NASCAR officials, keeping safety in mind after adverse weather conditions, have rescheduled the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray to Monday, February 2. And, even though the drivers will compete at the rescheduled Clash, many would have already begun shifting their focus to the next race on the calendar: The flagship, Daytona 500, on February 15.
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However, there is a debate raging on about the relevance of the famed race within the NASCAR community. Veteran Tony Stewart, in a podcast last year, said he doesn’t consider the Daytona 500 as prestigious as it was 15 or 20 years ago. He feels winning the Great American Race has lost some of its luster. Stewart also felt some non-deserving drivers have won the race in the recent past.
Kyle Larson, like the rest of the NASCAR community, respects Stewart. However, he vehemently disagrees with his claim that the Daytona isn’t esteemed enough anymore.
“I mean, it’s always going to be prestigious and feel prestigious. I’ve never won the race. I’ve never even finished top-five, so I don’t know what the feeling is like. I would imagine the feeling of winning is still going to be extremely massive, if it ever happens,” Larson said.
“But in a way, not that I fully agree with those comments, and I don’t know if that’s exactly how they’re meant to be anyways, but it is difficult to get really excited about the winner or who’s won when usually there’s a 20-car pile-up and the guy running towards the back squeaks through, and then misses another wreck later and wins,” the 2025 Cup champion continued.
Larson understands that racing dynamics in the Next Gen era have their own set of quirks and issues. At Daytona and Talladega, almost anyone can prevail because of pileups and late-race wrecks. But teams that consistently put themselves in the right position, and drivers who make the smartest decisions, still find ways to win.
William Byron’s back-to-back victories at Daytona are a perfect example. They are not by fluke. The cream still rises to the top, and Byron has won at Daytona in both the old-style car and the Next Gen machine.
Like the current No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver, Stewart never won a Harley J. Earl Trophy despite a Hall of Fame résumé. Between 1999 and 2016, he amassed 49 Cup Series wins and three championships. Daytona 500 Victory Lane eluded him.
Stewart’s best finish in the Great American Race was a runner-up result in 2004. He did, however, win the summer race at Daytona International Speedway four times.
Getting back to the Clash, it is on for Monday as things stand. However, if the weather remains extreme, it could force NASCAR to move the race to next weekend or potentially relocate it to its former home at Daytona International Speedway. If that happens, drivers would benefit from additional track time, effectively using the Clash as a warm-up for the Daytona 500.
