The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season is just a few days away, and a grey cloud hovers over it. Quite literally, as Mother Nature is offering an unwelcome start to the season at Bowman Gray Stadium. The Winston-Salem track in North Carolina is caught in severe winter conditions, which continue to threaten the NASCAR Clash plans. Despite the actual storms and the storms of doubt in fans’ minds, executives firmly shut down any alternative in Daytona.

Lack of flexibility for the NASCAR Clash

“Can we pivot to Daytona? The answer there is no,” said Mike Forde, NASCAR Managing Director of Communications. “For racing on the Daytona oval, the superspeedway track, it’s a different engine with the cars right now. There will be a lot of prep work that went into the Bowman Gray Stadium engine, that is a 750 hp, whereas the superspeedway package would be ready for the Daytona 500.” He continued, “The inventory is already dedicated to both the race at Daytona and the race at EchoPark Speedway.”

A full-blown winter forecast is scheduled for this weekend – when the season-opening exhibition race is slated to start. The current forecast calls for 1 to 3 inches of snow Saturday in the Winston-Salem area with precipitation starting overnight. What’s more the winter storm warning also anticipates a continuation into Sunday as well. The NASCAR Clash schedule was already adjusted to have practice, qualifying, and the final race all on the 1st of February.

In the middle of such dire circumstances, calls for changing the NASCAR Clash date ramped up. Fans lined up several options, like holding the event in Daytona. As Mike Ford explained, it is not possible on the superspeedway due to the Great American Race’s exhaustive preparations. Next, he also explained the other options of the table, like the Daytona road course or shifting the date to the Daytona week.

“Could we have raced at the road course at Daytona? That is also problematic because already, there’s preparations being made as the track gets flipped from the Rolex 24 to Speedweeks, where in-field parking is largely on that road course. So that wouldn’t be available to us either,” Mike Forde continued.

“There were rumors that maybe we could run it on the Saturday of the Super Bowl weekend – February 6th, 7th. That would also be tough because there are a number of logistical problems. We have the following Wednesday, a qualifying session for the Daytona 500. So the qualifyings happening in Wednesday evening, broadcast trucks, other haulers for timing and scoring, those need to get on the road to Daytona later this week or later next week,” Forde continued.

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Despite the soaring popularity of the NASCAR Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium, the sport is not willing to compromise on Daytona due to inclement weather. And with good reason as well for 2026.

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A star-studded line-up

The protests among fans regarding tackling the NASCAR Clash may be short-lived. That is because a grand weekend is coming up at Daytona International Speedway. Besides the much-hyped Daytona 500, extra focus may be on the Craftsman Truck Series’ Daytona race, due to a medley of superstars. The spotlight will be mostly on Tony Stewart, a three-time Cup Series champion who hasn’t participated in a NASCAR race since 2016 and a Truck Series race since 2005. He will wheel the No. 25 Kaulig Ram.

Then, Travis Pastrana, a motocross driver and stunt performer, will drive the No. 42 Niece Motorsports truck. The NASCAR world last saw him fetch an 11th-place finish in the 2023 Daytona 500. Other notable entries include Stewart Friesen, who is returning after a dirt-track incident broke his hip and leg. ARCA champ and cult hero Brendan ‘Butterbean’ Queen will wheel a Ram alongside Tony Stewart, and so will Justin Haley. Carson Hocevar, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Toni Breidinger, Parker Kligerman, and others will also feature on the list.

With such an eclectic crowd, NASCAR’s meticulous approach to Daytona may pay off. Let’s now wait and see when the NASCAR Clash unfolds.