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NASCAR cup series

    

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About NASCARCelebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

Chase Elliott wins Cook Out Clash at historic Bowman Gray Stadium

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

February 2, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Pole winner Chase Elliott held off a dramatic charge from Ryan Blaney to win Sunday night’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in front of a teeming, vociferous sellout crowd at the historic quarter-mile.

 

Adroitly working lapped traffic in the closing stages of the 200-lap season-opening exhibition race, Elliott crossed the finish line 1.333 seconds ahead of Blaney, who started last among the 23 competitors on a driver points provisional.

 

Elliott claimed his first victory in the Clash, which came to Bowman Gray after a three-year stint in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet reveled in the NASCAR Cup Series’ return to the iconic short track after an absence of 54 years.

 

“This environment is special,” said Elliott, who led 171 laps, including the first 96 before surrendering the lead to eventual third-place finisher Denny Hamlin. “This is a place that has a deep history in NASCAR. I think they deserve this event, truthfully.

 

“I hope we didn’t disappoint. It was fun for me at least, and we’ll hopefully come back here one day.”

 

Hamlin led twice for 28 laps, but faded after Elliott retook the top spot from him on Lap 126. And when Blaney slipped past Hamlin’s Toyota on Lap 147, it became a two-driver race.

 

But Blaney’s car tightened up in the late going, preventing the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford from challenging for the win. Blaney thought better of making an overly aggressive move on the series’ seven-time most popular driver.

 

“I’m not going to bulldog into him and get chased out of here with pitchforks,” Blaney quipped… “I just didn't quite have enough right rear at the end to make a move on him.”

 

Joey Logano finished fourth, followed by Bubba Wallace, who advanced from his 14th-place starting position. Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, Shane van Gisbergen and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

 

Hamlin rued the final restart on Lap 121, after the seventh caution for Brad Keselowski’s spin off Wallace’s bumper.

 

“I just didn’t do very well on that restart there, and kind of lost the bottom, and Chase took advantage of it,” Hamlin said. “Once you get the lead, it’s a lot easier to hang on to it.

 

“I thought that they were just a little better that second half than we were, along with the 12 (Blaney) was as well. We just have to get a little bit better, but overall, a good day for our Sport Clips Toyota.”

 

In the last chance qualifier that determined positions 21 and 22 in the main event, Kyle Larson charged from the 10th starting position and survived nine cautions to win the 75-lap event and advance to the Clash.

 

On Lap 72, Larson grabbed the lead from Josh Berry, who was making his first competitive start for Wood Brothers Racing at the track where team patriarch and NASCAR Hall of Famer Glen Wood secured all four of his Cup Series victories.

 

Larson took the top spot for the first time on Lap 30 and led a race-high 36 circuits en route to the win. However, Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sustained damage after he surrendered the lead to Erik Jones for a restart on Lap 65.

 

In a melee moments after racing resumed, Jones spun in a three-wide mishap with Berry and Larson and dropped out of contention.

 

“My car was way better than it was yesterday,” said Larson, whose eighth-place finish in his Saturday heat relegated him to the last chance qualifier. “That was fun. I was able to get to the front without really getting into too many people.

 

“But then after that long break (for local champion Burt Myers hard wreck on Lap 61), I cycled really tight for that restart and allowed Erik to get in front of me and just kind of lost control of the race at that point. Then, the next restart, it got crazy, and I got a bunch of damage.”

 

Berry, who started 13th, held second to secure the 22nd spot in the Clash. Berry and Larson finished 13th and 17th, respectively, in the main event.

 

“It got pretty rough,” Berry said. “You hate that it comes to that, but it is what it is—it’s the Madhouse, it’s Bowman Gray Stadium, it’s a tight race track, and you’re going to run into each other.”

 

Notes: Elliott is the 26th different driver to win the Clash and the eighth different driver to win the event in the last eight years. He’s the first driver to win in a Chevrolet since Jimmie Johnson did so in 2019… This was the sixth time the Clash has been won from the pole position.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Race - Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray

Bowman Gray Stadium

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Sunday, February 2, 2025

 

                1. (1)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200.

                2. (23)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200.

                3. (3)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200.

                4. (7)  Joey Logano, Ford, 200.

                5. (14)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 200.

                6. (17)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 200.

                7. (16)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 200.

                8. (4)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 200.

                9. (10)  Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 200.

                10. (2)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 200.

                11. (12)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 200.

                12. (8)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 199.

                13. (22)  Josh Berry, Ford, 199.

                14. (20)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 199.

                15. (13)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 199.

                16. (15)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 199.

                17. (21)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 199.

                18. (11)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 199.

                19. (19)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 199.

                20. (9)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 199.

                21. (5)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 199.

                22. (18)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 198.

                23. (6)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, Steering, 120.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  40.956 mph.

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 13 Mins, 15 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.333 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 0 laps.

Lead Changes:  4 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   C. Elliott 1-96;D. Hamlin 97-115;T. Reddick 116;D. Hamlin 117-125;C. Elliott 126-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Chase Elliott 2 times for 171 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 28 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 1 lap.

 

Chase Elliott leads pole winners’ sweep of Clash qualifying races

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—It was a great night for NASCAR’s most popular driver.

 

After setting the fastest time in the final four-minute practice session and earning the top starting spot in the first qualifying heat, Chase Elliott won that heat wire-to-wire to win the pole position for Sunday’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (8 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Elliott described track position at the tight quarter-mile track as critical to success.

 

“It’s going to be tough to win from the third or fourth row,” said Elliott, who will share the front row with Heat 2 winner Chris Buescher, who led every lap of the qualifier and held off new Joe Gibbs Racing hire Chase Briscoe to claim the second starting spot in the 200-lap exhibition race.

 

“I think the first couple of rows certainly have a massive advantage on the rest of the field. Obviously, anything can happen. You all have been watching long enough to know that anything can happen, and I’m well aware of that. But I think just in a normal circumstance of people not totally crashing each other or whatever—yeah, I certainly would want to be on the first couple of rows and, fortunately, we are. We’ll try to take advantage of that.”

 

Heat 3 and 4 winners Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick will start from third and fourth on the grid, respectively. To underscore just how important starting position is, all four heat winners won wire-to-wire after posting the four fastest laps in the final practice sessions to earn their pole positions for the qualifiers.

 

The top five drivers in each heat advance to Sunday’s clash. The remaining 19 drivers will compete for two spots in a last chance qualifier that precedes Sunday’s main event. The 23rd spot in the field goes to the driver with the highest number of 2024 championship points not otherwise qualified for the Clash.

 

That provisional belongs to Ryan Blaney, who finished 10th after starting third in a wild first heat that featured three cautions in 25 laps. Kyle Larson, who started sixth and finished eighth in the second heat will have to race his way into the main event from the LCQ.

 

After battling a loose condition in his No. 17 Round Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford in the opening eight-minute practice session, Buescher benefited from adjustments made to the car based on considerable preparation time in the simulator.

 

“We had the changes ready, so when we got there and realized we were just way too loose, we were able to make quick adjustments to get in the ballpark,” said Buescher, who had failed to qualify for the main event in the last three Clashes at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

 

Joining Elliott in the main event from Heat 1 were Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain. Heat 2 qualifiers included Buescher, Briscoe, Shane van Gisbergen, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez.

 

Advancing from Heat 3 in addition to Hamlin were reigning NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano, William Byron, Carson Hocevar and Alex Bowman. Joining Reddick from Heat 4 were Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric and Todd Gilliland.

