Last year’s Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium was chaotic to say the least, filled with incidents that took away from the overall racing experience. As the 2026 Clash approaches, two-time champion Kyle Busch is hoping the field shows more maturity behind the wheel.
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In 2025, the tight 0.250-mile paved oval produced intense, close-quarters racing but also constant disruptions. There were just four lead changes among three drivers. But the race produced seven cautions, as competitors battled relentlessly for track position in extremely cramped conditions.
The narrow layout encouraged a high-contact style of racing. Drivers were often forced to bump and push their way through the field just to make passes. During media day ahead of the rescheduled 2026 Clash on Wednesday, Busch was asked if he expects more chaos this season.
“I felt like last year’s Clash was a little chaotic,” said Busch. “There were definitely some moments there where some guys were running over each other, and guys got mad at each other for no reason.”
Of course, Busch acknowledged that drivers are bound to bump each other during the Clash. “You are going to hit each other. It’s inevitable, it’s going to happen. But the nature of just getting a little bump-bump and then getting mad about it and trying to retaliate, that’s just the nature of the sport, I guess we are in today,” he said.
“Hopefully, the drivers have grown up over the off-season. I doubt it, but we will see what happens,” he added.
Last year, within 20 laps of the start, caution was raised for a spin in turn four by Busch. The #8 driver took a shot to the rear of the nose of Noah Gragson, spinning around but managing to keep the car off the wall. On lap 79, when William Byron got into the wall, the second caution emerged.
Following a lengthy break for a hard wreck by local favorite Burt Myers on lap 62, the restart became a three-wide scuffle, where Erik Jones got spun, and multiple drivers incurred damage.
After the lap 100 break, a chaotic chain reaction occurred when Austin Cindric tagged Kyle Larson, sending him into Shane van Gisbergen, who then collided with Chase Briscoe. These are just some of the multiple incidents that took place last year.
Given that neither the drivers nor the track has changed, the race will likely prove chaotic again. All the more since they have some extra horsepower at their disposal for short-track racing.
