Let’s Clash… The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off with the Clash at Bowman Gray this Sunday, February 1 at the narrow quarter-mile oval inside the legendary Bowman Gray Stadium. This weekend’s event marks the 48th running of the annual non-points exhibition race, with the Winston-Salem, North Carolina track serving as just the fourth venue for the event since its inception in 1979.
Richard Childress Racing in the Clash… Richard Childress Racing has earned nine wins in the Clash, six by Dale Earnhardt (1980, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995) and three by Kevin Harvick (2009, 2010 and 2013). Prior to the Clash relocating to North Carolina in 2025, RCR had at least one driver claim a podium finish in the final three runnings of the exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (2022: Austin Dillon – third; 2023: A. Dillon – second, Kyle Busch – third; and 2024: K. Busch – second).
Coming Home… Headquartered in Welcome, North Carolina, Richard Childress Racing is only 14 miles away from Bowman Gray Stadium.
Did You Know? Richard Childress’s humble beginnings started at Bowman Gray Stadium, selling peanuts in the grandstands as a young boy. Childress then began his driving career with a $20 race car – a taxicab – competing at Bowman Gray. The now-NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner also raced at the facility in the 1971 Cup Series event and the 1972 Grand National race.
Format Loading for 2026… Although 38 drivers will attempt to make the Clash, only 23 will make it through to the 200-lap main event. Each driver has two chances to qualify for the feature. Given the revised schedule due to anticipated inclement weather in the region, the top 20 fastest drivers from qualifying will advance to the main event.
Positions 21 and 22 will be set by the top two finishers from the last chance qualifying race (75 laps). The 23rd and final starting position is reserved for the driver who finished highest in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series points standings that did not transfer on finishing position.
Catch the Action… The Clash at Bowman Gray will be televised live Sunday, February 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX, with the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 carrying the live radio broadcast.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet at Bowman Gray Stadium… Austin Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 Champion, is looking for redemption heading into this year’s Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium after narrowly missing out on advancing into the main event last year after failing to qualify in via the heat races and last chance qualifier.
Winston-Salem Roots… Dillon has lived within 20 minutes of Bowman Gray Stadium his entire life and has fond memories of watching races at the facility on Saturday nights in his youth.
About Bass Pro Shops… Bass Pro Shops, North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company, was founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris started selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri. That was the company’s sole location for the first 13 years, and it has since grown to nearly 200 retail locations throughout North America. Today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops united with Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Newsweek as “America’s Best Outdoor Retailer” for four consecutive years and “America’s Most Trusted Retailer for Outdoor Gear.”
The Winchester Legacy… Winchester is the largest small-caliber ammunition enterprise in the world and the leader in delivering innovative ammunition products to hunters, sport shooters, law enforcement, and the U.S. Warfighter. The 160-year-old Winchester® brand is built on integrity, hard work, and a deep focus on its loyal customers. Learn more about Winchester and the responsible use of its products by visiting Winchester.com or connecting with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/WinchesterOfficial.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
What do you think about the new points format and the return of the Chase to the NASCAR Cup Series?
“I think stage racing has made NASCAR a more aggressive sport than it ever was before. I was in the sport before stage racing and I think it’s made a difference in our sport. Everyone has to be aggressive from the drop of the green flag, and that’s what ends up building your points. Winning is everything, and it’s always going to be that way. I know I’m going to stay aggressive. Trophies are what I want to bring back to this organization. These people want to see us get to Victory Lane in any way possible and I owe that to the fans, the sponsors and all of the employees who come to work every day in Welcome, North Carolina.”
Are you looking forward to the Clash this year and returning to Bowman Gray Stadium?
“I can’t wait to get back there. I’m looking for a little redemption from last year, which didn’t go as well as we wanted to. Last year we missed making it into the race. Going there this year, we have a little better practice position, hopefully a little better qualifying position and if all goes according to plan we can get in the race and make some noise.”
Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone Chevrolet at Bowman Gray Stadium… Sunday’s Clash will mark Kyle Busch’s second career start at Bowman Gray Stadium. In his debut at the quarter-mile oval last season, Busch battled back after going two laps down to finish the race inside the top 15. Historically, Busch has won the season-opening exhibition race twice, both at Daytona International Speedway – on the oval in 2012 and again on the road course in 2021.
Exhibition Wins Not Limited to the Clash… Busch’s success in NASCAR exhibition races extends beyond the Clash. The Las Vegas, Nevada native also has a win in the 2017 NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Busch used an aggressive three-wide pass for the lead to earn his first All-Star victory. The win was the first for him in a NASCAR Cup Series car at Charlotte Motor Speedway and paid a $1 million-dollar grand prize.
Welcoming Jim Pohlman… This weekend’s race at Bowman Gray Stadium will mark Jim Pohlman’s debut as crew chief for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone Chevrolet. A determined competitor, Pohlman previously worked at RCR as the organization’s head of research and development. He returns to the Welcome, North Carolina based team after serving as the crew chief for the No. 7 Chevrolet with driver Justin Allgaier at JR Motorsports since 2023. During his time with the No. 7 team, Pohlman built a winning program in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series that included nine wins. He guided Allgaier to a Championship 4 appearance during their rookie year together in 2023, and followed up their first-year success with a dominating performance that led Allgaier to his first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship in 2024. His tenure with Allgaier ended in 2025 with their third consecutive Championship 4 appearance.
Starting Out Strong… Busch has scored a win, two second-place finishes and a third-place finish in four of his last five Clash races.
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KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:
What has the offseason been like getting to know your new Crew Chief Jim Pohlman? How has your relationship been developing over the last few months?
“The offseason has been good getting to know Jim, our new crew chief coming on board for this year. It’s not something I’m not accustomed to, I’ve had a few crew chiefs over the years. Fortunately for me, I have won with every single one of them, so I am looking forward to a new opportunity of working with another crew chief and having the opportunity to go out there, get some race wins, get ourselves up there in the points and contend for a Championship.
The relationship has been good. We’ve had some communication; we’ve had some sim sessions. Thankfully we actually had a really good opportunity to test in North Wilkesboro, so we were there getting some on track time and had a day to spend together at the racetrack kind of going through our dialogue, going through some changes and understanding what I would say and what the data would say, coming up with some good answers to make our racecar go faster. Jim’s been a very strong proponent of making sure we’ve got some good stuff this year.”
Where do you think that Jim Pohlman can help you now that you’ve spent a little bit of time with him?
“I think Jim’s biggest thing is keeping everyone accountable. Getting everyone in the race shop pulling the rope in the same direction. Pushing them in order to dig deeper and work harder. It’s not always just a 9-5 job. Racing in this business, especially at this level, you can be there 24 hours and still feel like you’re behind. It’s just the nature of what its all like and trying to get the most out of everybody.”
What are your thoughts going into Bowman Gray Stadium?
“Bowman Gray was really great last year. I feel like the fans really supported that race, really came out well. NASCAR’s most popular driver won the race, so that was good for everyone too. But we want to be a little bit more out front and be battling for the win. So hopefully we can be a force to be reckoned with and put our name in the hat to win this year.“
What does it mean to start the year with Bowman Gray Stadium?
“Bowman Gray is cool because it’s so short, it’s so small and the fans are right there on top of everything. It reminds me a little bit of the Summer Shootout and racing the Legends cars. It’s a real tight bull ring and hard to get around there, hard to pass with these big heavy stock cars. But we made the most of it last year and I felt like the fans came out and supported it very, very well, so I hope they do so again this year.”
Do you think after having a year of racing at this track, we’ll see some of that beating-and-banging Bowman Gray style this year?
“Yeah, I think we saw plenty of it last year. The heat races, the last chance qualifier race. There were guys crawling over guys and spinning each other out and all that stuff, so it got pretty hectic and chaotic, and even in the feature race there was some of that going on towards the back of the field. So hopefully we’re far enough up front where we don’t have to deal with much of that and we can have a nice smooth race.”
Do you expect more chaos at The Clash this season?
“I felt like last year’s Clash was a little chaotic. There were definitely some moments there where some guys were running over each other, and guys got mad at each other for no reason. You are going to hit each other. It’s inevitable, it’s going to happen. But the nature of just getting a little bump-bump and then getting mad about it and trying to retaliate, that’s just the nature of the sport I guess we are in today. Hopefully the drivers have grown up over the off season, I doubt it, but we will see what happens.”
