CLASH AT BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM
Sunday, February 1 – NASCAR Cup Series, 8 p.m. ET (FOX, MRN, SXM)
For the second year in a row, the NASCAR season will kick off at one of the sport’s most historic venues as Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC, hosts the Clash at Bowman Gray this weekend. The half-mile track hosted its first series event in 1958 and continues to be a popular place for its weekly racing series events each summer.
LOOKING AT THE 2026 FORD CUP LINEUP
There have been no changes in the Ford driver lineup for 2026 as all 10 drivers return to their respective teams. The only difference this weekend is that Corey LaJoie will be behind the wheel of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse as Brad Keselowski continues to recover from a broken leg he suffered during a skiing accident in December. LaJoie has competed in the Clash one previous time, finishing 17th in 2024 while driving for Spire Motorsports. Keselowski is expected to be ready for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15.
Driver – Car Number (Team)
Austin Cindric – No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Team Penske)
Noah Gragson – No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Front Row Motorsports)
Brad Keselowski – No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (RFK Racing)
Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Team Penske)
Chris Buescher – No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (RFK Racing)
Josh Berry – No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Wood Brothers Racing)
Joey Logano – No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Team Penske)
Todd Gilliland – No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Front Row Motorsports)
Zane Smith – No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Front Row Motorsports)
Ryan Preece – No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (RFK Racing)
FORD CLASH HISTORY
The Clash has been held in some form since 1979 and Ford has won it 10 times by seven different drivers. The best stretch in the event for Ford undoubtedly came during a three-year winning streak in which Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and Dale Jarrett all reached victory lane from 1998-2000. Jarrett owns three of Ford’s 10 victories (1996, 2000, 2004) in the event and on two of those occasions (1996 and 2000) he went on to win the Daytona 500.
LOGANO WINS INAUGURAL CLASH AT THE COLISEUM
For the first time in NASCAR history, the Clash was held at a place other than the Daytona International Speedway as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted the event on February 6, 2022. The specially-made quarter-mile asphalt track delivered in the main event as Logano, who won his heat race, passed Kyle Busch on lap 116 and led the final 35 to become only the second Ford driver to win the Clash more than once. Logano, who also captured the event in 2017, joined Dale Jarrett (three-time winner) with multiple Ford victories.
ELLIOTT CLAIMS FORD’S FIRST CLASH VICTORY
Bill Elliott became the first Ford driver to win a non-points event in the NASCAR Cup Series on February 8, 1987 when he captured the Busch Clash. The format that year was a single 20-lap run (50 miles) with no pit stop required. Elliott, who started on the pole in his No. 9 Coors Thunderbird after a blind draw, fell back to sixth on the start following a first lap accident involving Terry Labone and Ricky Rudd. On the ensuing restart, Elliott steadily reeled in leader Darrell Waltrip and passed him on lap eight. Elliott led the final 13 laps and won with an average speed of 197.802 mph, a record that still stands for the event. A week later, Elliott won his second Daytona 500.
FORD’S HISTORY AT BOWMAN GRAY
Ford has won more NASCAR Cup Series races at Bowman Gray Stadium than any other manufacturer. In the 29 races held at the half-mile track, Ford has 12 victories. The list of Ford winners is a virtual Hall of Fame lineup that includes Glen Wood, who leads the way with four, including three straight during the 1960 season. Junior Johnson is next on the list with three while David Pearson, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison have one Ford win each. NASCAR officially recognized Allison’s 1971 victory last October, upping his career win total to 85 and moving him into fourth on the all-time list. That also represents the first official series victory for Mustang.
FORD CUP WINNERS AT BOWMAN GRAY
Jim Reed – March 30, 1959
Glen Wood – April 18, 1960
Glen Wood – June 25, 1960
Glen Wood – August 23, 1960
Glen Wood – July 13, 1963
Marvin Panch – March 30, 1964
Junior Johnson – August 22, 1964
Junior Johnson – May 15, 1965
Junior Johnson – August 28, 1965
David Pearson – August 10, 1968
Richard Petty – August 22, 1969
Bobby Allison – August 6, 1971
FORD’S CLASH WINNERS
1987 – Bill Elliott
1992 – Geoffrey Bodine
1996 – Dale Jarrett
1998 – Rusty Wallace
1999 – Mark Martin
2000 – Dale Jarrett
2004 – Dale Jarrett
2017 – Joey Logano
2018 – Brad Keselowski
2022 – Joey Logano
As the spirit of America, the Ford Mustang is the world’s best selling sports car and one of the planet’s most popular race cars. With Mustang-based race cars competing in international sports car competition (GT3 and GT4), NASCAR, NHRA, Formula Drift, in Supercars, at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and in its own bespoke regional one-make series – Mustang Cup and Mustang Challenge – the platform has an unprecedented global reach. This weekend, 10 Mustang race cars are scheduled to race across all disciplines. Learn more about Mustang at www.FordRacing.com .
