NASCAR: One driver has already qualified for the Clash
By Asher Fair
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is unofficially scheduled to get underway this Sunday, February 2 with the preseason Cook Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium, marking the venue's first Cup Series race since 1971.
A total of 23 drivers are set to compete in Sunday night's 200-lap main event at the four-turn, 0.25-mile (0.402-kilometer) Winston-Salem, North Carolina oval.
One of them has already been determined, even before the four 25-lap heat races on Saturday night and the 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier on Sunday evening.
Team Penske's Joey Logano is locked into this year's Clash.
Five drivers are set to qualify from each heat race. The heat race lineups are set to be determined by the practice speeds, and the top five drivers from each of the four races lock themselves into the main event, bringing the total to 20.
All drivers who fail to qualify via a heat race must compete in the Last Chance Qualifier. The top two drivers in that race also advance to the main event, bringing the tally to 22.
The 23rd driver is slated to be the driver who finished highest in the 2024 Cup Series point standings among the drivers who are not already locked in. Because Logano won last year's championship, he is locked in regardless.
Should Logano lock in via a heat race or the Last Chance Qualifier, then teammate Ryan Blaney would be locked in regardless, due to his runner-up points finish from 2024. Should Logano and Blaney lock in via a heat race or the Last Chance Qualifier, then Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron would lock in, due to his third place finish in points from last year. You get the idea.
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Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live coverage of the heat races from Bowman Gray Stadium beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 1. Fox is set to provide live coverage of the Last Chance Qualifier beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 2, as well as the Cook Out Clash itself beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET later in the evening. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the action!
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