The NASCAR Cup Series season informally began with the Cook Out Clash exhibition race on Sunday at the quarter-mile Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., and the best of stock car racing was on display.

Ryan Blaney reacted to his second-place finish behind Chase Elliott in the NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

C hase Elliott claimed NASCAR's first checkered flag of 2025 on Sunday night in Winston-Salem, winning the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium for his first victory in the Cup S

WINSTON-SALEM -- The 2025 NASCAR season unofficially gets underway on Sunday night, as some of the top drivers head to the legendary Bowman Gray Stadium for the Cook Out Clash. After three years racing at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASCAR elected to move its premier preseason event to a more traditional venue.