NASCAR is back! This weekend, the Cup Series drivers head to Bowman Gray for this year's running of the Clash, the preseason exhibition race that begins each NASCAR season. This is the first time the race has been run at Bowman Gray, a race track built around a football field in Winston-Salem.
In fact, the Cup Series hasn't been here since 1971, a race won by Bobby Allison, with Richard Petty finishing second. It was so long ago that Richard Childress was running the race.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the Cook Out Clash on DraftKings this week. This slate locks on 2/2/2024 at 8:00 p.m. EST. If you have any questions or want to talk about NASCAR, you can find me on X at @juscarts.
Race Information
- Race Name: Cook Out Clash
- Lineup Lock Time: 2/2/2024 at 8:00 p.m. ET
- Track Dimensions: 1/4 mile asphalt flat oval
- 2024 Winner: N/A, first race at this track since 1971.
One important thing to make note of this week is that we won't have the full lineup until just before the race itself is run. That complicates a lot of things when it comes to lineup building.
If you build a lineup on Sunday morning, you might have drivers in it who don't even make the 23-driver field, as only 20 of those spots were locked in during Saturday's heat races.
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Saturday's Heat Races
We won't know the actual lineup until Sunday, but we did get the first 20 spots in the field decided on Saturday night, so we have a lot of data to work off.
One question heading into this weekend was how aggressive drivers would race. This track is nicknamed The Madhouse for a reason. Normal Saturday night shows here can end in fisticuffs or in drivers using their cars as weapons.
But these are Cup Series drivers! Surely, they'd have a little more control, right?
Kyle Busch letting Justin Haley know he's not happy with him. NASCAR telling him to lay off.
"This is the last warning. Come off the bumper."
"Can do it under green though. Got it." pic.twitter.com/QtuEzEsP7H— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) February 2, 2025
Nope. The heat races featured a ton of bumps, including Ryan Preece wrecking John Hunter Nemechek and Kyle Busch getting a warning from NASCAR to settle down. Being out front offered a reprieve from the contact, but the drivers in the middle of the pack were always at risk of getting spun out.
Potential Top Plays
Tyler Reddick ($8.4K) - Starts Fourth
Based on the DraftKings pricing, Tyler Reddick wasn't expected to be a contender this weekend. Then, the weekend actually arrived.
Reddick qualified fourth on Saturday and then went on to dominate his heat race, leading all 25 laps. (Note: all four heat races were won from the pole with no lead changes.)
Track position is going to matter on Sunday, so you want to focus on drivers starting up front. Reddick is a great deal because of that.
Chase Elliott ($9.2K) - Starts First
Heat race ✅🏁
P1 tomorrow at the Clash pic.twitter.com/z55pfxh8oS
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) February 2, 2025
There were no passes for the lead on Saturday, so it seems pretty obvious that the driver who starts on the pole for the Clash is a top play. Maybe things get weirder with the larger field and the longer race, but Elliott is at least a good bet to lead laps early.
Chris Buescher ($8.0K) - Starts Second
Of the four drivers to win their heat race, Chris Buescher is the cheapest on Sunday at $8.0K. For that reason, you want some exposure, especially since he starts on the front row and could lead from the get.
Kyle Larson ($10.5K) - Starts ???
Alright, so here's the thing: Kyle Larson isn't locked into Sunday's race yet. He either has to finish first or second, or Ryan Blaney has to finish first or second for Larson to get a spot.
But if Larson does make it into the field, he would be the top place differential play. He seemed off during the heat race, but Larson is one of the most talented drivers in the world.
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Sleeper Options
Let's focus exclusively on drivers who we know are in the 23-driver field.
Ryan Preece ($7.4K) - Starts 12th
Ryan Preece just sent John Hunter Nemechek to the shadow realm in Turn 3 pic.twitter.com/QmfQX5Y2LP
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) February 2, 2025
Preece wrecked John Hunter Nemechek in Heat Race 4, but don't let that distract you from how well he ran, starting sixth and driving his way up to a third-place finish. Of the 12 drivers to finish in the top three in the heats, Preece had the second-best place differential.
Todd Gilliland ($5.8K) - Starts 20th
Out of the 20 drivers locked into the field, Todd Gilliland is both the cheapest and the one starting deepest in the field. For that reason, Gilliland looks poised to be one of the better place differential value plays on this slate, though that may create a scenario where he's on too many rosters.
Drivers To Fade
Noah Gragson ($7.0K) - Starts Ninth
Noah Gragson is an aggressive driver. I'm mostly just going off vibes here, but of all the drivers starting in the top 10, Gragson feels the most likely to get into some trouble. The potential for negative place differential makes Gragson a fade this weekend.
Drivers Who Struggled In The Heat Races
This is less a driver and more a kind of driver. With how important track position will be on Sunday, it's going to be tough for drivers who struggled on Saturday to find their way into one of the two transfer spots in the Last Chance Qualifier.
Among the drivers who are unlikely to make an impact are Josh Berry, Cole Custer, John Hunter Nemechek, and Justin Haley.
Tim Brown ($6.3K) - Starts ???
Look, Tim Brown won't make the field, but I wanted to write about him.
Normally, I might lean toward experience at a track like this mattering, but it's hard to really see much upside for Tim Brown, assuming he makes the field. Yes, he's the all-time winningest driver at Bowman Gray with 101 modified wins here, but $6.3K is just too expensive for a driver whose only experience in any of the top three NASCAR series is finishing 27th at Martinsville in a 2009 Truck Series race.
If he was priced down by teammate Cody Ware (who costs $5.1K), then I might be willing to entertain this, but I just can't get there, even if he makes the field through some miracle.
If you really want to go with a Bowman Gray guy, Burt Myers is in the Team AmeriVet No. 50 car. Personally, I expect that car to be slow as can be whenever it hits the track this year. However, a track this small evens the playing field out a bit so that lack of speed shouldn't be too big of a concern — again, though, it would take a miracle for either guy to make it into this race.
