Winter weather is the talk of the NASCAR world this week as Cup Series teams prepare for what will be a chilly weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

However, the potential for snow could derail the exhibition Clash at Bowman Gray, and while NASCAR’s current plan is to race as scheduled this weekend, but it was reported on Tuesday that there is a chance that NASCAR might have to change around the weekend schedule depending on the weather. 

What contingency plans could NASCAR have? 

Obviously, the ideal situation for NASCAR and its teams is that the weekend is able to happen as scheduled. 

But if that doesn’t happen, there are a few options that NASCAR would have at its disposal. 

The first is the most common occurrence in the event of a postponement due to weather: running the race on Monday. While still cold, the forecast for Feb. 3 looks clear in Winston-Salem, and from a logistical standpoint, that would be the easiest option. 

On the other hand, should the forecast look more favorable for Saturday than Sunday, NASCAR could do what it did at the 2024 Clash at the L.A. Coliseum by moving the main event up to Saturday evening in advance of impending inclement weather.

But if NASCAR wanted to wait until it warmed up — at least into the low 40s — it could also opt to race on Feb. 4 or Feb. 5. Cup Series teams aren’t set to get to Daytona Beach, Florida, for Speedweek until Feb. 10, which gives NASCAR more leniency in regard to a potential mid-week race at Bowman Gray. 

NASCAR would also have the option of pushing the race back until Saturday, Feb. 7 — assuming it doesn’t want to race on Super Bowl Sunday — and giving the Bowman Gray crowd the opportunity to see a race on a weekend rather than a weekday.

Other options

However, with looming cold temperatures and snow that could stick to the ground early next week, NASCAR might have to switch the race to a different facility. 

Of course, the easiest logistical option for that would be an extra trip to Daytona. 

Daytona hosted the Clash on the 2.5-mile superspeedway layout from 1979-2020 before hosting the exhibition race on the road course in 2021. Either layout would be at NASCAR’s disposal for the race, and given the similarities between NASCAR’s current short track and road course packages for the Next-Gen car, it might make more sense to run the Daytona road course rather than the oval, especially in advance of the Daytona Duels, the Daytona 500 and another drafting race at Atlanta in a two-week span. 

But if NASCAR were to have to change venues, when would it run the race? 

Running the Clash on Sunday at Daytona or any other venue would put an immense logistical strain on teams and the rest of the industry, leaving a mid-week show or the aforementioned Feb. 7 date as the more likely solution if a venue change was necessary. 

At the end of the day, it’s up to Mother Nature to decide NASCAR’s schedule for this weekend.