WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The return of NASCAR Cup Series cars to the track from an extended offseason slumber will have to wait, this after winter weather that blanketed Bowman Gray Stadium forced a delay to the Cook Out Clash exhibition.
When the preseason event does get going, expect another wintry mix: anticipation and the unknown.
“I’m ready,” said Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell, who joined other Cup Series aces making the rounds at Friday’s Clash Preview fan fest. “Every time you get to this time of year, everybody’s anxious to get going. Certainly, we have a short break, but it feels really long whenever you get to the end of January and everybody’s anxious to get in the cars.”
With the NASCAR industry bracing to dig out from Saturday’s accumulated snow, the second running of The Clash on the historic quarter-mile track has been pushed back until Wednesday. The single-day show is set to culminate with a 6 p.m. ET main event on FOX, moved up two hours from its originally scheduled go time, and the preliminary on-track activity has been streamlined to accommodate the earlier start.
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Practice and qualifying is still a go, set for a 1:30 p.m. ET Wednesday kickoff (FOX Sports App), but the four 25-lap heats that were scheduled to determine the 23-car field have been scrapped. Instead, qualifying will determine the top 20 starters, with two additional spots going to the first finishers in a 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier race (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX) and a final provisional berth to the top driver in 2025 Cup Series points who hasn’t otherwise locked into the field.
The revisions to the Clash procedures should only increase the importance of already crucial pre-race track time.
“Yeah, certainly it changes the format a little bit,” Bell said Friday, on the eve of the winter storm. “I read that we will not have heat races now, so probably makes qualifying a little bit more important, and it goes really fast. So we get two practice sessions and then you go right out for qualifying. You have to be really sharp on your changes that you make to your car, what you’re asking for, and the crew chief has to do their job to hit the qualifying balance right. So yeah, whenever you have that heat race, it adds essentially another practice session and if you qualify bad, you’re able to improve your starting position through those heat races. So it changes the format a little bit, but it’s the same for everybody, and everybody knows what the challenges will be.”
The other demand that teams will face is a new Goodyear tire combination, with left-side rubber that’s designed to promote wear making its debut. The new setup should bring tire management into greater focus, but there’s also uncertainty — not only about the tire, but in how it might react to racing in frigid weather conditions.
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In theory, cooler track temperatures often equal more grip, but an extreme level of cold may alter that conventional wisdom.
“I mean, with the temperatures potentially below freezing, right, it’s definitely an unknown for us,” said Paul Wolfe, crew chief for Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford. “I think we’d be kind of guessing a little bit if we really felt like we understood. It’s interesting, because we’ve seen these tires, this aggressive tire we’ve gotten to here over the last couple years with this car doesn’t always react like we’re expecting, so I think that’s what makes it even a bit more of an unknown. Typically, we’ve seen here lately, the acceleration of the wear go up with the colder temps, so I think that’s something to be mindful of. From the conversations I’ve had, I guess Goodyear feels from a durability standpoint, they feel fine with the cold temps, but like I said, it’s still an unknown because we’ve gone to different tracks, and it doesn’t turn out like what we’re expecting. So I think you know, just being fluid with it and being prepared to adapt is — from a racing standpoint, from my side — is all we can do.
“We know we push the limits from a durability standpoint with these cars, and I think being mindful of that with the colder temps, does that look different, and where we’re at on air pressures and those types of things is really what we’ll be thinking about when we see exactly when we’re going to get on track. Once everything kind of comes up to temperature, I’m sure the grip level may be down some amount, but I don’t really know. It’s hard to say.”
Wolfe said there’s some allure to facing the unknown, bringing that search for speed to a relatively new Cup Series venue under challenging conditions. Defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson noted that drivers may not have to adjust quite so radically to the weather, once engines finally fire and the in-car temps rise.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever competed when it’s that cold, but thankfully for us, we’re inside of a stock car, which is basically like a oven, so that’ll help,” Larson said Saturday, before the schedule pushed back to midweek. “I think, honestly, I think it’ll feel fine for us inside the car. I wouldn’t be surprised if you still break somewhat of a sweat in there, just because all the temps from internally and it’s not windy in there because we’re going so slow. But yeah, I just feel for the crews and mechanics and fans and NASCAR officials, everybody who’s there outside in the cold. We love the sport, and we’ll compete in any conditions, I think. I honestly just look forward to the challenge, and seeing kind of how the race plays out and seeing what teams can step up.”