Dale Earnhardt Jr. rips NASCAR for cheapening The Clash

This Sunday, Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem, North Carolina, will host The Clash for the first time.

NASCAR‘s annual exhibition two weeks before the Daytona 500 took place at Daytona International Speedway from its inception in 1979 until 2021. The last three events were held at the LA Memorial Coliseum before NASCAR decided to take it to Bowman Gray this season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. participated in The Clash many times during his career, and feels the event is no longer special the way it once was.

“Back when The Clash was running at Daytona, and they continued to expand the field, the idea was that there were partners, brands and sponsors going, ‘Why isn’t my car in this race? I want my car in this race.’ And then there were moments when like me or a big-name person wasn’t in The Clash. And so, the rules of eligibility were continuously massaged and twisted to basically just kind of include any team,” Earnhardt said Tuesday on the Dale Jr. Download. “We used to make the joke like hey man, you got a valid driver’s license, you’re eligible for The Clash. It had become a joke, and it took a lot of the legitimacy or the uniqueness and specialness out of The Clash.

“The Clash, as I’ve mentioned a million times, was about pole winners. … You would even hear drivers mention it in their interviews as they won the pole. Drivers no longer go, ‘Hell yeah, I’m in The Clash.’ When you lost that, what have you done? You’ve made a mistake. I guess what I’m saying is this feeling like it’s necessary to make sure everybody’s always a part of it, takes away the challenge of achieving.”

Cookout Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium: Weekend schedule released, times, how to watch

Bowman Gray has not hosted a Cup Series race since Bobby Allison’s controversial win over Richard Petty in 1971. That victory was only officially recorded as one in the books last year, just prior to Allison’s passing.

NASCAR has released the official schedule for the weekend.

Saturday, February 1 (All times EST)
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM – Stadium Modifieds Practice
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM – Stadium Modifieds Qualifying
1:45 PM – Madhouse Classic – 125 laps (or 90 minutes) Watch: NASCAR Channel on Tubi or FloRacing.
6:10 PM – 8:00 PM – Practice/Qualifying (Three groups, timed sessions)
8:30 PM – 9:15 PM – Heat Races (Four heats, 25 laps each. Lineups set by P/Q times.)

Sunday, February 2
6:00 PM – Last Chance Qualifier – 75 laps – Top two advance to feature.
8:00 PM – Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium – 200 laps – Only green flag laps count.

Only 23 cars will make the field for the feature race on Sunday. 20 will qualify through the heat races. Then two drivers will advance in the Last Chance Qualifier. A final, 23rd spot will be given to the highest points earner from 2024 that failed to make the 22-car field.

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.