RACE INFO
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 2025
RACE: Cook Out Clash
TRACK: Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston-Salem, NC)
TRACK LENGTH: 0.25 miles
TV: FOX (8 p.m. ET)
RADIO: MRN Radio / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (8 p.m. ET)
JOE GIBBS RACING
JGR AT THE CLASH: Joe Gibbs Racing owns 12 victories in the Clash, including the past two years and four of the past five seasons dating back to 2020. Kyle Busch (2012 and 2021), Denny Hamlin (2006, 2014, 2016, 2024), Erik Jones (2020), Matt Kenseth (2015), Tony Stewart (2001, 2002, 2007), and Martin Truex Jr. (2022) have all won the race while driving for JGR.
2024 SEASON RECAP: All four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers qualified for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. On the season, the team combined for six wins, 40 top-five finishes, 64 top-10s, 10 pole awards, and 3,060 laps led. Christopher Bell led the team in the final standings by finishing fifth overall followed by Denny Hamlin (eighth), Martin Truex Jr. (10th), and Ty Gibbs (15th).
DENNY HAMLIN
No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE
HAMLIN CLASH NOTES: Denny Hamlin is a four-time winner of the Clash exhibition race. With three wins (2006, 2014, 2016) when the season-opening non-points event previously ran at Daytona International Speedway and last year’s victory at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Hamlin ranks second behind Dale Earnhardt (six wins) on the all-time Clash wins list.
2024 SEASON RECAP: Last season, Hamlin advanced to the Round of 8 for the sixth consecutive season and wound up eighth in the final standings. He visited victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway (March), Richmond Raceway (March), and Dover Motor Speedway (April), and posted 12 top-five finishes, 18 top-10s, and three pole awards.
NEW CREW CHIEF: In November, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Chris Gayle will transition from the No. 54 team to serve as crew chief for Hamlin and the No. 11 team in 2025. Hamlin’s former crew chief Chris Gabehart was promoted to JGR’s competition director.
BABY ON THE WAY: In December, Hamlin and his fiancée, Jordan, announced that they are expecting their third child in June.
SPORT CLIPS: Sport Clips will be featured as the primary sponsor for Hamlin in this weekend’s Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The sports-themed haircutting franchise based in Georgetown, Texas is a longtime supporter of Joe Gibbs Racing dating back to 2009 and has nearly 1,900 stores in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit sportclips.com.
CHASE BRISCOE
No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE
BRISCOE CLASH NOTES: Chase Briscoe has competed in three Clash races – all at the L.A. Coliseum. The highlight of those three starts came last year with a seventh-place finish in the race.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: This weekend will be Briscoe’s Joe Gibb Racing debut. The team officially announced Briscoe would drive the No. 19 Toyota Camry during the 2025 season on June 25, 2024. The No. 19 has a long history in NASCAR and Briscoe joins an elite group of drivers who have piloted the No. 19 over the course of time. Martin Truex Jr, Carl Edwards, and Cale Yarborough are among the drivers to have been behind the wheel of a No. 19 car at NASCAR’s highest level.
2024 SEASON RECAP: Briscoe delivered the final Stewart-Haas Racing victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway last fall. He wrapped up the season with one win, three top-five finishes and nine top-10s.
BASS PRO SHOPS: Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Newsweek as “America’s Most Trusted Retailer for Outdoor Gear. For more information or to shop online, visit http://www.basspro.com.
CHRISTOPHER BELL
No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE
BELL CLASH NOTES: Christopher Bell will attempt to make his third Clash start this weekend at Bowman Gray. Bell has two previous Clash starts – both at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In those starts, Bell finished eighth and 13th, respectively.
2024 SEASON RECAP: The 2024 season was a banner year for Bell as he earned career-high stats across the board with 15 top-five finishes, 23 top-10s, 11 stage wins, 1,145 laps-led, and finished in the top five in the final standings for the third consecutive season. In addition to wins at Phoenix Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bell also captured his first career crown jewel victory by winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
BACK ON DIRT: Dirt racing kept Bell busy this offseason. He kicked off January with a win in his own car at the Tulsa Shootout on January 4. Bell returned to Tulsa in mid-January to compete in the Chili Bowl where he won the Race of Champions and advanced to the main event before ultimately finishing 10th.
MOBIL 1: The No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE will feature Mobil 1 this weekend at Bowman Gray. Mobil 1, the world‘s leading synthetic motor oil brand, has been trusted for more vehicle miles than any one of us drives in our lifetime. For additional information, visit http://www.mobil1.us or and follow @Mobil1 on Facebook, Instagram and X. Join us. For the love of driving.
TY GIBBS
No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE
GIBBS CLASH NOTES: Ty Gibbs has competed in two Clashes at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He finished 26th in 2023 because of a suspension failure. Last year, he led a race-high 84 laps before being shuffled to 16th on a late-race restart.
NEW CREW CHIEF: Tyler Allen has assumed the role of crew chief for Gibbs and the No. 54 team. While this is Allen’s first experience as a crew chief at the Cup Series level, he had a standout season in 2024 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Allen led JGR’s No. 20 Xfinity Series team to eight victories and a runner-up finish in the owner’s championship. Allen and Gibbs worked together in May 2024 when Ty competed in the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That weekend, Gibbs won the pole and led 27 laps before finishing ninth.
2024 RECAP: Last season, the No. 54 team qualified for the Cup Series Playoffs and finished 15th in the final standings. Gibbs scored career highs in top-five finishes (eight), top-10s (12), laps led (417) and won pole awards at Charlotte Motor Speedway (May) and Pocono Raceway (July).
DIRT DEBUTS: Over the offseason, Gibbs competed in the USAC National Midget Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway in California and the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
CHAMPIONSHIPS: Gibbs is the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and the 2021 ARCA Menards Series champion. He also won Rookie of the Year honors in the Xfinity Series (2021) and Cup Series (2023).