The exhibition Clash that kicks off the NASCAR Cup Series season is heading home, according to a new report from The Athletic.
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Jordan Bianchi broke the news on Friday evening while citing multiple industry sources. He reported that the Clash will once again take place on the Daytona International Speedway oval. An announcement is expected in the coming weeks.
The race will be on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2027. This will put it the night before Super Bowl 61, which takes place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 14, 2027. The Daytona 500 is already set for Feb. 21, 2027.
The Clash has been a staple on the NASCAR schedule since the 1979 event, which featured nine drivers racing for 20 laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. The majority of seasons featured it serving as a key part of Speedweeks at the Florida track.
However, this will mark the first time since the crash-filled race in 2020 that the exhibition event has take place on the oval. The 2021 iteration of the event took place on the Daytona International Speedway road course as Kyle Busch won.
Once NASCAR moved to the Gen 7 car, it began taking the Clash to other destinations. The 2022 race marked a major milestone in NASCAR history as the drivers competed on a purpose-built short track inside of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The exhibition race returned to the LA Memorial Coliseum in both 2023 and 2024, but it delivered diminishing returns. The 2024 race, in particular took place earlier than expected due to the threat of severe weather in Southern California.
After three seasons in Southern California, NASCAR moved the Clash to the historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This event took place on the 0.25-mile short track in 2025 and 2026 with Chase Elliott and Ryan Preece splitting the wins.
This season's event also dealt with weather challenges. Heavy snowfall in North Carolina forced NASCAR to keep postponing the race before ultimately holding it on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Now, the exhibition race will return back to where it first started — Daytona International Speedway. It will kick off Speedweeks once again while setting up the Daytona 500.
