WINSTON-SALEM — Winless in 223 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, Ryan Preece earned his first Cup victory last week by capitalizing on his short-track racing background.
The 35-year-old Berlin, Connecticut, native came out on top in the season-opening 2026 Cook Out Clash on Feb. 4 at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, taking the checkered flag after a weather-impacted, caution-filled 200-lap exhibition race that tested both drivers and equipment.
Racing on wet-weather tires and navigating the elements, Preece led the final 45 laps in his No. 60 RFK Racing Ford to win the event on the legendary, quarter-mile asphalt oval known as “The Madhouse.”
“I don’t even know what to say,” Preece said. “It’s been a long road. And it’s the Clash but man, it’s just been years and years of grinding. Just super thankful for Brad Keselowski, all our partners, Jack Roush. Two years ago, I didn’t think I was going to have a job. I thought I was going back to Connecticut.”
Preece took the lead on Lap 156, powering past Shane van Gisbergen on a restart four laps earlier. After the final caution on Lap 182, Preece pulled away from the field and finished 1.752 seconds ahead of runner-up William Byron.
Ryan Blaney finished third, followed by Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin. Kyle Larson started from the pole and led the opening 40 laps before a debris caution slowed the field, ultimately finishing 16th.
The race featured a Clash-record 17 cautions, including 13 in the second half as wet-weather tires struggled to find grip on the flat quarter-mile surface; NASCAR allowed teams to pit for fuel and additional rain tires with 35 laps remaining, with the track still deemed too wet for standard tires.
“As far as emotions go, when you work as hard as I have, I hate talking about it because I hate getting emotional about it,” Preece said. “But it’s not just the Clash — winning means everything to me. I’ve put a lot into it… I’m a quarter-mile killer. When it comes to this style of racing, it’s what I grew up doing.”
Preece became just the third driver to win the Clash prior to earning a points-race victory, joining Jeff Gordon in 1994 and Hamlin in 2006.
The race was postponed three days from Feb. 1 due to winter weather across North Carolina, becoming the first NASCAR Cup Series race held on a Wednesday since 2020. Holding as much racing history as it does, Bowman Gray Stadium served as more than just a casual backdrop.
The Winston-Salem venue — operating since 1949 — was NASCAR’s first weekly track and hosted Cup Series points races from 1958 to 1971. Its winners list includes Richard and Lee Petty, David Pearson, Junior Johnson and Bobby Allison.
The Clash moved to Bowman Gray in 2025, marking NASCAR’s return to the track for the first time since 1971. This year marked the second consecutive season the exhibition event was held at the stadium, reinforcing the track’s role as a definitive link between NASCAR’s early history and its modern era.
