UPDATE: Friday, January 30 at 4:20 PM ET:
In a special-edition episode of ‘Hauler Talk’, Mike Forde and Justin Swilling, Senior Director of Marketing Services for NASCAR, talked about the sanctioning body’s plans to hopefully have the Cook Out Clash happen on Sunday at Bowman Gray Stadium. Here are some of the key points:
- The crew at Bowman Gray Stadium is going to begin working DURING the snowstorm that is supposed to hit Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Friday into Saturday, beginning at 5:00 AM ET, to try and keep important surfaces as clear as possible.
- Important surfaces: racetrack, football field (infield), parking lots, garage
- Swilling says that as soon as Bowman-Gray Stadium is ready to host a NASCAR Cup Series event (best-case scenario sometime on Sunday), the Cook Out Clash will get up and running.
- The current plan is for all equipment to be move from the fairgrounds (where all the haulers and racecars are currently sitting) to the Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday at 9:00 AM ET. However, if the roads aren’t ready or clear, then that schedule will be delayed.
- So, why not change the event?
- Mike Forde says that on the oval, a major change would be needed to the engine package being used on the short tracks, and that would require a lot of work for the teams in a short period of time.
- Why not the road course? Well, the Rolex 24 just wrapped up at Daytona International Speedway, and the racetrack needs time to get things prepared for Speedweeks. Asking them to be ready for another road course race, run the race, and then revert back to the oval for Speedweeks is just unrealistic.
- Why not next weekend? The turnaround between The Clash being on Saturday, February 6 and DAYTONA 500 pole qualifying being on Wednesday is just far too short for both the race teams and the broadcast teams that have to get things set up at the racetrack, to be used Wednesday through Sunday.
It honestly seems quite fitting that, after a year featuring no weather-related postponements in NASCAR’s National Series, the first race on the docket for the new season is looking like it’ll be impacted by a major snowstorm.
While nothing has been cancelled or postponed just yet, the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium looks to be in jeopardy, with a major winter weather system coming to bear down on Winston-Salem, North Carolina, heading into the weekend.
As a precautionary measure, NASCAR has already chosen to shift the schedule around for the weekend, putting all on-track activity originally scheduled for Saturday, January 31 to Sunday, February 1.
Now, NASCAR Cup Series teams will hit the track for the first time at 2:00 PM ET for practice, with the Last Chance Qualifier later that evening at 6:00 PM ET, and the 200-lap main event kicking off around 8:00 PM ET. All of that is, of course, weather permitting.
John Probst, NASCAR Executive Vice President & Chief Racing Development Officer, spoke to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 on Friday (January 30) about the situation for this weekend’s event at the famed Bowman Gray Stadium, and NASCAR’s view of the incoming weather and its potential impact on the event.
“A lot goes into it,” Probst explained. “We’re talking to the engine shops, we’re talking with Xtrac on the transaxle side, we’re talking to the teams, we’re talking to the broadcast, we’re listening to the fans. We’re listening to the city.”
“We held out as long as we could on the forecast, just hoping against hope that it was going to change, and it wasn’t. We’re still in the wait-and-see, show me, I want to see it start to snow. We’ve all lived it, right?”
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which goes into effect on Friday at 4:00 PM ET and extends into the early hours of Sunday morning. The storm warning cites heavy snowfall, accumulating between four and seven inches.
“We wait as long as we can to make the best decision we can, with the data we have at the moment,” Probst added.
At this point, there’s no telling exactly what the decision is going to be, as far as when the Cook Out Clash happens. However, any decision to postpone the event to the middle of the coming week, or even the next weekend, likely wouldn’t come until a snowflake hits the ground in Winston-Salem.
Sure, it might be an optimistic strategy, especially given the forecast NASCAR has been dealt this weekend. But, if it puts cars on track on Sunday, then maybe it’ll all be worth it.
