Mother Nature has decided to throw a snow globe at Winston-Salem, and NASCAR has sensibly decided not to pretend slicks work on ice.
With a full-blown winter “snowpocalypse.” looming, Saturday’s Clash activities at Bowman Gray Stadium have been postponed out of an abundance of caution. That means NASCAR Cup Series practice, qualifying and heat races are on ice—literally—while the Madhouse Classic featuring the NASCAR Weekly Series Modified and Sportsman divisions has also been postponed, with a future date to be announced.
Not everything, however, has been sent skidding into the snowbank. Yet.
The Clash Preview at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Event Center is still on for Friday, Jan. 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The brand-new event will officially kick off the Bowman Gray weekend, offering fans unusually close access to NASCAR Cup Series cars and drivers, along with live entertainment and a general sense that racing season is, in fact, happening—despite what the weather app says.
What won’t be happening is the Clash Fan Fest across the street from Bowman Gray Stadium, which has been scrapped for the weekend thanks to the incoming Arctic nonsense.
As for the main event, NASCAR is still full steam ahead, for now. The Cook Out Clash remains scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 1. Practice and qualifying will run from 2 to 4 p.m. ET and air live on FS2. The Last Chance Qualifier follows at 6 p.m. ET on FOX, with NASCAR Race Day beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET, leading directly into the Cook Out Clash at 8 p.m. ET, also live on FOX.
NASCAR officials say they’re continuing to work closely with the City of Winston-Salem to monitor the evolving winter weather situation, presumably while staring nervously out the window and refreshing radar maps like the rest of us.
Fans holding tickets can find the latest updates at nascarclash.com/weather or by calling 855-525-7223. Gloves, boots, and a sense of humor are strongly recommended.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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