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Concern surrounding NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium grows amid massive winter storm

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones01/26/26brianjones_93

The NASCAR Cup Series will unofficially kick off the 2026 season with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday, but there are concerns about the weather. Bowman Gray Stadium is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the area got around an inch of snow this weekend. TV photographer Chris Weaver shared photos of the track covered in snow.

“Bowman Gray Stadium is a snow-covered beauty,” Weaver wrote on X/Twitter on Monday. “But with 5 days until racing on the track, crews are working to clear it quickly. They were about to plow right as I took this pic. The pits were already cleared to the blacktop and looked great.”

Mike Joy, who calls NASCAR races for FOX Sports, is concerned that the cold weather could impact the race. “I’m about 10 miles from Bowman-Gray Stadium,” Joy wrote. “I-40 has one clear lane open, but no plow blade has scraped ANY of the surface streets… It’s 29 degrees at noon, and more winter weather is expected this week.”

How the cold weather will impact the NASCAR drivers competing in the Clash

The Clash will take place at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Winston-Salem on Sunday night is expected to be 15 degrees. Additionally, the National Weather Service is reporting a 30 percent chance of snow to hit the area on Saturday.

On Monday. Rudy Fugle, crew chief for William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team, spoke to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio about how the cold temperatures could impact the Clash. “How the engine is tuned is going to be completely different,” Fugle said, per Samuel Stubbs of YardBarker. “The brakes will go through that phase where normally, they’d be hot the entire time at a place like Bowman Gray. Now, it’s going to be very hard to get the brakes to want to work. 

They’ll want to crack when they do get hot. When you come in the pits, they’re going to get cold very quick. They’re going to get hot, and as soon as they cool back down, that’s terrible for the brakes.” 

The good news is the Clash is an exhibition race, so it won’t impact the standings. The season officially begins on Sunday, Feb. 15, when the drivers compete in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.