 

 

 

Saturday Bowman Gray Notebook

 

Notebook Items:

  • Ryan Blaney already has a history at Bowman Gray Stadium
  • Chase Elliott thinks the Clash has a future overseas
  • Tim Brown is fighting to prove he belongs in the Clash

 

February 1, 2025

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Ryan Blaney already has a history at Bowman Gray Stadium

 

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Ryan Blaney’s memory isn’t crystal clear when it comes to his exploits at the historic venue that will host Sunday’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (8 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Blaney was “9 or 10 years old” when he won at the quarter-mile Bowman Gray track in a Bandolero. As a small child in a small race car, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion was impressed by the magnitude of the experience.

 

“I ran here 20 years ago or so in a Bandolero, so it’s nice to be back,” Blaney said Saturday before practice and heat races at the quarter-mile. “Obviously, the reputation of this place, a lot of passionate people around the area love Bowman Gray, and the track is really historic.

 

“I think it’s a good (place) for this Clash, to have the ability to move this race around to different parts of the country, so that’s nice.”

 

To Blaney’s point, last year’s Clash completed a three-year tenure at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on a temporary quarter-mile track. At Bowman Gray, the Clash comes to NASCAR’s oldest weekly racing facility, one that is steeped in the history and lore of stock car racing.

 

Blaney grew up in nearby High Point, N.C., and had a ready-made fan base of sorts when he raced at Bowman Gray.

 

“I had a lot of friends and family that came here a lot on the weekends,” he said. “I had some buddies that were at that race, and they it was pretty cool that, ‘Hey, you ran Bowman Gray… I watched you At Bowman Gray.’

 

“Back then, in a Bandolero, this place was massive, right? It’s just funny putting it into perspective of what you don’t know. (Now) it’s the smallest place we go to with what we do.”

 

Chase Elliott thinks the Clash has a future overseas

 

From its inception in 1979 through 2021, the NASCAR Clash, which ran under a variety of appellations, was part of early-season activities at Daytona International Speedway.

 

In 2022, however, the Clash moved to the L.A. Coliseum, where Cup drivers raced on a temporary purpose-built track.

 

That move—and this year’s visit to Bowman Gray Stadium—have opened a world of new possibilities for the exhibition event, and 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott has the vision to go with it.

 

“I kind of like (the) thought of potentially getting outside of the United States,” Elliott said. “I know we’re kind of testing the waters a little bit with the Mexico City race this year, but I think the real test would be going overseas, and I think this race would be a good opportunity to do something like that, where it wouldn’t be committing to a points race, you know—somewhere that’s a long ways away…

 

“I think for me, I’m not saying one way or another, I’m just saying that everything is on the table. I’d be good either way, whether it’s here or Daytona. If they want to do it in Europe, if they want to not do it at all, I’d be fine with any of the above.”

 

Tim Brown is fighting to prove he belongs in the Clash

 

Flaring tempers and fisticuffs between drivers are expected parts of the Bowman Gray Stadium experience.

 

It’s that type of race track. Narrow and typically bottom-dominant, Bowman Gray is more likely to see passes made with bumpers, rather than with raw speed.

 

Tim Brown says he has been involved in about 10 fights during his 30-year driving career and claims to have won them all. But his racing resume is far more impressive, with 101 feature wins and 12 modified championships at the Winston-Salem track.

 

For Brown, competing against the NASCAR Cup Series regulars in the Clash represents the fulfillment of a dream, but the 53-year-old from Cana, Va., isn’t interested in running the race in the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford just to say he appeared in it.

 

“As far as being special, it’s very special just to be here, but I’m a racer and I want to win this thing,” said Brown, who has spent time in Ford’s Cup simulator to prepare for the Clash. “That’s why we’re here, and we’ve worked really hard to build the best car at RWR that we could build to put on a good show…

 

“I want to run well, and I want to show that we deserve to be here, that it’s just not a ‘Hey, let’s give this old guy an opportunity to go ride around in a Cup car.’ I feel like I deserve to be here. I’ve dedicated my whole life to racing, and I’ve worked my butt off and here we are and make the best of it.”

 

 

nascar reviews & NOTEBOOKS

www.nascar.com

Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

  

 

 

   nascar cup series

2024 NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Date

Race / Track

Network

Start Time (ET)

Radio

Sunday, February 4

Clash (L.A. Memorial Coliseum)

FOX

8:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Thursday, February 15

Duel at Daytona

FS1

7:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, February 18

DAYTONA 500

FOX

2:30 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, February 25

Atlanta Motor Speedway

FOX

3:00 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, March 3

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

FOX

3:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, March 10

Phoenix Raceway

FOX

3:30 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, March 17

Bristol Motor Speedway

FOX

3:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, March 24

COTA

FOX

3:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, March 31

Richmond Raceway

FOX

7:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, April 7

Martinsville Speedway

FS1

3:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, April 14

Texas Motor Speedway

FS1

3:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, April 21

Talladega Superspeedway

FOX

3:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, April 28

Dover Motor Speedway

FS1

2:00 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, May 5

Kansas Speedway

FS1

3:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, May 12

Darlington Raceway

FS1

3:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, May 19

All-Star Race (N. Wilkesboro)

FS1

8:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, May 26

Charlotte Motor Speedway

FOX

6:00 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, June 2

World Wide Technology Raceway

FS1

3:30 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, June 9

Sonoma Raceway

FOX

3:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, June 16

Iowa Speedway

USA

7:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, June 23

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

USA

2:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, June 30

Nashville Superspeedway

NBC

3:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, July 7

Chicago Street Race

NBC

4:30 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, July 14

Pocono Raceway

USA

2:30 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, July 21

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

NBC

2:30 p.m.

IMS/SiriusXM

Sunday, August 11

Richmond Raceway

USA

6:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, August 18

Michigan International Speedway

USA

2:30 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Saturday, August 24

Daytona International Speedway

NBC

7:30 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, September 1

Darlington Raceway

USA

6:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, September 8

Atlanta Motor Speedway

USA

3:00 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, September 15

Watkins Glen International

USA

3:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Saturday, September 21

Bristol Motor Speedway

USA

7:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, September 29

Kansas Speedway

USA

3:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, October 6

Talladega Superspeedway

NBC

2:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, October 13

Charlotte Roval

NBC

2:00 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, October 20

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

NBC

2:30 p.m.

PRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, October 27

Homestead-Miami Speedway

NBC

2:30 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, November 3

Martinsville Speedway

NBC

2:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

Sunday, November 10

Phoenix Raceway

NBC

3:00 p.m.

MRN/SiriusXM

 

2025 NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

 

Date

Race / Track

Sunday, February 2

Clash (Bowman Gray)

Sunday, February 16

DAYTONA 500

Sunday, February 23

Atlanta

Sunday, March 2

COTA

Sunday, March 9

Phoenix

Sunday, March 16

Las Vegas

Sunday, March 23

Homestead-Miami

Sunday, March 30

Martinsville

Sunday, April 6

Darlington

Sunday, April 13

Bristol

Sunday, April 27

Talladega

Sunday, May 4

Texas

Sunday, May 11

Kansas

Sunday, May 18

North Wilkesboro (All-Star Race)

Sunday, May 25

Charlotte

Sunday, June 1

Nashville Superspeedway

Sunday, June 8

Michigan

Sunday, June 15

Mexico City

Sunday, June 22

Pocono

Saturday, June 28

Atlanta

Sunday, July 6

Chicago Street Race

Sunday, July 13

Sonoma

Sunday, July 20

Dover

Sunday, July 27

Indianapolis

Sunday, August 3

Iowa

Sunday, August 10

Watkins Glen

Saturday, August 16

Richmond

Saturday, August 23

Daytona

Sunday, August 31

Darlington

Sunday, September 7

World Wide Technology Raceway

Saturday, September 13

Bristol

Sunday, September 21

New Hampshire

Sunday, September 28

Kansas

Sunday, October 5

Charlotte Roval

Sunday, October 12

Las Vegas

Sunday, October 19

Talladega

Sunday, October 26

Martinsville

Sunday, November 2

Phoenix (Championship)

 

 
       

 

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