Spire Owner Says Joe Gibbs Racing “Intentionally Staged” Lawsuit to Undermine Team’s Growth
What’s Happening? Spire Motorsports co-owner and co-founder Jeff Dickerson explained what he thinks is the true reason Joe Gibbs Racing filed…
Ryan Preece scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win in Wednesday night’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. However, Preece was lucky to be the survivor of a chaotic season opener for the NASCAR Cup Series.
Kyle Larson laid down the fastest lap of qualifying, with notable drivers like Corey LaJoie, Alex Bowman, and Austin Cindric coming up short in making the Clash through qualifying.
In the Last Chance Qualifying race, Michael McDowell looked to have the best car, though he fell victim to jumping the restart, sending his No. 71 to the rear of the field. From there, Josh Berry ran away with the lead, while Cindric, LaJoie, and A.J. Allmendinger battled it out for the second spot in the 2026 Clash.
Making the Clash thanks to the LCQ were Josh Berry and Austin Cindric, with Alex Bowman advancing to the Clash via his spot as the highest finishing driver in 2025 points that did not make the main event.
What’s Happening? Spire Motorsports co-owner and co-founder Jeff Dickerson explained what he thinks is the true reason Joe Gibbs Racing filed…
At the start of the race, as expected, Kyle Larson ran away with the lead, though there were a few solid battles in the mid pack, with some of the usual suspects, like Ryan Blaney, slowly moving up the field.
With Larson set to lap the field, a lap 41 caution to dry water on the track killed his momentum before reaching the last-place car. After an Austin Cindric spin, tires started to play into the race, with Larson dropping back as the first half of the race came to an end, with Ty Gibbs leading.
But that’s where any sense of predictability was left this race, as sleet hit the area at 8:18 PM, soaking the track and leading NASCAR to force teams to put wet-weather tires on for the rest of the evening. From there, after an extended pause, the drivers took to the track again for the final 100 laps, though wrapping up the race would prove to be a big challenge.
From lap 100 to 150, there were a total of eight cautions. These were mostly due to small spins in the wet weather, though as frustration mounted, these quickly turned into cautions formed from personal disputes.
What’s Happening? Following heated mid-pack battles before the halfway mark of the 2026 Cook Out Clash, Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suárez had…
There were several on-track scraps Wednesday night, such as Daniel Suárez, and, mostly everybody, though Suárez never took these frustrations out during the race. The same can’t be said for Bubba Wallace, who, after several laps of a back-and-forth with Carson Hocevar, seemingly dumped the No. 77 on Lap 181.
While others were beating and bashing, some driver, specifically those in the Hendrick Motorsports camp, were watching their fuel gauge, with NASCAR ultimately opting to let teams refill, on equal turf, following yet another caution.
Ultimately, Ryan Preece, known for his efforts as a champion modified driver on many tracks like Bowman Gray across the East Coast, pulled away for an emotional first victory in the Cup Series. However, the honor of winning a points-paying race still eludes him.
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