Ryan Preece gives RFK Racing first Cookout Clash win since 1999

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Ryan Preece give RFK their first Clash win since 1999 and takes victory in a sharply contrasted Cookout Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Ryan Preece also joins Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin as the only drivers to win The Clash prior to their first points paying race win.

Preece fought off many restarts, drivers, cautions, and conditions to take home the victory. He took the lead for good with 46 to go, and did not look back.

In total the event had 17 cautions, 13 of which happened after lap 100.

The first half of the race ran relatively clean. Three cautions lined the half, two of which for incidents involving separate spins from Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric.

Kyle Larson dominated early, leading a race-high 67 laps before making way for teammate William Byron midway through the first run. Chase Briscoe eventually passed the fading Byron towards the end, but was not able to shake his own teammate Ty Gibbs.

Gibbs saved enough tire and took the lead late in the run to lead at halfway.

Both front row starters, Larson and Byron, suffered immense tire fall off and fell to ninth and fourth respectively.

While teams were working on their cars during the intermission, the sleet decided to take the lead as it came down long enough for NASCAR to mandate a tire change.

Many cautions caused by the conditions meant drivers made quick cycles through the field. This jumbled lineup allowed drivers such as Shane Van GIsbergen, Ryan Preece, and Daniel Suarez to contend for the win.

But it was Ryan Preece who took advantage of a drying track and kept his distance from William Byron and the rest of the contenders to win.

Below is an archived retelling of the day’s events.

The Second Hundred Laps

Not long after the break commenced, the sleet started. NASCAR subsequently deemed the track too wet for their slick tires and allowed teams to make the appropriate change.

The race completely flipped on its head as Ty Gibbs led teammate Chase Briscoe to the race restart on lap 102.

Completing a lap became difficult. Multiple cars spun around in turn four after Connor Zilisch and Denny Hamlin made contact before coming back around. Before this, Chase Briscoe took advantage of the outside lane to regain control of the lead.

Take two of the lap 102 restart. Carson Hocevar shoved both Briscoe and Gibbs high but he struck a drain resulting in no changes in positions.

Ryan Blaney gained the most net positions in the first half, but a tire change altered his car’s handling and sent him from fifth to 13th by lap 105.

The field then settled in cautiously, with a very unique outside groove that formed, until Josh Berry hit the outside wall on the frontstretch and slammed into the Turn 4 wall on lap 120.

Two laps after the restart Alex Bowman slips into Austin Cindric resulting in a multi-car incident leading to Cindric and Wallace to the pits for repairs.

On the lap 123 restart, Carson Hocevar completed a daring slide job on Briscoe for the lead into turn one. Many cars behind him fought four-wide with each other and somehow sorted itself out.

The battle for third boiled over on lap 130. Chase Elliott practically spun Ty Gibbs but straightened him out on corner exit to maintain the green flag.

Ryan Blaney spun on lap 136 but maintained his momentum to keep the race green but that fortune did not last much longer.

The Cautions Keep Coming

Two laps later Denny Hamlin spun to bring out the caution again after the 18 lap run.

On the next restart, Shane Van Gisbergen took advantaged of Hocevar’s wheelspin to gain the lead as Chase Elliott gets turned a lap later.

The spins kept comming. Cautions on laps 139, 142, 143, and 144 allowed for many drivers to cycle through to the front.

The field looked completely different midway through the second half of the race than during the entire first half of the race.

On lap 149, while fighting for for seventh, Kyle Larson’s car stumbled unexpectedly and ran out of fuel. The caution came out two laps later as Larson came to a stop before the pit entry.

After a string of cautions, Van Gisbergen reclaimed the lead on the restart. As the track dried, Ryan Preece overtook him on lap 156.

Chase Elliott ran out of fuel on lap 165 near pit road entry, mirroring his teammate’s fate.

One lap later, Chase Briscoe sent an agressive pass on the inside resulting in a wheel hop. That sent him into Van Gisbergen and Van Gisbergen into the wall, collecting multiple cars as well.

