Four days after initially scheduled, 20 drivers have locked themselves into the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, albeit after a modified qualifying session rather than four 25-lap heat races around the four-turn, 0.25-mile (0.402-kilometer) Winston-Salem, North Carolina oval.
Three more spots are still up for grabs. The top two finishers in Wednesday afternoon's 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier, which is set to feature the 18 drivers who failed to lock themselves into the 200-lap main event earlier in the afternoon, are set to take positions 21 and 22 in the starting lineup for this evening.
The 23rd and final spot in the starting lineup is set to be awarded to the driver who finished highest in the 2025 point standings among the 16 who are not yet locked in.
3 drivers are eligible for NASCAR's points provisional
Of the 18 drivers set to be relegated to the Last Chance Qualifier, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman finished highest in the 2025 standings. He was 13th. As a result, all he needs to do is start the Last Chance Qualifier, and he is locked into the Clash itself.
But he isn't the only driver who can fall back on the points provisional. If Bowman manages to take one of the two Last Chance Qualifier spots with a top two finish, the top finisher in the 2025 standings among those not yet locked in would be Team Penske's Austin Cindric. Cindric finished just behind Bowman in 14th in the standings.
If Bowman and Cindric should both manage to finish the Last Chance Qualifier in the top two, in any order, then it would be Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry who is awarded the points provisional after his 16th place finish in the 2025 standings.
Berry is set to lead the field to the green flag, while Cindric is set to start third and Bowman is set to start fifth. If they were to finish where they start, Berry would race his way in, along with Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell in second, and Bowman would lock in via the provisional, leaving Cindric on the outside looking in.
A full starting lineup can be found here.
Fox is set to provide live coverage of both the Last Chance Qualifier (4:30 p.m. ET) and the Cook Out Clash (6:00 p.m. ET). Start a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of tonight's action from the Madhouse!