And so it begins – and we're not talking about the long-awaited October shift from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval back to the oval.
One year after there were zero weather-related postponements across the three NASCAR national series, we couldn't even get to the preseason Cook Out Clash Cup Series exhibition race without snow, of all things, making an early impact on the 2026 calendar.
Due to some weather forecasts calling for up to a foot of snow in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, NASCAR has canceled the four 25-lap heat races at Bowman Gray Stadium that were scheduled to take place on Saturday, and they have moved Saturday's preceding practice and qualifying sessions to Sunday afternoon instead.
Saturday is no longer scheduled to feature any on-track action around the four-turn, 0.25-mile (0.402-kilometer) Madhouse.
NASCAR changes Bowman Gray Clash schedule
The fastest 20 (of 38) drivers in qualifying are now set to advance to the main event, rather than the top five finishers in each of the four heat races, while everybody else is set to advance to the Last Chance Qualifier. The top two drivers in that 75-lap race are set to advance to the 200-lap main event.
A 23rd driver is set to advance to the main event based on the 2025 points provisional, meaning that Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson is effectively already locked in.
Of course, it goes without saying that this is all subject to change. Just because NASCAR hasn't canceled the event altogether doesn't mean that that possibility isn't still on the table. It all ultimately depends on the weather.
Or perhaps if the famous "Vortex Theory" can be applied to snow, too.
But in all seriousness, unlike in 2024, when NASCAR ran the Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum a full day early due to the forecasted torrential rain, that is not a feasible option this time around.
As of now, Fox Sports 2 is set to provide live coverage of practice and qualifying at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, while Fox is set to take over with live coverage of the Last Chance Qualifier and the Cook Out Clash itself at 6:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to start a free trial of FuboTV to catch all of the action – if, of course, it actually happens!