Clash Event Info:
Date: Sunday, February 2
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Format: See Below
TV: FOX
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 6:10 p.m. ET, Practice/Qualifying (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 8:30 p.m. ET, Heat Races Begin (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 6 p.m. ET, Last Chance Race (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 8 p.m. ET, Clash (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- The 2025 season unofficially begins this weekend as the Clash at Bowman Gray takes place Sunday in Winston-Salem.
- This is the first year of the Clash taking place at Bowman Gray Stadium, marking the Cup Series’ first return to the historic Bowman Gray Stadium since 1971.
- The format for the Clash remains similar to the 2024 edition held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as 23 cars overall will make the main event.
- Saturday features three practice sessions with entrants split into three groups. The fastest lap time in each car’s final session will determine the starting lineup for the four heat races, meaning no separate qualifying session will take place.
- The 25-lap heat races will feature up to 10 cars per race, with only green-flag laps counting in each heat with no overtime allotment.
- The top five finishers in each heat will automatically advance to Sunday night’s main event, while the drivers that finish below fifth will advance to Sunday’s last chance qualifier (LCQ). Starting positions for that race will be determined by the finishing order in the heats. The top two finishers in the LCQ will advance to the Clash and start 21st and 22nd, respectively.
- The 23rd and final position in the Clash is reserved for the driver who finished highest in the 2024 season points standings that did not otherwise transfer via the heat races or LCQ.
- The Clash will be 200 laps and feature those 23 cars.
41 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: HaasTooling.com
Custer in the Clash
Starts: 2
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —
Custer has two starts in the annual Clash event with a best finish of seventh back in 2022. He finished 20th in 2021 in Daytona.