The Cook Out Clash in NASCAR has always been an iconic and exciting start to the season before the mighty Daytona 500. Though it’s a non-championship and an exhibition race, the hype around it often remains high. And since recent times, so is the price.

Over the years, the race has changed venues. Last year in 2025, it took place at the Bowman Gray Stadium, a venue with significantly less seating capacity. It’s understandable to keep up with the increasing demand, the prices of the tickets need to be balanced out. But fans are unhappy that NASCAR is playing greedy tricks by using those aspects to its advantage.

Ticket prices of The Clash remain high

In the last few years, the Cook Out Clash, also known as the Busch Clash, took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which was an enormous venue with 77,500 seating capacity. But the Bowman Gray Stadium is quite smaller in comparison, holding 17,000 seats. But the prices were too high for the fans.

The tickets started from $125, and then moved to $200, $300, $400, $500, and then to $1,844 under various segments.

When compared, the starting price of the tickets at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was $61. That too on the resale markets. The average price there was $210. Students and kids could avail tickets for $40 and $10, respectively.

Coming into 2026, the starting price of the tickets is still $120, something that has started to bug the fans now.

This is added with the $130-$140 parking fees for two days, making the entire amount $250 for the race weekend. No wonder the fans are furious at NASCAR.

They are experiencing a Mandela effect with the recent spike in prices, even though this year the base price hasn’t increased further.

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Fans share their dissatisfaction with the high costs

As a Redditor posted a thread about this, fans expressed their feelings and debated whether the price of the tickets were justified.

One fan wrote, “I’m just wondering what happened between last year and this. Maybe because the event was a big success the prices rocketed up? I couldn’t sworn the tickets were as low as $40-$50 last year, not $120.” That’s the Mandela effect right there, where even though the prices were high, fans feel this year it’s even higher.

Another fan compared the NASCAR race’s ticket price with that of Formula 1. “As much as I agree, I think this is actually a great price compared to other league’s events, especially motorsport. Be happy you’re not an F1 fan paying $750+ per ticket for a 2-day pass to see a far inferior racing product.”

This obviously sees the situation with a different lens. Compared to other sports, yes it’s way less, but what NASCAR fans are used to, it’s a lot as per that.

“Amazing people pay that for a glorified pre-season race when there are actual points races in the area for way cheaper. I could see it if it was in a location where you don’t get to normally see them race but it would be a hard pass for me. Same with the all star race which I leave near (Dover). No thanks.”

The fact that Cook Out Clash is more expensive than the points races adds to the current fan sentiment. For some fans like them, a price like this is only worth if the conditions are worthy of it. Otherwise it isn’t enough to attract them.

Another fan shared his experience from the National Women’s Soccer League, and compared it with NASCAR. “Wait til you hear what I paid for NWS the first year. In all seriousness, the cost is going to be driven by the relatively low seating capacity. If we want to go back to the roots, gotta be ready to pay for the low supply of b*** holders.”

That’s the brutal reality of the sport right now. If fans don’t turn up, the costs will continue to be high. Only a collective measure by everyone can change the situation for all.

“This is just an absurd price hike. Just lower the ticket prices and upsell them on beer and hot dogs, if you have already paid a premium price u don’t take add ons on that, but if the person feels they got something for cheap they tend to overspend on add-ons, have experienced this while working in Cinema chains,” wrote another fan.

This is a good solution to balance things out. Instead of charging a lot for the tickets, NASCAR can reduce the ticket prices and instead increase the food and beverages. That way, instead of greedy tactics, they can play with consumer psychology by making them spend the same, but in a way that is a win-win for both.

The 2026 Cook Out Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium will take place on February 1. Despite the complaints, the ticket booking is on. It’ll be interesting to see where the trend will go next year.