NASCAR Adjusts Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium Schedule Due to Weather
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – NASCAR has modified the schedule for this weekend’s exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium, anticipating more ice and snow in the area.
Originally, the Clash was scheduled as a two-day event, starting on Saturday with the main event on Sunday night. However, the roads in the area are still not completely cleared from last week’s ice storm, and more inclement weather is expected in the coming days, with the possibility of up to 12 inches of snow on Saturday and a winter storm warning in effect until 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
To adapt to these conditions, NASCAR has postponed all track activity on Saturday and will now hold the Clash as a single-day event on Sunday. The hope is to start with practice at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
NASCAR is confident that, even with the low temperatures, Goodyear tires will provide sufficient grip on the quarter-mile track of Bowman Gray Stadium to race on Sunday at 6 p.m.
The event’s realization will depend on the amount of snow that falls on Saturday. If the Clash cannot take place on Sunday, NASCAR seems prepared to hold the event on the next possible clear day, as the teams head to Daytona Beach, Florida, around February 9th to begin preparations for the Daytona 500, which kicks off the season.
With Clash now reduced to a single day, the format will be as follows:
- The drivers will be divided into three practice groups, and each group will have three practice sessions. The times in the last session will determine the starting grid for the main event and the last chance race.
- Saturday’s heat races have been canceled.
- Sunday’s last chance race, of 75 laps, will offer two spots in the main event for those who did not finish in the top 20 in qualifying.
- The final spot, 23rd, in the main event will be for the highest-scoring driver who has not qualified for the race. NASCAR two-time champion Kyle Larson is the only driver guaranteed a spot.
- The main event will consist of 200 laps with a halfway break on lap 100. Only green flag laps will count.
