Race Notes

48th running of the Clash – NASCAR’s season-opening exhibition race takes place Sunday for the second consecutive year at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Race weekend was scheduled for two days, but NASCAR postponed Saturday’s events due to expected inclement weather in the area, and all activities are now scheduled for Sunday.
Hometown Support: Kaulig Racing will field the No. 10 for Ty Dillon and the No. 16 for AJ Allmendinger. Both cars will carry the paint scheme of Grizzly Nicotine Pouches, which are owned and manufactured by the American Snuff Company, a subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., headquartered in Winston-Salem.
Grizzly Nicotine Pouches are a tobacco leaf-free nicotine product available to adult nicotine consumers nationwide (where permitted). The program also features The Fallen Outdoors organization, a non-profit that organizes outdoor adventures for veterans, Gold Star families and active-duty service members to bring together like-minded people who find comfort in each other through common interests.
Clash Preview: NASCAR fans will get an exclusive look at Clash Weekend when the all-new Clash Preview kicks off the festivities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Event Center. Serving as the official start to an action-packed weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium. The fan event will include: NASCAR Cup Series cars on display, the NASCAR Experience Stage featuring a live DJ, plus Driver and Alumni Q&A sessions. Driver and NASCAR Alumni autograph sessions. Photo opportunities with the Bobby Allison Memorial Trophy and NASCAR iRacing Simulators. Ty Dillon will sign autographs 1:15 to 2 p.m. on Friday
The Venue: The quarter-mile Bowman Gray Stadium, known as “The Madhouse” for its rough-and-tumble racing, opened in 1938 and hosted 29 NASCAR races from 1958 to 1971. Last year’s race marked the first Cup action on the track in decades.
The Race: The Clash began in 1979 on the 2.5-mile oval at Daytona International Speedway, then moved to the track’s road course in 2021, and to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 2022 to 2024, then to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025.

The Clash’s New Sunday Format/Television Schedule

Drivers will be split into three practice groups, and each group will get three practice sessions. Times in the final session will determine their starting lineup for the main event and the last chance qualifier. FS2 will begin coverage of practice and qualifying at 2 p.m. ET.
The heat races scheduled for Saturday night will no longer happen.
A 75-lap last-chance qualifier race will offer two spots in the main event for those who didn’t finish in the top-20 in qualifying. Fox will broadcast this race at 6 p.m. ET.
The final, 23rd spot, in the main event will go to the driver with the highest points who hasn’t made the race. That means Kyle Larson is the only driver guaranteed a spot in the race.
The main event will be 200 laps with a midway break at Lap 100. Only green-flag laps count. The race must finish under caution. Fox will broadcast this at 8 p.m. ET.

Veteran Returns: AJ Allmendinger begins his 18th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series Sunday in the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem. It marks his fifth season with Kaulig Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series program.
Clash Finish: Allmendinger finished ninth in the 2022 Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Rolex 24: Allmendinger finished ninth in the GTP class in the Rolex 24 on Daytona’s road course last weekend.
Career: Allmendinger is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and owns 22 top-five, 87 top-10 finishes in the division. He’s an 18-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. This year he will make his 500th NASCAR Cup Series start at Sonoma Raceway.
Kaulig Racing: The Matt Kaulig team owns two NASCAR Cup Series victories and 27 NASCAR Xfinity Series victories.

AJ Allmendinger:

“The Clash at Bowman Gray is just a cool event, and I had never been there in my life until last year. What they say is true—the Bowman Gray crowd is unique and very passionate, and it was fun to be able to see what it was all about. The energy was high, and you couple that with crazy racing, meaning you’re just going to beat and gouge on each other around that place. It’s full contact, so you just have to be mentally prepared for that going into it. I think it’s a fun kickoff event. Obviously, it’s not for points, but it is going out there for prestige. You try to win it and do the best that you can. It’s a great way to get back to racing in the No. 16 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Cup car, and it’s not far from home which is a bonus.

“The team has been working hard in the off-season. We had a good test at North Wilkesboro, and even though we unloaded and were second quick on the first run, the season is all about figuring out expectations. For me, it’s about getting in the right mindset. I put a lot of pressure on myself about how I perform because I don’t want to let people down. I’ve got to enjoy the process. The team has never put pressure on me, so I just need to focus and have fun. I’m fortunate to still be part of all this and want to have a good year for the team and our partners. We’ll go and have some fun at Bowman Gray before the regular season starts at Daytona.”

Ty Dillon Back for Year Two at Kaulig Racing: For the second consecutive year, the 33-year-old Dillon will team with long-time Kaulig Racing driver AJ Allmendinger, who will drive the team’s No. 16 NASCAR Cup Series entry.
Hometown Favorite: Dillon graduated from Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem in 2010.
Career: Dillon owns a career-best third-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in the Fall 2020 race. He’s won three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races (Atlanta in 2012 and Kentucky and Texas Speedways in 2013) and a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2014.
Only Clash Start: Dillon finished 18th in the 2021 Clash on the road course at Daytona in his only Clash start.
2025 NASCAR In-Season Challenge: Dillon authored one of the greatest “Cinderella” stories in NASCAR’s history last year. He entered the 32-driver bracket as the lowest possible seed (No. 32) and went on a miraculous run, defeating Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, and John Hunter Nemechek before losing to Ty Gibbs in the championship round, falling just short of the $1 million prize. On social media throughout the competition, Dillon jokingly called out the fans of the stars he defeated, posting: “I beat your favorite driver.”

Ty Dillon:

“The Clash is a pretty cool event for me. First, it marks our first time back in the car since November. Getting time off is always good, but after a few weeks, you get the itch to start racing again and trust me, most of us are ready to go and have this weekend circled. Getting to do it in Winston-Salem is doubly special for me. It’s where I grew up, and with Grizzly Nicotine Pouches as our sponsor this weekend, I have a company from Winston-Salem supporting me. They plan to have a lot of people in the stands, so we certainly want to put on a good show. We want to make sure we get a good qualifying lap to get into the Clash. We are just going to take it one step at a time. Who knows what can happen? There’s a reason they call Bowman-Gray ‘The Madhouse.’ I know it’s going to be cold, but I think the racing will be pretty hot on the track.”

Kaulig Racing PR