February 2nd 2026

NASCAR Clash pushes to Wednesday after historic North Carolina snowfall

The Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium has been postponed to Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. ET on FOX due to historic snowfall in North Carolina over the weekend.

The National Weather Service reported Winston-Salem, North Carolina, received 8-10 inches of snow Saturday, while the Charlotte area — roughly 80 miles south of Bowman Gray and home base for most NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams — received 11 inches of snow, according to local television affiliate WCNC.

Out of an abundance of caution due to hazardous road conditions, NASCAR and the City of Winston-Salem agreed to move all on-track sessions for The Clash to Wednesday, allowing for safer travel.

“This event is for the fans, and the fans at The Madhouse are some of the most passionate fans in all of sports,” Justin Swilling, Project Lead, Cook Out Clash, said in a press release. “Moving the Cook Out Clash to Wednesday, Feb. 4, gives us the best opportunity to hold this event with fans at Bowman Gray Stadium while allowing the City of Winston-Salem to dedicate all of their resources to respond to the needs created by this historic weather event.”

NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying is set for 1:30 p.m. ET on the FOX Sports App. The Last Chance Qualifier (75 laps) will take place at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX before the Cook Out Clash at 6 p.m. ET on FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Twenty drivers will qualify into The Clash, with the top two finishers from the LCQ advancing to the main event, as well as the driver who finished highest in 2025 driver points that did not otherwise advance to create a 23-car field.

In a Sunday teleconference shortly after the postponement was announced, Swilling said the decision was made after multiple meetings with NASCAR’s senior leadership as well as officials from the City of Winston-Salem and the state of North Carolina.

“At the end of the day, this decision is made again in an abundance of caution for the fans and the competitors that are traveling to the venue,” Swilling said. “It’s mission critical that we get everyone here safely. And all of those different stakeholders — the race car drivers, the teams and, most importantly, the fans — all of those are perfect ingredients for an incredible event. We don’t feel we can have one without the other, of course. So it made a ton of sense for us to make this move and also give ourselves some additional time early in the week to ensure that all of the wintry mix between snow and ice and sleet and everything in between was cleared off all areas of the property.”

The weekend snowfall followed a storm the previous weekend that left Winston-Salem with icy conditions. NASCAR remains in communication with city officials and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, working closely to evaluate the ongoing impacts of the historic winter weather in the city and surrounding region to ensure a safe event may take place.

At Bowman Gray Stadium, NASCAR crews have worked around the clock to stay ahead of lingering snow and ice, including the removal of over 40 dump trucks’ worth of snow from the facility Saturday.

The work to maintain the racing surface will continue in the lead-up to Wednesday’s event. The pavement was almost completely dry before 3 p.m. ET Sunday, while Swilling estimated the football field was “70-80% there.” Once the track is best situated, the focus will shift to the site’s Cup Series garage area, with efforts already underway to remove snow and ice.

Most weather-impacted NASCAR events are due to lingering rain or standing water from storms. The unprecedented snowfall dealt to Winston-Salem has provided a unique circumstance as track teams best prepare the facility.

“It’s just the amount of water you’re moving, right, and the weight behind it and the mass behind it,” Swilling said. “And we’re not talking about just an inch of snow. We’re talking about eight to 12 inches of snow, depending on where you are at in the region. […] That’s a lot of snow, and that’s something that most NASCAR events don’t have to deal with. And again, a huge thanks to our operations team. They quickly informed leadership that like, ‘Hey, this is not like a rain-impacted race. This is much different, and we need to plan accordingly for such.’ And they’ve done a great job at that.”

Swilling emphasized the importance of having fans in attendance, especially at the historic quarter-mile at Bowman Gray known as “The Madhouse.”

“We explored all scenarios, but at the end of the day, we’re here for the fans,” Swilling said. “And we want to make sure that they’re a critical piece. Any time anybody’s come to ‘The Madhouse’ for an event, it’s just as much the fans as it is the competitors that makes it a show. So we explored all scenarios, but at the end of the day, we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time, wanted to give the community plenty of time as well to get over the most recent storms that we’ve had, and we felt that Wednesday was the safest time to have everybody ascend on Bowman Gray Stadium.”

Swilling also encouraged fans to dress warmly and appropriately for cold weather during Wednesday’s on-track action.

“Folks certainly need to come bundled up and warmed and dressed for the elements,” Swilling said. “We’ll certainly have some elements within our control that we can try to offer up to them if they seem to be struggling with cold weather. But I have a feeling that they’ll be quickly distracted when cars get on track and coldness won’t be a factor whatsoever. But if you are coming out, take a few layers with you.”

Parking lots will open on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. ET with off-site shuttle services beginning at noon. Gates will open at 12:30 p.m.

Race fans unable to attend a winter-weather-impacted event day may choose to receive either a 120% credit equal to the value of their order or a 100% refund. More details and information are available for ticketholders at http://www.nascarclash.com/weather or by calling 855-525-7223.

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