Elliott, Buescher, Hamlin, Reddick win Cook Out Clash heat races
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick all breathed a little easier Saturday night as they each claimed victory in their respective Cook Out Clash heat races at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Elliott won the first heat and put himself on the pole with Buescher, who won the second heat, alongside him on the front row. Behind Elliott and Reddick are heat three winner Hamlin and heat four winner Reddick.
Buescher leads a historic feat for RFK Racing as all of their cars made the Clash for the first time in its existence, dating back to the start of the 2022 season. It is the first time that Jack Roush has had all of his cars in the Clash since 2012.
Brad Keselowski will start fifth in the Clash while Ryan Preece will start 12th.
Trackhouse Racing also put all three of their cars in the Clash. Shane van Gisbergen will lead the way, starting in 10th. Meanwhile, teammates Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez will share row nine, starting 17th and 18th respectively.
Team Penske will also have all three of its cars in the Clash — under different circumstances. While Joey Logano and Austin Cindric finished well enough to guarantee they will start seventh and 16th, respectively, teammate Ryan Blaney will have to wait until after the last-chance qualifier to see where he will start.
Blaney was in the final transfer spot — fifth — when his tires started to fade late in the first heat race. After falling out of the transfer spot, he spun but it didn’t bring out a caution, burying him in 10th and sending him to the 75-lap last-chance qualifier Sunday.
Luckily for Blaney, he is in the Clash no matter what.
One of the three positions in the Clash field is guaranteed for the driver highest in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series points standings who isn’t already locked in. With defending champion Logano already in, Blaney is in on the strength of his second-place points finish last season. Even if he doesn’t finish in one of the top two spots in the 75-lap LCQ, he will still get in.
If Blaney finishes in one of the top two spots and doesn’t need the points finish provisional, Kyle Larson will be in line to get it if he doesn’t also finish in the top-two. Larson failed to race his way into the Clash through his heat race but boasts the second-best 2024 points finish (sixth) among drivers in the LCQ.
If Blaney and Larson are the top-two finishers in the LCQ, Ty Gibbs (15th in 2024 points) would get the provisional. Gibbs fell one spot short of advancing to the Clash from his heat race.
Here are the drivers who will race in the LCQ, including Blaney, Larson and Gibbs:
Ty Dillon, Zane Smith, Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Riley Herbst, A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Haley, Kyle Larson, Burt Myers, John Hunter Nemechek, Josh Berry, Cody Ware, Garrett Smithley, Cole Custer
Allmendinger, Custer and Nemechek each sustained damage in their respective heat races.
Nemechek had the worst damage — a buckled bumper and deck lid after Ryan Preece punted into the outside wall. Allmendinger sustained front end damage from getting turned into the wall as a result of squeezing Custer in the wall.
Teams can make repairs but they will need NASCAR officials to clear them for the LCQ race.
2025 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium Starting Lineup
- Chase Elliott
- Chris Buescher
- Denny Hamlin
- Tyler Reddick
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Briscoe
- Joey Logano
- Christopher Bell
- Noah Gragson
- Shane van Gisbergen
- William Byron
- Ryan Preece
- Kyle Busch
- Bubba Wallace
- Carson Hocevar
- Austin Cindric
- Ross Chastain
- Daniel Suarez
- Alex Bowman
- Todd Gilliland
- LCQ WINNER
- LCQ SECOND-PLACE FINISHER
- POINTS FINISH PROVISIONAL DRIVER
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com