Snow may have finally stopped falling over Bowman Gray Stadium. But the chaos it left behind is still being cleaned up at a frantic pace. With crews scraping ice from grandstands, clearing walkways, and fighting to get the venue fully operational before Wednesday’s rescheduled Cook Out Clash, tensions haven’t eased. Because now a new threat is moving in. A fresh rain forecast is raising alarms across NASCAR, and with the sport already battered by delays, postponements, and logistical headaches, officials are scrambling behind the scenes. That’s where Goodyear has stepped in with a crucial, last-minute lifeline.
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Goodyear steps in as NASCAR braces for more weather trouble
With the Cook Out Clash already pushed to Wednesday after a week of snow, ice, and chaos, NASCAR is now preparing for a different kind of problem: rain. And in an effort to keep the event from spiraling into yet another postponement, Goodyear has delivered a critical late-game assist. According to insider reports, the tire manufacturer is sending a full supply of wet-weather “all-weather” tires to Bowman Gray Stadium, ensuring teams are equipped if the forecasted showers hit.
And right now, meteorologists agree. Rain is far more likely than snow when the green flag is scheduled to drop.
Teams will now have four sets of wet-weather tires available on top of their five dry-tire sets for the Clash. Goodyear is also rolling out a new left-side dry tire developed specifically for this event, engineered with higher wear and increased “fall-off” to put tire management back into the spotlight, something Bowman Gray’s abrasive, quarter-mile surface is perfectly suited for.
I’ve been told that Goodyear is sending “all-weather” tires to Bowman Gray in preparation for adverse weather conditions at the Cook Out Clash. pic.twitter.com/QwGjvDfPYE
— Racing Territory (@RacingTerritory) January 27, 2026
Wet-weather tires themselves are a different breed. Featuring deep, functional tread patterns (much like everyday passenger-car tires), they’re built to channel water away from the contact patch, giving the tire a stronger bite on a soaked racing surface. The water helps cool them as well, since rain tires heat up much faster than slicks. But that comes with a warning: they can’t be used on a dry track, where they would overheat and shred within laps.
For decades, NASCAR stayed away from rain racing altogether, but the sport embraced a dedicated wet-weather package for the Cup Series in 2016. After limited early use on road courses, NASCAR expanded wet-weather capability to short tracks in 2023, leading to its first-ever short-track Cup points race in the rain at Richmond in 2024.
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Clash’s relationship with the rain
While Goodyear’s last-minute delivery of wet-weather tires has become a major storyline for the 2026 Cook Out Clash, this isn’t the first time NASCAR has equipped the Clash with a full rain package. In fact, the shift began in 2023, when the Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum became one of the inaugural events to officially implement NASCAR’s short-track wet-weather package.
For that race, Goodyear supplied 18-inch rain tires, and teams were required to have windshield-wiper hookups, rear rain lights, and the complete damp-condition setup ready to go. But despite the preparation, none of it was actually needed. The skies stayed dry throughout the 2023 program, and the tire stacks remained untouched. Still, the package’s presence marked a turning point, and that would become crucial just a year later.
In 2024, rain didn’t just threaten the Clash but nearly erased it. A massive rain forecast pummeled Southern California, creating one of the wildest weather scrambles in recent NASCAR memory. Officials made the unprecedented decision to move the entire event up to Saturday, a full day early, to beat the incoming storm. The wet-weather package was discussed endlessly that week. However, the schedule shift saved the race from becoming NASCAR’s first major short-track downpour experiment.
Then came 2025 at Bowman Gray Stadium, which offered the opposite experience: calm skies, clean execution, and no weather drama whatsoever. Just racing, fans, and a straightforward show. But 2026 has flipped the script again.
A week of snow and ice already pushed the event to Wednesday. And now the threat of rain is turning the wet-weather package from a precaution into a genuine necessity. This time, unlike 2023, the all-weather tires might actually roll onto the track. Whether teams are ready or not.
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