Cook Out Clash Preview: NASCAR's Kickoff to 2025

This article is part of our Weekly Preview series.

The 2025 NASCAR season will kick off with the annual exhibition race the Cook Out Clash. Most fantasy racing leagues don't recognize this NASCAR exhibition event in the fantasy racing season, but some do along with many daily fantasy racing games and racing pools that form specifically for this event and its unique format. The Clash has historically been held at Daytona International Speedway since its inception in 1979. Three years ago, NASCAR broke with tradition and moved the event to a purpose-built small oval in the Los Angeles Coliseum. The facility constructed a quarter-mile asphalt oval in the historic venue. This season, the sanctioning body departs with the temporary oval in the Coliseum and moves to the historic Bowman Gray Stadium for this Clash. Bowman Gray is a quarter-mile asphalt short track (flat) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The historic oval opened in 1937 and has played host to countless races, seasons and championships across multiple racing series.

The racing for this event will be broken down into five qualifying heat races, and then a main event. The competition is open to all NASCAR Cup Series teams, and the entry list shows that there are 39 drivers entered for this intriguing exhibition event.  The following is an outline of the competition format this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium.     

On early Saturday evening, NASCAR Cup Series competitors will take to the track for group practice sessions prior to group qualifying runs to determine the starting order for the first four scheduled heat races. The track will be open to all entrants.

Later Saturday night, on-track action will begin with four 25-lap heat races consisting of about 10 cars each. Below is a breakdown on how the heat races will be filled out:

• The top four fastest qualifiers from Saturday's qualifying session will be on the pole for each heat race, while cars that qualified fifth through eight will make up the other half of the front row in each heat.
• The remainder of each field will be filled out using this methodology (Ex. – heat one will be made up cars with qualifying positions of 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37).
• The top five finishers (20 total cars) from each heat race automatically advance through to the Cook Out Clash, with the winner of heat one winning the pole and the heat two winner earning the outside pole.
• The winners of heats three and four will fill out the second row, with the remaining order of these 16 cars being determined in the same manner.

The remaining five finishing positions from each heat (20 total cars) that did not advance will continue through to the 75-lap Last Chance Qualifying race on Sunday. Below is a breakdown on how the Last Chance Qualifiers will be filled out:

• The starting order for this event will be determined based on finishing positions in the heat races.
• The sixth-place finishers from heats one and two will be on the pole and outside pole for the Last Chance Qualifying race. The sixth-place finishers from heats three and four will be on the second row.
• This pattern will continue to fill out the field for this event.
• The top two finishers from the Last Chance Qualifying race will advance to the Cook Out Clash, filling out positions 21 and 22 of the 23 available positions.

The final spot in the Clash is reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2024 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heat races or Last Chance Qualifying race. All other drivers will be eliminated from competition in the main event.

This exhibition race will be unlike most NASCAR race weekends due to the unique venue and unique competition format for the event. The teams that show up with fast race cars right off the hauler, and with capable short track drivers will be the ones to beat. For our statistical analysis, we've looked back at the past season of short track racing to get a feel for our top contenders this week.  Below are the statistics for the last seven Cup Series events on tracks under one-mile in length.  These include Bristol, Martinsville, Iowa and Richmond.    

This race and three prior Clashes are completely different than any Cook Out Clash before it due to the extremely short track wrinkle and multiple qualifying heat race format. From the recent stats above we get a very clear picture of who has been the top performers in this style of racing the last year. We'll also cast a discriminating eye towards the results from the prior three Clashes in the Coliseum to see who has had success in this event before. Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin dominated these facilities last season. Those three drivers will be a focus of our attention this week. There are some outside contenders in the mix, and we'll visit those as well. Short track racing can get pretty wild at times, and this ovals newness and uncertainty will add to that mix. We have to keep that possibility in mind as we examine the field.

This exhibition race is unlike any of the normal Cup Series events, so we'll handle the prognostications a bit different as well. We'll give you our picks for who'll contend for the win in the Cook Out Clash main event of 200 laps. That field will consistent of 23 drivers who advance from the earlier rounds, and these are the ones who we see as the top threats to win the first race of 2025 and take the big purse in this Sunday evening spectacle.

The Contenders – Drivers in the hunt for the win

Kyle Larson – Larson has finished Top 5 in the last three Clashes at the Coliseum and he's proven his worth on the short tracks for some time now. The Hendrick Motorsports star won at Bristol last year and collected five Top-5 finishes. Larson led a series-high of 879 laps on the ovals of one-mile in size or less last year. That made him one of the more dominant short track drivers of all last season. Aside from intermediate ovals, you could make the argument that short tracks are the best ovals in Larson's resume. Coming off a victory in the pre-season Chili Bowl Nationals, Larson is already onto his winning ways early in 2025. He should be considered one of the favorites to win in NASCAR's return to Bowman Gray Stadium.

