Starting Lineups for the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Clash Heat Races
The starting lineups for the four Cook Out Clash Heat Qualifier races, which will take place on Saturday night at Bowman Gray Speedway, have been set by way of the speeds in final practice.
Chase Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will start from the pole in Heat Race 1 after he clocked in the fastest lap time of the practice session. Elliott's quick lap in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was a 14.115 second (63.762 mph) lap.
Elliott narrowly topped Chris Buescher by 0.031 seconds. By snagging the second-fastest lap time in the session, Buescher will start from the pole in Heat Race 2, while Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick will start from the pole in Heats 3 and 4.
The top five finishers from each of the four Cook Out Clash Heat Races, which are set to begin at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday, February 1, will advance to Sunday's Main Event. The remaining three positions will be filled by the top-two finishers in Sunday's Last Chance Qualifier and the driver, who finished highest in the points last season and is yet to lock into the field, will assume the final starting spot in the Cook Out Clash.
Here are the official starting lineups for all four of the Cook Out Clash Heat Races:
Heat Race 1 Starting Lineup
Pos. | No. | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports |
2 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing |
3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske |
4 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports |
5 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing |
6 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing |
7 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports |
8 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing |
9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing |
10 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing |
Heat Race 2 Starting Lineup
Pos. | No. | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing |
2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing |
3 | 88 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing |
4 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports |
5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing |
6 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports |
7 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing |
8 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB |
9 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing |
10 | 66 | Garrett Smithley | Garage 66 |
Heat Race 3 Starting Lineup
Pos. | No. | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing |
2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing |
3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports |
4 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports |
5 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports |
6 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing |
7 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing |
8 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing |
9 | 15 | Tim Brown | Rick Ware Racing |
10 | 50 | Burt Myers | Team AmeriVet |
Heat Race 4 Starting Lineup
Pos. | No. | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing |
2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske |
3 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske |
4 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team |
5 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports |
6 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing |
7 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports |
8 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB |
9 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports |
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.