The NASCAR Cup Series season will have an early change due to another winter storm. NASCAR has postponed all Saturday events for the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
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According to a Thursday announcement, practice, qualifying, and the heat races will not take place on Saturday as scheduled. Instead, practice and qualifying will run from 2-4 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 1. FS2 will provide coverage.
The last chance qualifying race will take place at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday. Fox will air this session. The Clash exhibition race will take place at 8 p.m. ET. Fox will broadcast the race.
No heat races will take place. The top 20 in qualifying will move on to the main event. Two more drivers will lock up spots by finishing first and second in the last chance qualifying race. The final spot will go to the highest-scoring driver from last season who does not have a spot in the main event already.
The schedule could continue to change depending on the weather descending upon North Carolina and the East Coast.
The forecast calls for a winter storm hitting Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Friday night. The expectation is around 1 inch on Friday night and then another 1-3 inches on Saturday as snowfall continues throughout the day.
The forecast calls for continued snowfall early Sunday morning before giving way to clear skies. The overnight forecast calls for several inches of snow.
NASCAR had the hope that the weather would improve to the point that cleanup efforts could increase. This did not happen as the temperatures remained well below freezing.
Snow has been cleared from the track and garage areas at Bowman Gray. Hoping for a warm(er) day or two in Winston-Salem to accelerate clean up. We’re continuing to monitor more weather this weekend and will communicate schedule changes, if any. pic.twitter.com/vrOCNTqPlX
— Ben Kennedy (@BenKennedy33) January 27, 2026
NASCAR is not averse to racing in the cold temperatures. It has done so countless times before at Bristol Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and other tracks.
However, the WeatherUnderground forecast called for temperatures in the high teens during the Saturday night heat races and in the low 20s during Sunday's main event. This and the threat of accumulated snow posed potential safety concerns for fans wanting to attend two days of action.
The Gen 7 cars also only have wet weather tires available to them in case of some damp conditions due to rain. NASCAR has tested cars on snow and ice in France, but this is not part of the Cup Series.
