NASCAR delays preseason race at Bowman Gray Stadium to Monday

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has postponed the preseason exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium until Monday night because of ice and snow blanketing the Winston-Salem area.

The Clash was supposed to be a two-day event beginning Saturday, with the main event held Sunday evening. NASCAR late last week cut it to a Sunday-only event in anticipation of poor weather, and as snow blanketed the Carolinas on Saturday, NASCAR made the call to run the race Monday.

“Nothing matters more than the safety of our fans, even when the weather doesn’t cooperate,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue & racing innovations officer. “We were ready to fight the weather, and appreciate the collaboration with Winston-Salem and N.C. officials to make the best decision. Our operations team is hard at work for a Monday race.”

The roads around Winston-Salem had not yet totally been cleared from last weekend’s ice storm and then more snow arrived Saturday morning. Forecasts call for as much as 12 inches.

NASCAR said parking lots for fans will open at 9 a.m. Monday, with practice and qualifying scheduled for 11 a.m.

The race is scheduled for 6 p.m. and could possibly be run in the coldest temperatures in NASCAR history.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever competed when it’s that cold, but thankfully for us, we’re inside of a stock car, which is basically like a oven, so that’ll help,” two-time champion Kyle Larson said Saturday. "It’ll feel fine for us inside the car. I wouldn’t be surprised if you still break, you know, somewhat of a sweat in there.

“I feel for the crews and mechanics and fans and NASCAR officials, everybody who’s there outside in the cold. But you know, we love the sport, and we’ll compete in many conditions. I just look forward to the challenge.”

Larson said he never expected The Clash to run Sunday and planned to spend Saturday sledding with his three children.

___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing