One season after there were no weather-related postponements across any of the three NASCAR national series, NASCAR was forced to alter the schedule for the 2026 preseason Cook Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium due to snow.
Some of Saturday's Cup Series action around the four-turn, 0.25-mile (0.402-kilometer) Winston-Salem, North Carolina oval has been canceled altogether, while some of it has simply been pushed back to Sunday – weather permitting, of course.
Saturday's schedule was initially set to see three groups of drivers each take two practice sessions and a qualifying session to set the starting lineups for four 25-lap heat races. The top five drivers in each of the four heat races were then set to lock into Sunday's 200-lap main event, while the other 18 drivers would be relegated to Sunday's preceding 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier.
No Bowman Gray NASCAR action being shown on Fox Sports 1
Sunday is now set to see practice and qualifying, but no heat races, meaning that the fastest 20 drivers are simply set to qualify for the main event. The other 18 drivers are still set to be relegated to the Last Chance Qualifier, and the top two drivers in that race are set to advance to the main event.
A 23rd driver is set to advance to the main event based on the 2025 point standings, meaning that Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson is locked into the race already.
The initial plan was for all of Saturday's action to be shown live on Fox Sports 1, beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET, and all of Sunday's to be shown on Fox. But with Saturday no longer a part of the official race weekend schedule, now Sunday's practice and qualifying sessions are set to be shown live on Fox Sports 2, starting at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Fox is still set to provide live coverage of the Last Chance Qualifier, which is still scheduled to begin begin at 6:00 p.m. ET, and the Cook Out Clash itself, which is still scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET. But Fox Sports 1 is no longer on the weekend broadcast schedule whatsoever.
Mike Joy is set to begin his 26th season in the Fox Sports booth as the lead announcer, alongside Clint Bowyer in his sixth season as an analyst and Kevin Harvick in his third. This weekend's race is the first of 14 on Fox's portion of the 2026 Cup Series broadcast schedule, and it is the first of six set to be shown on Fox rather than Fox Sports 1.
Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of Sunday's action from the Madhouse!