plenty of questions that pop up. NASCAR is doing its best to answer those questions. This weekend was going to be full of racing action from the grassroots to Cup Series. Now, it’s a one-day show on Monday.
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Justin Swilling, NASCAR Sr. Director of Marketing, was able to answer some of the questions that fans may have. Clearly, the weather is not ideal, and you could argue that the location for this race at this time of the year is not ideal on the East Coast.
“In Year One, we hit the jackpot, we won the bet,” Swilling said, via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “This year, I wouldn’t say we’ve lost the bet, but we rolled the dice and unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t want us to stay on schedule.”
Is there a chance the race goes on without fans in the stands? A big part of delaying the festivities had to do with recommendations from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. So, fan safety is of the utmost importance. As far as fans versus no fans goes, Swilling say “no decision has been made not to host fans at this point.” NASCAR will do what it can to have fans in the seats, but city and state officials could have the final word.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jan 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
