PREVIEW: Few entry list changes on the Cup side heading into frigid Clash weekend
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Dominic Konareski (New York Sports Show), @NYSSofficial
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 (Green Flag 6:22 P.M. ET, FOX)
CUP Exhibition Race
Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium
2025 Last-Place Finisher: Chase Briscoe
ENTRY LIST
As the Clash returns to Bowman Gray Stadium for a second-straight season, there are 38 drivers entered to make the 23-car starting lineup for Wednesday’s 200-lap main event. With Saturday’s events cancelled along with the first part of the week, practice speeds will determine the first 20 of the starters in the main events. Two more spots will go to the top finishers of Wednesday’s 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier, held just before the main (Green Flag 4:33pm ET). The 23rd and final spot will be determined based on last year’s points.
DRIVER CHANGE: #6-RFK Racing
As Brad Keselowski finishes recuperating from his offseason injury while skiing, past Bowman Gray winner Corey LaJoie will take his place in the #6. Keselowski is expected to return to the driver’s seat next week for his latest bid at an elusive Daytona 500 victory.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
OWNER POINTS SWAP / DRIVER SWAP: #88-Trackhouse Racing
OWNER POINTS SWAP / NUMBER CHANGE: #97-Trackhouse Racing
OWNER POINTS SWAP: #99-Trackhouse Racing
Trackhouse Racing boasts its new duo of road race aces with Red Bull backing as Connor Zilisch embarks on his first full-time Cup Series season and bid for Rookie of the Year. Zilisch takes the place of founding Trackhouse driver Daniel Suarez, who this year moves to Spire Motorsports in place of Justin Haley. The former #99 team is now the #88 as teammate Shane Van Gisbergen will again field the #97, his former O’Reilly Auto Parts Series number. In terms of Owner Points, Van Gisbergen retains his 12th-place rank from his #88 effort in 2025 while Zilisch takes Suarez’ 29th-place rank. The #87 team with which Zilisch ranked 43rd last year is now the placeholder for the #99. As of this writing, Trackhouse retains the #99 while RFK Racing’s planned part-time #99 is listed as “199” in the standings.
MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #41-Haas Factory Team
Cole Custer’s #41 switches from Ford to Chevrolet, matching the Haas team’s change to their O’Reilly Auto Parts entries.
MISSING: #44-NY Racing Team
As of this writing, J.J. Yeley and John Cohen’s team aren’t among this year’s entrants at the Clash following Yeley’s 32nd-place finish in last fall’s Phoenix race.
RETURNING: #50-Team AmeriVet
In last year’s Clash, local hero Burt Myers engaged in a spirited battle with Tim Brown in the Heat Races, only for his night to come to an end after a tangle with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the Last Chance Qualifier. After making his first points-paying Cup start at Martinsville, where he finished 36th, Myers and the Team AmeriVet program return to action with Tibbetts Lumber Company as sponsor of a red-white-and-blue paint scheme.
OWNER POINTS SWAP / MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing
OWNER POINTS SWAP: #60-RFK Racing
Like the Haas team, RWR makes the change from Ford to Chevrolet with driver Cody Ware. The team also acquires Ryan Preece’s rank in Owner Points, lifting the #51 to 18th and dropping Preece to 36th. Preece carries sponsorship from Coca-Cola on his #60 Ford.
DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Garage 66
Chad Finchum takes the place of 36th-place Phoenix finisher Casey Mears in Carl Long’s #66 entry. Finchum’s most recent start in the Cup Series came last fall in the night race at Bristol, where he piloted Long’s car for a 35th-place finish following brake issues. The New York Sports Show has joined as sponsor of “The Empire State Enforcer.”
Thursday, February 12, 2026
CUP Exhibition Races
Duels at Daytona
2025 Last-Place Finishers: Zane Smith (Race 1), Alex Bowman (Race 2)
SpeedWeeks in Daytona begins in just a few days with practice and qualifying set to begin on Wednesday, February 11th. Be sure to check this site that day as I post my Entry List Storylines covering the Duels, Truck Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and of course the Daytona 500.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (January 30, 1951): Happy Birthday to Joe Falk, who began fielding cars in the present-day Cup Series back in 1997. That year, Falk’s Spam-sponsored #91 Chevrolet finished last only once – on March 23rd at Darlington, where Mike Wallace crashed after 26 laps.
