NASCAR: The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium format explained

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off this weekend with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

The non-point scoring event is the traditional curtain raiser of the season and dates all the way back to 1979.

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Introduced and held at Daytona International Speedway for most of its existence, The Clash was initially an event for the Cup Series' pole winners from the previous season. However, since then, the event has evolved, including two changes of location.

In 2022, for example, The Clash was moved to Los Angeles Coliseum, whilst for 2025, it is heading to Bowman Gray Stadium, bringing the Cup Series back to the track for the first time since the 1970s.

The format for the race has now been confirmed, too, all of which we have explained below.

READ MORE: 2025 NASCAR Cup Series at Bowman Gray Stadium: The Clash start times, schedule and TV channels

Cook Out Clash format explained

First and foremost, the race is set to take place over 200 laps and feature just 23 drivers meaning many entrants will not feature in the main event on Sunday.

In terms of practice, given the circuit is just 0.25 miles long, the entrants will be split into three groups, with each group set to have three practice sessions.

These are important, however, with each driver's fastest lap from their final practice session determining the starting lineup for one of four 25-lap heat races.

These practice groups have been assigned based on owner points and are as follows.

Group 1

William Byron Kyle Larson Alex Bowman Daniel Suárez Ty Gibbs Bubba Wallace Carson Hocevar Riley Herbst Noah Gragson Ty Dillon Austin Dillon Ryan Preece Tim Brown

Group 2

Ryan Blaney Christopher Bell Denny Hamlin Austin Cindric Shane van Gisbergen Chris Buescher Kyle Busch Todd Gilliland Cole Custer Erik Jones Justin Haley John Hunter Nemechek Burt Myers

Group 3

Joey Logano Tyler Reddick Chase Elliott Chase Briscoe Brad Keselowski Josh Berry Ross Chastain Zane Smith Ricky Stenhouse Jr. AJ Allmendinger Michael McDowell Cody Ware Garrett Smithley

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The order of the heats will be set as per these NASCAR rules: "The fastest driver in final practice will start from pole position in Heat 1; the second-fastest driver will start from the pole in Heat 2; the third-fastest driver will start from the pole in Heat 3, and so on."

Crucially, only green flag laps in these heats will count. The top five drivers in each heat will advance to Sunday night's Cook Out Clash.

Of course, that would still leave three spots remaining for the race, with drivers having one other shot at gaining entry in 'last chance qualifying' on Sunday afternoon. Last chance qualifying consists of a 75-lap race, with only green laps counting, just like the heats. The top two finishers in this race will advance to compete in the main event later that night.

The 23rd and final spot on the Cook Out Clash grid will be awarded to the driver who finished highest in the 2024 driver points standings and who did not already qualify for the main event.

The grid for Sunday's 200-lap main event are set by the results of the heat races, with the winner of heat 1 on pole, the winner of heat 2 starting second, and so on. Just like the qualifying heats and last chance race, only green laps will count and the event must finish under the green flag, too. There will also be a timed break observed after 100 laps.

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NASCAR The Clash: Cook Out Clash start times

The 200-lap race kicks off on Sunday, February 2nd, 2025 at 8pm ET. Here are the race start times converted to your time zone:

Eastern Time (ET): 8pm Sunday
Central Time (CT): 7pm Sunday
Pacific Time (PT): 5pm Sunday
United Kingdom (GMT): 1am Monday
Central European Time (CET): 2am Monday

Fox will broadcast the race with radio coverage from MRN and SiriusXM

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