Denny Hamlin – Hamlin claimed two victories (Bristol and Richmond) last season and he even forged a runner-up finish at Richmond in the second half of last year. His five total short track Top 5's and 370 laps led were the closest to rival Kyle Larson's short track performance of 2024. The Joe Gibbs Racing star won last season's Clash at the Coliseum by leading 58 of the 151 total laps in the feature race and taking control from Ty Gibbs late. Hamlin has done well in these pre-season exhibition races dating all the way back to his first Bud Shootout in 2006. He's won a total of four pre-season exhibition races during his long career. Hamlin has won 14 of his 54-career victories on short tracks (26%) so this is in his comfort zone.

Ryan Blaney – Steady improvement over the past couple seasons has seen Blaney become a real factor in short track racing. He grabbed two wins in 2024 (Iowa and Martinsville) and grabbed three Top-5 finishes. The Penske Racing star finished a brilliant third-place in last year's Clash at the Coliseum and that was his best performance in that three-year event. Now with three of his 13-career wins coming on short track ovals, Blaney has to be taken very seriously in this form of NASCAR racing. The driver of the No. 12 Ford won the final short track races of last season which was the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. That's a great last look for this driver and team on a NASCAR short track before heading to Bowman Gray Stadium to kick off 2025.      

Christopher Bell – Bell was strong on the short tracks last season, although he didn't cash in on a win. The Joe Gibbs Racing youngster nabbed two Top-5 and five Top-10 finishes in those seven events under one-mile in size. Bell would also lead 167 total laps across those events, so he wasn't just playing follow the leader. His background prior to NASCAR was racing on dirt in Sprint Cars so he's used to bullring action. Bell is a three-time winner of the Chili Bowl Nationals, so his expertise in that craft is very high. He's just beginning to carve out a reputation on NASCAR short tracks. Bell has one win on those, but his 12.1 average finish and 59-percent Top-10 rate make those his best ovals on the tour. This could be the first Clash where Bell has a big impact.

Chase Elliott – The Hendrick Motorsports star was razor sharp down the stretch run of last season on the short tracks. Elliott grabbed consecutive runner-up finishes at both Bristol and Martinsville during the playoffs. He rides that momentum into the new season. Elliott's five Top-5 and seven Top-10 finishes on the bullrings last season made him one of the top performers in the series. He never fared that well in the previous three Clashes in the Coliseum, but the move to Bowman Gray Stadium could pay off big for the No. 9 Chevrolet team. Elliott's last two All-Star Races at the 5/8-mile North Wilkesboro were strong and impressive performances. He could be an outside contender for the win in this Cook Out Clash.

William Byron – With a short track win at Martinsville and runner-up finish last season at Iowa Speedway, Byron is squarely on our radar screen coming to Bowman Gray Stadium to kickoff the 2025 season. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet was strong last season on the small ovals with that win and runner-up effort to go along with four total Top-10 finishes on the small tracks. He ended last year's short track slate with 55 laps led and a strong sixth-place finish in the fall Martinsville event. Byron was a Top-10 finisher in all three Clashes in the Coliseum, with sixth-place being his top effort. He also seemed to qualify well for those events, and that's very important when it comes to track position on these micro-ovals. The 2025 season could be huge for this driver and team and Byron could kick things off with a win at this historic facility.          

Joey Logano – The short tracks were a bit of a mixed bag last season for Logano and the No. 22 Ford team. Still, the veteran driver would forge on and finish the playoffs strong to win the championship. Short tracks have historically been kind to Logano. Five of his 36-career wins have come on bullrings and his 12.3 average finish is on point, best of his various lineup of tracks. Logano won the inaugural Clash in the Coliseum (2022) and he finished a strong fourth-place in last season's final race on the LA Coliseum short track. That's a really good endorsement for the Penske Racing star's potential at Bowman Gray Stadium. When the lights come on and it's time for exhibition racing, Logano and this race team seem to pick up their game.     

Kyle Busch – Busch had a terrible season in 2024 and an equally bad campaign on the short tracks. However, we expect a bounce back performance from the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet in the upcoming season. Busch always has been a strong short track performer, and his performance in the last three Clashes underscores this fact. At the LA Coliseum he nabbed second-, third- and second-place finishes on that ¼-mile flat oval. Busch never tasted victory in those exhibitions but he'd be dominant in challenging the winner of all three. We expect the Richard Childress Racing veteran to adapt to Bowman Gray very quickly and perform just as skillfully. He's possibly a driver most don't have on their radar screen due to the poor 2024 performance but make no mistake he'll be a factor in the outcome of this race.