While the official start of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, marked by the 68th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, is just under three weeks away, Cup Series action is scheduled to get back underway this coming weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium.
For the second time ever, NASCAR's preseason Cook Out Clash exhibition race is scheduled to take place at the four-turn, 0.25-mile (0.402-kilometer) Winston-Salem, North Carolina oval.
The 200-lap main event is set to feature a total of 23 drivers. All drivers on the entry list are set to be split up into three practice groups, with each group getting three sessions each. Speeds from the third and final session for each group then set the starting lineups for each of the four heat races.
The top five drivers in each 25-lap heat race are locked into the main event, as are the top two drivers in the 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier, which is set to feature all drivers who did not lock in via a heat race.
Driver number 23 is locked in based on the 2025 point standings. In other words, of the 22 drivers who don't lock in either via a heat race or the Last Chance Qualifier, the one who placed highest in the 2025 standings is set to get into the main event anyway.
It means that Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson is already locked into the Clash.
Larson won the 2025 championship, beating out Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe following a late caution caused by his own teammate, William Byron, in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway, even after leading zero laps.
If Larson locks in either via a heat race or the Last Chance Qualifier, Hamlin would be locked in on points. If Hamlin locks himself in as well, Briscoe would be locked in on points, and so on.
After a disastrous heat race a year ago, Larson was still able to lock in by winning the Last Chance Qualifier from 10th on the grid.
The full entry list has not yet been solidified, though Team AmeriVet recently confirmed that they are set to return and once again field the No. 50 Chevrolet for Bowman Gray legend Burt Myers.
Cook Out Clash practice and the heat races are set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Bowman Gray Stadium beginning at 6:10 p.m. ET and 8:30 p.m. ET, respectively, on Saturday, January 31. The Last Chance Qualifier and the main event are set to be shown live on Fox beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET, respectively, on Sunday, February 1. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and be sure to catch all of the action!