The first official checkered flag of the 2025 season was flown tonight! Starting the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season was the Cookout Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, aka The Mad House. And we learned why the venue deserves a name such as that tonight. We saw a lot of action, a lot of beating and banging, and a lot of short tempers flaring! So, how did the NASCAR Cup Series return to Bowman Gray fare after a 44-year sabbatical? Let’s talk about it. Here’s everything that went down in the 2025 Cookout Clash.
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Once the field restarted on Lap-121, Chase Elliott reassumed the lead after given Denny Hamlin a shot from behind, knocking him up the track. As they raced, the field started to calm down a little bit as they separated. On the move was Ryan Blaney, who struggled in last night’s heats and DNF’d in tonight’s earlier LCQ. He was forced to take a provisional and started the race dead last. By Lap-148, he was passing Denny Hamlin for second.
From there, the race to the finish was on. Blaney got to Elliott’s bumper a couple of times as the laps wound down but he ultimately couldn’t really do much with him. As the number 9 NAPA Chevy started lapping cars, the two leaders became separated by slower traffic. Chase Elliott went on to convincingly win the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium after a weekend of dominance. He ended up leading a race-high 177 laps and had the record for the fastest lap of the race. Congratulations to him and that entire number 9 Hendrick Motorsports team!
Bowman Gray is a quarter-mile oval located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dubbed “The Mad House”, it’s known for its aggressive, hard-nosed racing and for pushing drivers to the edge. Setting the stage were four heat races which were ran on Saturday night. 20 drivers transferred to tonight’s main event via those races. Two drivers also transferred by finishing first and second in tonight’s preamble to the Clash, the last-chance qualifier. The final transfer spot was rewarded to the highest points finisher from 2024 who didn’t already race their way in.
As reported by Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, the trace format was as follows:
The first caution of the night came out on Lap-21 after Kyle Busch took a vicious shot to the rear off the nose of Noah Gragson. Busch spun around but managed to keep it off the wall. No other cars were involved. The driver of the 8 Camero pitted and the race restarted shortly thereafter.
The second caution of the night flew on Lap-79. The incident that sparked the yellow flag was the 34 of Todd Gilliland squeezing William Byron into the outside SAFER barrier. Byron’s 24 Liberty University Chevy ricocheted off the wall and went around, making light contact with the nose of his car. After the accident, he came over the radio and complained about trouble steering his Hendrick Chevy. He was scored 1-lap down when we went back green.
The first half of the race was dominated by Chase Elliott in his number 9 Hendrick Chevrolet. Elliott led the opening 96-laps of the event before being ran down and passed by defending winner of the event, Denny Hamlin. Following Hamlin through as he passed the 9 NAPA car was Hamlin’s own 23XI driver, Tyler Reddick. After the pass, the caution flew and the field was brought down pit road for the halftime break.
The second half of the Cookout Clash was much more aggressive from the jump. The greatest drivers in the world only got to turn a couple of laps before a chain reaction sent both Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe around. The incident fired off with Austin Cindric tagging Larson from behind. This sent Larson spinning and, as he spun, he got into Shane van Gisbergen. SVG then got loose and tagged Briscoe which sent him around. None of the drivers involved received any significant damage and we did restart a couple of laps later.
The caution flew again just six laps later on Lap-109. This time, the incident involved defending Cup Series Champion Joey Logano getting into the back of Christopher Bell. This sent the 20 Mobil 1 Toyota into Hocevar hard, which spun him out. Hocevar performed a 180 that resulted in him getting into the outside wall. Check it out.
The incident that brought out the caution flag was when Kyle Larson got into his teammate William Byron, and the two went around. The accident was a result of Briscoe bumping Carson Hocevar from behind, who then got into Larson. Larson’s number 5 Chevy got loose, and he slid up the track, collecting his teammate William Byron. Neither driver received significant damage in the incident.
The first race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is officially in the books! Congratulations to NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, Chase Elliott, for capturing the first checkered flag of the season! What did you make of this race, NASCAR fans? What did you think of the racing product itself? Let us know your thoughts on the aesthetic and vibe of Bowman Gray. Would you like to see the race return to the venue? Where do you want to see the race go next? Let us know all of that and more!
The Daytona 500 is just 2 weeks away! In the meantime, be sure to keep checking back in here at DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news as we gear up for the 2025 season!
