Ryan Preece overcomes weather and 18th-place starting spot to win Cook Out Clash
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Neither rain nor sleet nor snow nor gloom of night could keep Ryan Preece from his appointed rounds at Bowman Gray Stadium.
On wet-weather tires, on a track peppered with a wintry mix during the 100-lap break, Preece navigated the glazed asphalt at the historic quarter-mile track to win the second Cook Out Clash staged in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Historically heavy snow already had forced postponement of the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race twice, but for the 35-year-old driver from Berlin, Connecticut, the victory on Wednesday night was well worth the wait.
“I don’t even know what to say,” said Preece, tears in his eyes as he climbed from his car to the cheers of hardy fans who had braved the rain and bone-chilling temperatures. “To be honest with you, it’s been a freaking long road.
“It’s the Clash, but, man, it’s been years and years of grinding … Two years ago, I didn’t think I was going to have a job. I thought I was going back to Connecticut.”
Preece, however, secured a ride in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford after Stewart-Haas Racing closed its doors at the end of the 2024 season.
On Wednesday night, he led the final 45 laps after taking the top spot on Lap 156, muscling his way past Shane van Gisbergen after a restart four laps earlier.
In a rock ’em, sock ’em free-for-all that featured a Clash-record 17 cautions, Preece pulled away after the final restart on Lap 182 of 200 to beat runner-up William Byron to the finish line by 1.752 seconds.
Preece is the third driver to win the Clash before winning a NASCAR Cup Series points race, joining NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin in that distinction.
The modified star, who started 18th and worked his way forward before and after the halfway break, extended one streak and broke another. He is the ninth straight different driver to win the Clash, but he’s the first to win from outside the first two rows since the Clash went to a quarter-mile format at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2022.
Ryan Blaney ran third, followed by Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin. Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.
Pole winner and reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson led a race-high 67 laps to Preece’s 46, but Larson’s race fell apart after rain and sleet covered the track, leading to a 16th-place result after the change from slick tires to wet-weather rubber.
For the second straight year, Josh Berry raced into the main event from the Last Chance Qualifier. After passing AJ Allmendinger for the top spot on Lap 18 of 75, Berry led the rest of the way in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford and finished 7.419 seconds clear of runner-up Austin Cindric.
The field for the Clash wasn’t set, however, until AJ Allmendinger shoved Cindric past Corey LaJoie in the final corner, allowing Cindric to secure the second of two spots available through the LCQ.
From Lap 62 on, Cindric and Lajoie had battled for the runner-up position, with Cindric securing the inside position for the final four circuits.
“You, wanted to be on the inside, obviously, but you don’t want to pass the guy, ‘cause then he has the opportunity to get back to you,” said LaJoie, who was subbing for injured Brad Keselowski in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford.
“It was exciting. It was fun to be in the fight. I hadn’t been in a fight like that in a long time.”
Allmendinger, who finished fourth behind LaJoie, was in the mix until the finish.
“I had the plan set up perfect,” said Allmendinger, who intended to move both Cindric and LaJoie up the track on the final lap. “I just didn’t execute. I went down in there to kind of shove ‘em both out of the way, and we didn’t have enough grip to throttle back up and beat ‘em to the line.”
Berry started 21st in the Clash and finished 12th. Cindric started 22nd and ran 21st after a litany of issues.
Bowman started last (23rd) in the Clash field on a provisional as the highest finisher in the 2025 standings not already in the field though qualifying or the LCQ.
NASCAR Cup Series Race – Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray
Bowman Gray Stadium
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
1. (18) Ryan Preece, Ford, 200.
2. (2) William Byron, Chevrolet, 200.
3. (16) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200.
4. (20) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 200.
5. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200.
6. (4) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 200.
7. (15) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.
8. (8) Chris Buescher, Ford, 200.
9. (9) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 200.
10. (23) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 200.
11. (14) Joey Logano, Ford, 200.
12. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 200.
13. (5) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 200.
14. (3) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 200.
15. (12) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 200.
16. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200.
17. (11) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200.
18. (19) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet, 200.
19. (13) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 200.
20. (17) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 200.
21. (22) Austin Cindric, Ford, 200.
22. (10) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 200.
23. (7) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 199.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 21.39 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 20 Mins, 15 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.752 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 17 for 0 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Larson 1-53;C. Briscoe 54-56;K. Larson 57-70;W. Byron 71-84;C. Briscoe 85-95;T. Gibbs 96-100;C. Briscoe 101-121;C. Hocevar 122-139;S. Van Gisbergen 140-142;R. Preece 143;S. Van Gisbergen 144-155;R. Preece 156-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Larson 2 times for 67 laps; Ryan Preece 2 times for 46 laps; Chase Briscoe 3 times for 35 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 18 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen 2 times for 15 laps; William Byron 1 time for 14 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 5 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 60,24,12,7,11,19,3,17,1,48
LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER RESULTS
Race Results for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray - Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Bowman Gray Stadium - Winston-Salem, NC - 0.25 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 75 Laps - 18.75 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Wednesday, 2/4/2026 @ 05:14 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 75 0 Running 2 64
2 3 2 Austin Cindric Freightliner Ford 75 0 Running
3 4 6 Corey LaJoie Solomon Plumbing Ford 75 0 Running
4 8 16 AJ Allmendinger Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet 75 0 Running 1 11
5 10 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 75 0 Running
6 15 38 Zane Smith Long John Silver's Ford 75 0 Running
7 13 4 Noah Gragson TrueTimber Ford 75 0 Running
8 12 10 Ty Dillon Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet 75 0 Running
9 14 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chef Boyardee Chevrolet 75 0 Running
10 16 43 Erik Jones Advent Health Toyota 74 0 Running
11 2 71 Michael McDowell Workforce Chevrolet 74 0 Running
12 9 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Chevrolet 73 0 Running
13 17 66 Chad Finchum Garage 66 Ford 73 0 Running
14 18 50 Burt Myers(i) Tibbetts Lumber Chevrolet 73 0 Running
15 7 51 Cody Ware Evel Knievel Museum Chevrolet 73 0 Running
16 6 35 Riley Herbst Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota 72 0 Running
17 5 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 56 0
18 11 34 Todd Gilliland Dairi-O/Jerry Hunt Supercenter Ford 47 0
Fastest Lap Bonus: # lap 12 / 14.518
21
,
Time of Race: 0 Hrs, 23 Mins, 49 Secs. Average Speed: 47.236 MPH Margin of Victory: 7.419 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10:
Stage 2 Top 10:
Race Comments: N/A
Failed to Qualify: (15) 6 Corey LaJoie, 16 AJ Allmendinger, 42 John Hunter Nemechek, 38 Zane Smith, 4 Noah Gragson, 10 Ty Dillon, 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 43 Erik Jones, 71 Michael McDowell, 41 Cole Custer, 66 Chad Finchum, 50 Burt Myers(i), 51 Cody Ware, 35 Riley Herbst, 34 Todd Gilliland.
Caution Flags: 1 for 1 laps; Laps: 5-5 ( [None]).
Lead Changes: 2 among 2 drivers; J. Berry 1-5; A. Allmendinger 6-16; J. Berry 17-75.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: February 12, 2026 - Daytona International Speedway
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