NASCAR Legend Calls the 2026 Clash “Million-Dollar Bumper Cars”
What’s Happening? NASCAR legend Jeremy Mayfield said that he thinks NASCAR’s 2026 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium was “a…
Following NASCAR’s 2026 Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, fans and NASCAR industry members have debated whether or not the annual exhibition race was a success for NASCAR, and now, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr is throwing his hat in the ring.
The NASCAR Clash historically wasn’t a hot topic of conversation, though, in recent years, with several venue changes, and some hit or miss races, the event has become a heated subject, an annual subject of debate.
This year’s race was no different, as NASCAR fought the elements leading up to and during the race. The weather hitting the track included heavy snowfall, which cancelled a majority of the Clash’s preliminary races, pushing the event to Wednesday from Sunday, and sleet that fell during the race.
The sleet fall would also affect the on-track product, as drivers, already banging into each other on the .250 mile oval, found themselves sliding around the track, generating a total of 17 cautions.
This led to fuel issues, with drivers like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott both running out of fuel, and NASCAR eventually opting to allow all cars to refuel following a late caution.
From there, the cautions also affected the race’s production, with the 50-mile event pushing over three hours long, and, being moved off Network Television, to FOX Sports FS2 Channel.
Despite all the drama and problems with the race itself, underdog winner Ryan Preece helped to ease some tensions, though the debate over the event’s success and its future is still raging on.
Late Thursday afternoon, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr weighed in on the debate on X, vouching his support towards the event and crediting NASCAR and track officials for the hard work put into ensuring the race’s success.
His words may not have been the most opinionated, with Earnahrdt saying, “I’m not complaining because I think Cup even racing at Bowman Grey period is badass.”
But, did say that he agrees with many race fans in that he didn’t appreciate the decision to let the field pit for fuel only, saying, “I don’t like allowing the field to fuel when others had opted to put themselves at an advantage in that area.”
Nonetheless, the 51-year-old former Cup Series winner was also quick to remind everyone that the race was an exhibition event, meant for entertainment, and that he appreciated “the entire industry dealing with all the inconveniences to make the event happen.”
Earnhardt isn’t the only former driver to support how the event went down, as fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin asked fans online to “be grateful for the good things and maybe try being kind.”
Martin, though trying to stay positive about the race, did have some constructive criticism of his own, including agreeing with fans that FOX moving the race to FS2 was a bad move.
Even then, fellow NASCAR legend Jeremy Mayfield was much more critical of the race, calling the event “million-dollar bumper cars,” and saying that overall the race at Bowman Gray “was a bad look for the sport,” in a lengthy post to his Facebook Thursday morning.
Though the complaints are about a number of things, many fans in the online NASCAR community are now asking if the race should return to Bowman Gray, as the warmer climates of the race’s former host cities, Daytona Beach and Los Angeles, would have kept winter weather out of the forecast during Clash weekend.
What’s Happening? NASCAR legend Jeremy Mayfield said that he thinks NASCAR’s 2026 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium was “a…
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