By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
Josh Berry and Austin Cindric claimed the final two spots in NASCAR’s preseason exhibition race by finishing 1-2 in the last chance qualifying heat at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem.
The Clash was originally scheduled for Sunday and twice postponed because of a snowstorm that blanketed North Carolina and pushed the non-points event to Wednesday.
Berry ran away with the win in the heat race in the No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing, a team affiliated with Team Penske. Cindric had a much tougher task as he raced side-by-side for over 15 laps with Corey Lajoie for the second transfer position.
Lajoie was the injury replacement driver for Brad Keselowski, co-owner of RFK Racing, who is healing from a broken leg suffered in a fall in December. He held his own against fellow Ford driver Cindric, in a Penske entry, as the two jostled back-and-forth for second.
AJ Allmendinger as they came to the checkered flag gave Cindric a shove in the hopes of moving both Cindric and Lajoie out of his way so that Allmendinger could take the final spot. The move instead pushed Cindric firmly ahead of Lajoie for the final spot in the 200-lap Clash at the historic short track.
Bowman Gray is hosting The Clash for the second consecutive year. It was held at Daytona International Speedway for 43 years from its inception in 1979 through 2021, then moved for three seasons to a temporary track inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Among those who missed making the field for The Clash were Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Todd Gilliland, who both spent a day this week shoveling snow out of the grandstands at Bowman Gray to help NASCAR prepare the facility.
Main event
Kyle Larson, the reigning Cup Series champion, will start the The Clash from the pole alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, the two-time defending Daytona 500 winner.
Denny Hamlin, who had an emotionally traumatic rollercoaster of an offseason, will start sixth in his first time in a car since he dramatically lost the Cup title in November. Hamlin revealed before the race that he re-injured a torn labrum that was surgically repaired ahead of the 2025 season when he slipped in the debris from the December house fire that killed his father and critically injured his mother.
He said he’d hold off on repairing it until the end of this upcoming season.
“I don’t think that it ever healed properly,” Hamlin said. “Took a little fall at my mom’s house, going through all the rubble and stuff, and just didn’t feel right. Got it rescanned and retore it again.”
Up next
Teams report to Daytona International Speedway next week for the Feb. 15 season-opening Daytona 500. Qualifying for the pole is next Wednesday and the rest of the field will be set via a pair of Thursday races.