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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 01: Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, prepares for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 01, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The countdown to the 2026 NASCAR season continues with the Cook Out Clash<\/a> set for February 1 at Bowman Gray Stadium. The exhibition race will open the year on the tight quarter-mile track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. NASCAR moved the Clash from recent venues to return the event to a short-track setting. Connor Zilisch discussed the race during a recent SiriusXM NASCAR Radio interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 19-year-old will make his first competitive laps at the historic stadium. Bowman Gray is known for close racing, frequent contact, and loud crowds. The non-points format removes championship pressure and often leads to aggressive moves.<\/p>\n Cold February weather<\/a> could also affect grip and handling. Connor Zilisch explained what stands out about the track, the fans, and the conditions as he prepares for a high-profile debut.<\/p>\n Connor Zilisch on short track chaos<\/p>\n Bowman Gray Stadium is the shortest track NASCAR will race on this season. The tight layout compresses the field almost immediately, creating nonstop traffic. Cars spend little time alone, and mistakes often involve multiple drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m super excited. Bowman Gray is for sure the shortest track we race at. Chaos is kind of the name of the game there, and the big thing is just keeping yourself out of trouble. The fans are awesome. They really make that place what it is. It\u2019s definitely one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n The venue has earned its \u201cMadhouse\u201d nickname through decades of physical racing and emotional moments. Fans sit close to the action, reacting to every bump and pass. The Cook Out Clash<\/a> places modern Cup cars into that environment, blending NASCAR\u2019s roots with today\u2019s competition. With limited space and constant pressure, track position often matters more than raw speed.<\/p>\n First-time experience at Bowman Gray<\/p>\n Connor Zilisch enters the Clash without any prior racing laps at Bowman Gray Stadium. That makes early track time important as he learns braking points, corner entry, and how traffic flows across a short run.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never raced there, so it\u2019s important to get behind the wheel and get a feel for it. Everyone loves that place, so I\u2019m excited to experience it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n The non-points format gives teams flexibility to focus on learning. Even so, the race\u2019s pace leaves little margin for adjustment. Laps pass quickly, and restarts arrive often. Drivers must balance patience with the need to gain position before getting trapped in traffic.<\/p>\n Cold conditions shape the Cook Out Clash<\/p>\n February weather<\/a> will likely shape how the race unfolds. Cold temperatures can slow tire warm-up and reduce grip, especially early in a run.<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely changes things a bit on the track and in the car. It\u2019s actually going to be pretty comfortable inside because it\u2019s usually hot when we race. Even when it\u2019s really cold outside, the car still warms up, just not as much. So it\u2019ll be nice inside the race car while the fans are freezing in the grandstands.\u201d<\/p>\n While drivers stay relatively comfortable, tire performance remains the key concern. Cold asphalt delays grip, making restarts unpredictable.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve raced stock cars in some pretty extreme temperatures before, so I know the out lap and getting the tires up to temperature will be really important. Once everything comes in, the car and tires will feel a lot better. I\u2019m excited to see what it looks like and hopefully the bad weather clears out so we can go racing.\u201d<\/p>\n With short laps, cold tires, and a no-points format, the Cook Out Clash sets an early tone for the season. The event emphasizes survival, focus, and adaptability.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Image AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 01: Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, prepares for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-437333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}