During that same caution period, NASCAR determined that the cars needed refuel to get to the checkered flag with 35 laps to go.

Carson Hocevar’s crew took the time to change tires and was promptly penalized for the change due to only being allowed to refuel under the unique circumstances. That decision sent him to the rear for the restart.

A Dry Finish

Ryan Preece led the field to green on the restart with a rapidly drying track. William Byron found his way back to second place and looked to run down the leader before the caution flew once more on lap 180.

Kyle Busch got squished nto the outside wall on the restart causing a stackup behind. Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs collided hard as a result of the stackup.

Preece set off once more as his defence of the race lead from Byron continued where they left off.

Byron broke a little too far into the corner, nearly missing the corner and rendering the fight for the lead useless with 9 to go.

Ryan Preece paced the field to the finish to win the 2026 Cookout Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

The First Hundred Laps

The race started off cordially with William Byron allowing teammate Kyle Larson to slide down in front of him into the first corner.

With Larson in the lead, the race then ran clean and green for 41 laps until water started weeping though the turn four walls to put the race under its first caution.

Since only green flag laps count in the clash, the race resumed on lap 42 with Kyle Larson in the lead and William Byron allowing him to get back to the bottom line before the lap was over.

Chase Briscoe moved William Byron on lap 49 for second place after Byron left enough of a window open for the pass to take place.

Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace got caught in the outside groove while teammate Tyler Reddick passed him. From there Wallace could not find a window to get back down to the racing groove.

That pass started an accordion effect further back resulting in Wallace spinning on lap 53 out of turn four resulting in the second caution of the night.

The Madhouse Comes to Life

Finally free from the Hendrick Motorsports leading tandem, Briscoe took to the outside on the restart. He maintained an even position with Larson for the first five laps after the restart to no avail. This allowed Byron to retake second place.

On lap 72, Kyle Larson’s tires started to fall off. William Byron took advantage resulting in the first lead change of the night. Larson fell down to fourth as a result.

The caution came out once again for Austin Cindric on lap 77 when he spun coming out of turn four with the help of Shane Van Gisbergen.

William Byron moved Chase Briscoe up the track on the lap 78 restart to maintain the lead. Kyle Larson, who started on the outside, continued sliding down the order and into eight after contact with the outside wall.

On lap 85 Chase Briscoe got revenge on William Bryon’s restart and took the lead. He brought teammate Ty Gibbs along with him as Byron then found himself battling with the hard charging Carson Hocevar.

Ty Gibbs passed Chase Briscoe for the lead only a few laps before the end of the stage. He took the crossed flags taking the clash to the halfway intermission.

On the cooldown lap, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez decided to heat up. They exchanged some paint and aggression after battling back and fourth to maintain their lead lap position.

Josh Berry Wins the Last Chance Qualifier

Josh Berry raced his way into the clash after he converted his pole position into a win for the second straight season in the last chance qualifier.

At the start of the race, Michael McDowell, who qualified on the outside front row, took advantage of Berry’s wheelspin to take the lead.

Unfortunately, his jump was too good to be true. NASCAR black flagged him for jumping the initial start after a multi-car incident on lap 6.

The jumpstart sent McDowell to the rear of the field and out of contention.

From there, Josh Berry ran relatively uncontested to the win, but the cameras were more focused on the battle for the final transfer spot in second.

The field spaced out after the caution period. As the run continued to grow longer, the better long-run cars started to pick their way to the top.

AJ Allmendinger, Corey LaJoie, and Austin Cindric picked through the traffic to decide the fight for the final transfer spot.

The final 20 laps consisted of bump and runs, trading paint, and crossover moves between the three of them.

In the end it was Austin Cindric who got to the line first by running Lajoie up the track whilst avoiding a diving Allmendinger to advance into the Clash.

The final transfer of the night belonged to the driver in the race who had the most owners points from last season. Therefore, Hendrick Motorsport’s Alex Bowman qualified from the points provisional to complete the field.