Weather could play a major role in the NASCAR weekend at EchoPark Speedway, with current forecasts calling for a 40% chance of rain Saturday afternoon and increasing to 55% in the evening. While conditions are expected to improve, contingency plans are already in place in case races cannot be completed as scheduled
NASCAR has not announced any official schedule changes yet, as decisions will be based on how conditions develop in real time. With rain chances increasing through Saturday afternoon and evening, teams are preparing for multiple outcomes, and Sunday is expected to serve as the primary backup window if events can’t be completed as planned.
Conditions are constantly being monitored, but fans should be prepared for possible schedule adjustments throughout the weekend. We’ll keep you updated throughout the race weekend here on The Daily Downforce
Just when things finally seemed to calm down in the NASCAR garage, a bombshell dropped. Joe Gibbs Racing is officially suing former competition director Chris Gabehart, and the allegations are serious. Power struggles, confidential data, secret photos, and a potential move to Spire Motorsports.
From competition department tension to an $8 million damages figure, this lawsuit could have major implications beyond just one team. Gabehart helped elevate Denny Hamlin back into championship form and played a key role in JGR’s recent success, which makes this split even more shocking. This preview only scratches the surface. The full breakdown dives into the timeline, the alleged evidence, and what this could mean for the Cup Series balance of power moving forward. Watch the full video to learn much more
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NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell says the Cup Series schedule is not guaranteed to remain at 36 races, and the sanctioning body is evaluating whether a different structure would make more sense.
Speaking about the long-term outlook, O’Donnell said everything from the total number of events to when they are held is under consideration.
“It’s worked for us, but I would not say this is the way it will always be. Is there a number of races that makes more sense? Could it be 30, or even more? Could we introduce midweek races and shorten the season? All of that is on the table.”
The Cup Series has run a 36-race points schedule for more than two decades, typically from February through November.
NASCAR’s current media rights deal spreads races across multiple broadcast, cable, and streaming partners, having been in place since 2025. Compared to the previous deal, far fewer races now air on traditional broadcast television, so fans have to follow the season across several networks and platforms, including FS1, USA, Prime Video, and TNT Sports. O’Donnell previously acknowledged that the transition led to a late-season dip in viewership as coverage has been on broadcast TV less often, and it clashes directly with the NFL.
O’Donnell says weekday races are an option if NASCAR wants to shorten the overall calendar without dramatically reducing the number of races. The sport last had midweek races during the 2020 season, when it was the first sport to return to action, at Darlington. During that time, NASCAR did multiple midweek races, including at Darlington, Charlotte, and Kansas, to compensate for the weeks missed during quarantine, and the audience showed up in TV ratings.
A shorter season could also reduce direct competition with football, which dominates the U.S. sports calendar each fall, while additional races would create more inventory for media partners.
Across sports, schedules are increasingly shaped by media strategy rather than tradition. The NFL, for example, has expanded its reach without drastically lengthening its season, adding standalone games on holidays, exclusive streaming packages, and international matchups to maximize value per game. The league also added a 17th regular-season game in 2021, its first expansion in decades, as part of a broader revenue push.
Other U.S. leagues are following similar paths. The NBA introduced an in-season tournament to create new broadcast inventory without extending the schedule, while MLB continues to sell national windows and streaming packages across its existing 162-game season.
In motorsports, Formula 1 has expanded the calendar itself. The series ran 21 races in 2021. 10 years earlier, it ran 19 races. And now it has a record-breaking 24-race schedule, despite being a global championship. Much of that growth is driven by hosting fees from cities and governments, as well as rising international demand, but drivers and the industry have already shown displeasure regarding the ever-growing schedule, deeming it too exhausting.
The shifts across sports accelerated drastically after the pandemic, when leagues became more dependent on media revenue and more willing to adjust calendars, formats, and distribution to match changing viewing habits. NASCAR, for example, rarely changed its calendar before 2020, but after the pandemic, it’s become one of the most diverse calendars in motorsports: racing on dirt, in stadiums, reviving old tracks, adding road courses, expanding internationally, and constantly changing its post-season race placements.
NASCAR has not announced any plans to alter the Cup schedule. O’Donnell’s comments indicate the organization is evaluating options as it plans future seasons under an evolving sports media environment.
What do you think? Should NASCAR have more, fewer, or the same number of races going forward? Would you like to see midweek races? Let us know what you think on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
