NASCAR PHOTO
NASCAR CLASH AT BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM
Sunday, February 2, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
The NASCAR Cup Series will return to Bowman Gray Stadium for the first
time since 1971 when the season-opening Clash takes place Sunday night
in Winston-Salem, NC. After a successful three-year run at the Los
Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASCAR is going back to its roots as Bowman
Gray hosted its first series event in 1958.
LOOKING AT THE 2025 FORD CUP LINEUP
There have been a few changes to the Ford lineup since the 2024 NASCAR
Cup Series season ended. RFK Racing and Front Row Motorsports have both
expanded to three teams while the newly-branded Haas Factory Team has
one entry after the Stewart-Haas organization closed its doors. Here’s
a look at this weekend’s roster.
Driver – Car Number (Team)
Austin Cindric – No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Team Penske)
Noah Gragson – No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Front Row Motorsports)
Brad Keselowski – No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (RFK Racing)
Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Team Penske)
Tim Brown – No. 15 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Rick Ware Racing)
Chris Buescher – No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (RFK Racing)
Josh Berry – No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Wood Brothers Racing)
Joey Logano – No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Team Penske)
Todd Gilliland – No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Front Row
Motorsports)
Zane Smith – No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Front Row Motorsports)
Cole Custer – No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Haas Factory Team)
Cody Ware – No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Rick Ware Racing)
Ryan Preece – No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (RFK Racing)
FORD’S CLASH HISTORY
The Clash has been held in some form since 1979 and Ford has won it 10
times by seven different drivers. The best stretch in the event for Ford
undoubtedly came during a three-year winning streak in which Rusty
Wallace, Mark Martin and Dale Jarrett all reached Victory Lane from
1998-2000. Jarrett owns three of Ford’s 10 victories (1996, 2000,
2004) in the event and on two of those occasions (1996 and 2000) he went
on to win the Daytona 500.
FORD’S HISTORY AT BOWMAN GRAY
Ford has won more NASCAR Cup Series races at Bowman Gray Stadium than
any other manufacturer. In the 29 races held at the quarter-mile track,
Ford has 12 victories. The list of Ford winners is a virtual Hall of
Fame lineup that includes Glenn Wood, who leads the way with four,
including three straight during the 1960 season. Junior Johnson is next
on the list with three while David Pearson, Richard Petty and Bobby
Allison have one Ford win each. NASCAR officially recognized Allison’s
win in 1971 last October, upping his career win total to 85 and moving
him into fourth on the all-time list. That also represents the first
official series victory for Mustang.
LOGANO WINS INAUGURAL CLASH AT THE COLISEUM
For the first time in NASCAR history, the Clash was held at a place
other than the Daytona International Speedway as the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum hosted the event on February 6, 2022. The
specially-made quarter-mile asphalt track delivered in the main event as
Logano, who won his heat race, passed Kyle Busch on lap 116 and led the
final 35 to become only the second Ford driver to win the Clash more
than once. Logano, who also captured the event in 2017, joined Dale
Jarrett (three-time winner) with multiple Ford victories.
ELLIOTT CLAIMS FORD’S FIRST CLASH VICTORY AT DAYTONA
Bill Elliott became the first Ford driver to win a non-points event in
the NASCAR Cup Series on February 8, 1987 when he captured the Busch
Clash. The format that year was a single 20-lap run (50 miles) with no
pit stop required. Elliott, who started on the pole in his No. 9 Coors
Thunderbird after a blind draw, fell back to sixth on the start after
Terry Labone and Ricky Rudd were involved in an accident on the first
lap. On the ensuing restart, Elliott steadily reeled in leader Darrell
Waltrip and passed him on lap eight. Elliott led the final 13 laps and
won with an average speed of 197.802 mph, a record that still stands for
the event. A week later, Elliott won his second Daytona 500.
LOGANO BREAKS CLASH DROUGHT
Joey Logano snapped a 13-year Ford winless drought when he won The Clash
in 2017, making him the manufacturer’s first victor since Dale Jarrett
in 2004. Logano found himself in the right place at the right time,
taking the lead after Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski made contact on
the final lap. Keselowski had a run and was trying to pass Hamlin, whose
attempt at blocking came too late and resulted in both cars colliding.
That enabled Logano to get through and win the Clash for the first time
in his career. Four Ford drivers finished in the top six spots as Danica
Patrick was fourth, Kevin Harvick fifth and Keselowski sixth.
KESELOWSKI PREVIEWS 2018 SEASON WITH CLASH WIN
In a foreshadowing of what the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series would look like,
Brad Keselowski took Ford to victory lane in the Advance Auto Parts
Clash at Daytona International Speedway. Keselowski led a Ford sweep of
the top four finishing positions as he took the lead on lap 39 of the
75-lap feature and never looked back, holding off Joey Logano, Kurt
Busch and Ryan Blaney, respectively. It marked the second straight Clash
win for Ford and served as a springboard that saw the Blue Oval lead the
series with 19 wins and capture the drivers’ and manufacturers’
championships.
FORD CUP WINNERS AT BOWMAN GRAY
Jim Reed – March 30, 1959
Glenn Wood – April 18, 1960
Glenn Wood – June 25, 1960
Glenn Wood – August 23, 1960
Glenn Wood – July 13, 1963
Marvin Panch – March 30, 1964
Junior Johnson – August 22, 1964
Junior Johnson – May 15, 1965
Junior Johnson – August 28, 1965
David Pearson – August 10, 1968
Richard Petty – August 22, 1969
Bobby Allison – August 6, 1971
FORD’S CLASH WINNERS
1987 – Bill Elliott
1992 – Geoffrey Bodine
1996 – Dale Jarrett
1998 – Rusty Wallace
1999 – Mark Martin
2000 – Dale Jarrett
2004 – Dale Jarrett
2017 – Joey Logano
2018 – Brad Keselowski
2022 – Joey Logano