Cook Out Clash 2026 postponed to Monday due to winter storm in Winston-Salem

NASCAR postponed the Cook Out Clash from Sunday, February 1st to Monday, February 2nd due to a winter storm that covered Winston-Salem in snow over the weekend and left over 38 million people under weather alerts across four southeastern states.

The snow that covered Bowman Gray Stadium this Saturday was part of a larger winter system that left Winston-Salem under National Weather Service alerts. Accumulations of between 5 to 9 inches in the North Carolina region forced NASCAR to choose between three distinct weather scenarios for the season-opening weekend.

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The forecast for Sunday, February 1st - the original event day - projected temperatures between 5 and 12 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 to -11°C) with wind gusts of up to 32 mph (51 km/h) that would have severely complicated operations at the quarter-mile oval. Monday, while colder in actual temperature (0 to 13 degrees Fahrenheit, -18 to -11°C), will present considerably lower winds of 9 to 17 mph (15 to 27 km/h). That reduction in wind speed proved decisive for NASCAR to bet on the weekend's third day.

The daily meetings NASCAR held since January 26th with stadium representatives and local authorities responded to the need to evaluate multiple scenarios in the face of two consecutive winter storms in the region. The series' caution has immediate precedent: another recent winter event left at least 85 dead and over 200,000 homes without power in the southeastern United States. North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia maintain active emergency declarations issued by their governors.

NASCAR modified the schedule on Thursday when it determined that Saturday's forecast - 90 percent chance of precipitation with 0.34 inches (8.6 mm) of snow and sleet - would not allow any on-track activity. The organization maintained constant contact with the city of Winston-Salem to monitor how the two consecutive storms affected stadium conditions and surrounding infrastructure.

Monday's program will begin with Cup Series practice and qualifying at 11 AM Eastern Time. The 20 fastest qualifiers will advance directly to the 200-lap main race scheduled for 6 PM ET, where they will compete only under green flag conditions with a mandatory pause on lap 100 for adjustments and fuel.

The remaining 18 drivers will have one last chance to qualify in the 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier starting at 4:30 PM ET. The top two finishers in the LCQ will take the 21st and 22nd starting positions for the Clash, and the 23rd spot will be reserved for the driver with the best 2025 points position among those who didn't qualify by time or advance from the LCQ.

Kenny Wallace had stated days earlier that reports of a possible cancellation were overblown when weather models projected temperatures of 8 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (-13°C) for Sunday night's race with a 30 percent chance of light snow. At that time, the expectation was that NASCAR would run as scheduled despite the extreme conditions.

Monday's conditions will represent one of the coldest Cup Series events in recent years, although NASCAR has experience racing under extreme temperatures when the asphalt surface is clear of snow or ice and winds allow for safe operations. The organization assessed that Monday's lower winds create a sufficient safety margin for stadium operations and the event, despite the lower temperature.

The Saturday night qualifying races that were to determine 20 of the 23 starting positions were canceled along with the entire program for the local Stadium Modifieds and Stadium Sportsman divisions that traditionally open the Clash weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium.