NASCAR Cup Series
Bowman Gray Stadium
Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium
Team Chevy Post-Race Report
February 4, 2026
· William Byron earned his career-best Clash finish under the Wednesday night lights of “The Madhouse” – driving his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a runner-up finish in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The 28-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native led Chevrolet to a manufacturer-leading five top-10 results – earned by four different Chevrolet organizations with Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suarez in fourth; Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon in seventh; Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain in ninth; and Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, in 10th.
· In his first start with Spire Motorsports, Daniel Suarez brought home a strong top-five finish. Securing his spot in the main event through qualifying, the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet came to life during the second-half of the race – making a quick climb through the top-10 to prove to be a contender throughout the closing laps. The 34-year-old Monterrey, Mexico, native went on to take the checkered flag in the fourth position to mark his career-best Clash finish.
· A manufacturer-leading 11 drivers representing four different Chevrolet organizations earned a starting position for the 48th running of the Clash. Picking up right where he left off, reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson, drove his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the pole position for the twice-delayed Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Electing the bottom lane to take the green flag, Larson took command of the field with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, in tow to pace the field in the opening laps. A quiet 40 laps around the North Carolina quarter-mile saw Larson already approaching lap traffic when the first caution of the race flew for debris.
· A short green flag run led to the second caution of the race for an incident in Turn Four. With a challenge for the lead on the restart from Chase Briscoe, the speed in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet prevailed to quickly find his way back to the top position. But it was Larson’s teammate, Byron, that became his next challenger, with the 28-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native making the pass for the top position on Lap 71 to lead his first laps of the race. Despite getting moved up to the high lane for the lead, Byron continued in a side-by-side battle with a hard-charging Carson Hocevar for the third position – going on to maintain the position to the halfway break.
· The return to the track was short-lived as a wintery mix took over “The Madhouse”, forcing the race back under red flag conditions – ultimately making the second-half of the event deemed a wet weather race. Enduring a string of cautions, the Chevrolet camp had a strong presence in the front of the pack throughout the next 100-lap run with the manufacturer seeing six drivers in the top-10 as the race reached 50 laps to go. With an abundance of cautions laps already logged, fuel mileage became a growing concern throughout the garage with the pole sitter, Larson, becoming the first driver to lose his position after a stout climb back into the top-10. Shortly thereafter, the race was once again red-flagged with 36 laps to go to allow teams the opportunity for a fuel-only stop – setting up for an all-out race towards the checkered flag.
Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results
Pos. Driver
2nd – William Byron
4th – Daniel Suarez
7th – Austin Dillon
9th – Ross Chastain
10th – Alex Bowman
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season officially kicks off at Daytona International Speedway with the 68th running of the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 15, at 2:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 9th
“It sure was a cold day and really cold night here at Bowman Gray Stadium. It felt great to be in the Choice Privileges Chevrolet today and it was my first race with my new crew chief, Brandon McSwain. I experienced pretty much everything out there tonight – passing cars, being bumped, spinning, a wet track for the last half. It was eventful, that’s for sure. Brandon and the guys kept working on the car all night and finally towards the end we worked our way forward to ninth. It was wild out there tonight with everything we experienced, but I’m looking forward to getting to Daytona next week for the first points race of the season. I hope it’s a lot warmer there, that’s for sure.”
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 7th
“What a fight all night from this No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet team. The rain tires saved our night. We struggled on the slicks. So when the rain and sleet came. It put us back in the ballgame and we found speed there at the end of the run. I got shipped a couple times and probably should have been in the wall, but was able to save it in turns three and four. Proud of the effort from everyone at Richard Childress Racing and it’s a good start to our season.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 4th
“Very proud of this No. 7 Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation Chevrolet team. I think that the car was very, very capable of running in the top-five. In both the dry and wet conditions, I felt like we were pretty strong. There was a lot of contact throughout the race and at one point, it started to feel like it wasn’t driving as well anymore. But overall, happy to come home with a top-five. I think this was a good start for everyone on his No. 7 team.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 19th
“The entire No. 8 zone Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet team fought hard today. We lacked grip at the start of the race, but after making changes at the halfway point we were battling our way to the front. We unfortunately got caught up in on-track contact a few times tonight and are leaving Bowman Gray Stadium with a 19th-place finish, but I’m ready to turn my focus to the Daytona 500 and getting back to victory lane.”
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 2nd
“It was just a marathon race. I feel like NASCAR did a good job with the rain conditions. I wish we would have had a practice session in the rain, just to kind of understand the characteristics a little better. It just seemed like guys were kind of using each other up. But then it started to dry up there at the end and it was fun. Overall, it was a solid finish and good start to the season for the No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet team.”
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 18th
“It was a very chaotic race. At the end of that first run, we drove up to 12th. We had good speed in the dry conditions, but immediately when we fired off in the wet, our No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet was really fast. Once the cautions started coming out every other lap, it started to become a bit of a mess. The restarts just became really chaotic and that kind of cost us track position. We were running inside the top-seven, top-eight; just got clipped in a wreck and that kind of killed our night. We had glimmers of hope, just disappointed to come home where we did considering the day and the speed that we had.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 20th
“It was a good bit of fun. There were moments of brilliance and moments that weren’t. It was cool to get to the front. We were just trying to search for the grip. The wet weather conditions were very different than what I’ve raced in Supercars, just with the way the corners are and the way the rubber lays down. But then it started to come back up again and dry up. It was pretty wild.
But all-in-all, happy with our run and it’s a good way to start the season for this No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team.”
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