The NASCAR Cook Out Clash Is Returning To Bowman Gray Stadium In 2026

NASCAR is heading back to The Madhouse.

NASCAR has confirmed that the season-opening Cook Out Clash will be held at Bowman Gray Stadium for the second year in a row on Feb 1, 2026.

NASCAR moved the exhibition event to the Winston-Salem track in 2025 after three years on a temporary track inside of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

NASCAR operates the city-owned venue in Winston-Salem, which incorporates a quarter-mile paved oval around a football field used by Winston-Salem State.

The 2025 Cook Out Clash was the first NASCAR national series event held at the track since 1971. The quarter-mile size can’t accommodate a full 36-car field in the current era, but the Clash is comprised of heat races and a 23-car feature.

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“We wrote a new chapter in the storied history of motorsports at Bowman Gray Stadium with the Cook Out Clash this year,” Joey Dennewitz, Managing Director, NASCAR Regional, said in a news release.

“As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, we are proud to bring the 2026 Cook Out Clash back to the original home to grassroots racing. Thanks to the City of Winston-Salem and Winston-Salem State University for their continued partnership at ‘The Madhouse’.”

The track earned its “Madhouse” nickname thanks to the rough and tumble weekly races it has become known for, which typically feature contact on the track and fisticuffs on the grass.

The 2025 Cook Out Clash didn’t have any of the latter and saw Chase Elliott pretty much run away with it by leading 171 of 200 laps, but the event packed the grandstand to its 17,000-fan capacity and was considered a huge success overall.

It also makes for a good start to the season for teams, being just an hour away from their homes in Charlotte, before they head to Florida a week later for Daytona Speedweeks to start the regular season.