WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — For the second consecutive year, the NASCAR preseason Clash celebrates the NASCAR roots, a throwback event that makes fans stand to watch lap after lap.
Fans might need to stand, as they potentially could be sitting in freezing temperatures.
Can NASCAR even race if it dips into the teens?
League officials indicated they can, that the tires will produce enough grip on the quarter-mile Bowman Gray Stadium track to run the Clash (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, FOX).
What NASCAR can’t race in is snow and ice, and with as much as 12 inches possible for Saturday and the area under a winter storm watch through 1 p.m. ET Sunday, that will be as much a topic of conversation going into the event as the race itself.
NASCAR has postponed all of Saturday’s on-track activity and will run the Clash as a one-day program Sunday. It hopes to start with practice at 2 p.m. ET.
As of Thursday afternoon, the FOX Weather app forecasts three inches of snow Saturday, with temps not reaching above freezing until Monday, with temps in the teens each night Saturday through Tuesday.
So what will NASCAR do if it snows for an event at a historic NASCAR track that sits inside the city-owned football stadium that is the home of Winston-Salem State University?
NASCAR knows clearing roads and parking lots — let alone the track — will require more time than a typical rain delay.
But it could depend on how much snow falls Saturday to determine if they race Sunday. And if the race gets postponed, NASCAR appears ready to treat this like any other race weekend, racing on the first available day when the track and infrastructure are adequate.
So in other words, stay tuned.
With all this in mind, here’s the format:
— Drivers will be split into three practice groups, and each group will get three practice sessions. Times in the final session will determine their starting lineup for the main event and the last chance qualifier.
— The heat races scheduled for Saturday night will no longer happen.
— A 75-lap last-chance qualifier (scheduled for Sunday) will offer two spots in the main event for those who didn’t finish in the top-20 in qualifying. Again, there will be no overtime.
— The final, 23rd spot, in the main event will go to the driver highest in points who hasn’t made the race. That means Kyle Larson is the only driver guaranteed a spot in the race.
— The main event will be 200 laps with a midway break at Lap 100. Only green-flag laps count. The race must finish under caution.
Chase Elliott won the event last year.
