Cook Out Clash format revealed

Yesterday at 12:37 PM

The Cook Out Clash’s Sunday night feature event will feature 23 drivers as NASCAR Cup Series racing returns to Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time since 1971.

NASCAR released the format of the Feb.ruary2 exhibition event on Tuesday, keeping with a similar format from the last few seasons. The field will be set by heat races and a last-chance qualifying event.

The format is as follows:

· There will be four heat races, with the speeds from the final practice will setting the heat race lineups. The field will be split into three practice groups with three sessions on track. The fastest qualifier will be on pole for the first heat race, the second fastest will be on the pole for the seat heat, and so forth.

· The heat races will be 25 laps each with only green flag laps counted. There will be no overtime option. The top five finishers from each race will advance into The Clash.

· The drivers who do not advance through the heat races will go into the Last Chance Qualifier. The LCQ will be 75 laps with only green flag laps counted. Once again, there will be no overtime option. The top two finishers from the LCQ will advance into The Clash.

· The Clash will be 200 laps with 23 drivers in the field. NASCAR will only count green flag laps and the race must finish under green flag conditions. There will be a timed break at the halfway point of the race (Lap 100).

· The 23rd spot in The Clash will be reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2024 driver point standings who did not already advance into The Clash through the heat races or LCQ.

The practice/qualifying session and the heat races will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 on Saturday, Feb. 1. The Last Chance Qualifier and The Clash will be broadcast on Sunday, Feb. 2.

Denny Hamlin won The Clash at the L.A. Coliseum in 2024, the third and final year it was held on the West Coast.