Ryan Preece weathers the elements in the Clash, wins first NASCAR Cup race of 2026

Before the race, there was a postponement because of snow.

During the race, there was a delay for sleet and hail and rain.

And after the race, once the standing water was blown away and the skies finally cleared, there was a new winner.

Ryan Preece, driver of the RFK Racing No. 60 Cup car, took a trip down Victory Lane at the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem on Wednesday — meaning he proved victorious in the first NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2026 season.

The Clash is the preseason exhibition appetizer to the rest of the Cup Series regular season, which begins with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15.

As a result, Preece became the ninth different driver in nine years to win the Clash. He also joins Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon as drivers to win a Clash before winning a NASCAR Cup Series points race.

“To be honest, it’s been a (expletive) long road,” Preece told the FOX broadcast after his celebratory burnout. “Two years ago, I didn’t think I would have a job. I thought I was going back to Connecticut. I’m just super emotional.”

William Byron took second. Ryan Blaney finished third, and Daniel Suarez finished fourth.

The day started as a fun racing day — from the Last Chance Qualifier through the first half of the main event. Then inclement weather intervened. After the first 100 laps of the 200 lap race — the “halfway caution” — sleet and rain started to fall and made the track super slick. Teams put on their wet-weather tires, and the track dryers even came out to remove some of the standing water, but such efforts were met with varying avail: There were spins and crashes — so many of them, in fact, that the race was elongated to the point where NASCAR allowed all the teams to file down pit road to fill up on gas.

In total, there were a Clash-record 17 caution flags.

Eventually, though, some cars found a groove. Literally and metaphorically. Literally speaking: Drivers found dry grooves high up the racetrack. That was the key for race winner Preece, who led for 46 laps. He had a lot of success on the top groove, but he took the inside line on every restart — giving him the space to dive deep into corners early, take the track position quickly and hold onto it for long runs.

“I’m happy right now because I’m sitting here in front of you with a trophy next to me,” Preece said in the Bowman Gray Stadium media center postrace on Wednesday. “Everything happened to go my way. There have been multiple times in the past couple years that I wondered if it was ever going to go my way.

“I’m thankful it did. I’m thankful I didn’t choke, and executed. That’s what it comes down to. That’s what separates you from other people, is execution. I’ve always felt like when it comes to my racing background, my short track background, that’s something I do really well.”

He added: “I might not have the best pace in practice, qualifying’s usually a little better, definitely somewhere I can be better. When you put me in racing conditions where you have to pass race cars, be aggressive, do those things, I’m going to do them.”

Here are how some other drivers fared Wednesday.

6 other drivers that had notable days at the Clash

Shane van Gisbergen: It looked for a moment like this was van Gisbergen’s to lose. On Lap 141, the New Zealander took advantage of poor restarts from Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs to launch from P3 to the lead. He mostly held the lead and/or hung out in the Top 3 the rest of the way until Lap 166 — when he got hit by Chase Biscoe and spun out and saw his day go kaput. The driver of the No. 88 car finished P20.

Connor Zilisch: The youngest driver in the field — Trackhouse Racing’s 19-year-old rookie — had a day to remember Wednesday. Zilisch didn’t have a rip-roaring start. He was in P8 after the halfway caution. But in the second half of the race, Zilisch made his hay by doing what the others wouldn’t — using the bottom groove, balancing his left-side tires on the slim concrete apron, to make his way through the mess. He ran as high as P5. He slowed by Lap 122 and finished 18th, but it was still an eye-opening experience for the rest of the NASCAR field.

Ty Gibbs: Gibbs tapped Chase Briscoe twice on consecutive corners to push Briscoe up to the racetrack and give himself the lead on Lap 95. Aggressive! That enabled the 23-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing star to take P1 position after the halfway point. The third-year Cup driver is still looking for his first regular-season win — and he got his season off to a great start Wednesday. Could he be a factor in 2026? Gibbs finished 14th.

Kyle Larson: Larson started on pole position, and he was the unquestioned favorite to take a trip to Victory Lane pre-race. Those hopes dwindled quickly. Larson yielded the lead spot on Lap 72. He then fell to seventh by Lap 83 and nearly fell out of the Top 10 by the halfway caution (Lap 101). Things didn’t get better in the rainy second half of the race. He finished 16th.

Ryan Blaney: Blaney has clearly learned something that others haven’t about Bowman Gray Stadium. Last year, he started last and rose to the Top 10 through the first 100 laps. On Wednesday, Blaney started 16th and rose up to fourth. Those 12 positions were the most ground made by a driver in the first half of the race. His second half of the race got off to a slow start — a product of the weather. But once the track dried up, he went back to his dominant ways and finished third. (Blaney also got entangled with his close friend Bubba Wallace on Wednesday in the first half; such was a product of the physical racing at Bowman Gray, he said over the radio: “I hope Bubba isn’t too mad at me; I tried to relay the message that I got pushed.”)

Austin Cindric: Cindric and Corey LaJoie engaged in some respectful but fierce racing in the Last Chance Qualifier — and it was the driver of the No. 2 Cup car that earned the last spot in the Clash. The Ford driver struggled in the main event Wednesday, however. He spun out at Lap 77 on Turn 4 after contact with Shane van Gisbergen. The weather didn’t help Cindric; he ended with a 21st finish.

Full race results

Details on NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race

The race ran on FOX, and then, after some delays, FS2. Some scheduling specifics:

• Practice and qualifying started around 1:30 p.m. and concluded around 3:30 p.m.
• The Last Chance Qualifier — which pits the cars that have not yet transferred to The Clash on a 75-lap run and determines the last two slots in the main event — concluded just after 5 p.m.
• The Cook Out Clash’s green flag dropped at approximately 6:20 p.m.

And for more race specifics:

• Track length: 0.250-mile asphalt oval
• Distance: 50 miles (200 laps — Green Laps Only)
• This was the 48th running of the Clash and just the fifth held outside Daytona since its inception in 1979.
• Last year’s Clash winner? Chase Elliott.

Full starting lineup for 2026 NASCAR Clash

*The Last Chance Qualifier sees the top two cars from the event advance to the main race.

**Provisional. The 23rd and final position in the Cook Out Clash is awarded to the driver who finished highest in the 2025 driver points standings and did not already transfer into the main event.

Drivers who did not qualify for the Clash: Corey LaJoie, AJ Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Michael McDowell, Cole Custer, Chad Finchum, Burt Myers, Cody Ware, Riley Herbst and Todd Gilliland.

This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Ryan Preece weathers the elements in the Clash, wins first NASCAR Cup race of 2026."

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription