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NASCAR: One driver locked into Clash, despite not qualifying

BBG News

Four races consisting of 25 laps each were held around the four-cornered, 0.25-mile (0.402-kilometer) Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday evening. These races qualified five drivers for the 200-lap Cook Out Clash, which will take place at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina oval on Sunday night.

Instead of having only 20 drivers participating in the main event, there will be 23. The 19 drivers who didn’t make the cut during Saturday night’s qualifying will have a chance to compete in a preliminary 75-lap race known as the Last Chance Qualifier.

In the upcoming Clash, the first and second-place racers will position themselves in row 11. However, there will also be a single car placed on row 12.

One driver locked in, despite not qualifying

In the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, if 17 drivers don’t qualify, the highest-ranked driver from the season points list will be given a place in the final 23-car grid.

2024 series runner Joey Logano from Team Penske secured a spot for the Clash with a strong second place finish in his qualifying race on Saturday evening. Unfortunately, teammate and 2024 vice-champion Ryan Blaney wasn’t able to do the same, ending his heat race in tenth (last) position.

Blaney’s position in the Last Chance Qualifier race is 17th, but since Logano has already secured a spot in the Clash and won’t be affected by his 2024 points standing, Blaney automatically qualifies for the Clash as well. This means that regardless of whether he manages to overtake at least 15 positions and finish in the top two or not, he’s already guaranteed a spot in the race.

If Blaney can miraculously gain 15 positions during the race, which is quite difficult considering the difficulty of passing on Saturday nights, then Kyle Larson from Hendrick Motorsports would have a guaranteed spot, due to his sixth position in the points standings last year.

In his heat race, Larson came in eighth position, and he’s now preparing for the Last Chance Qualifier, starting from the tenth spot.

If both competitors end up within the top two positions, the preliminary spot for 2024 points will be given to Ty Gibbs from Joe Gibbs Racing, who ranked 15th in standings last season. Following a sixth-place finish in his qualifying race, he is poised to begin the Last Chance Qualifier in third position.

As a gamer, here’s my take: If Blaney doesn’t manage to gain around 15 or 16 positions in the Last Chance Qualifier, it looks like he’ll be the 23rd racer in the Clash. The big question now is who’ll secure the 21st and 22nd spots. Regardless, he’s definitely in the race at this point.

A full Last Chance Qualifier starting lineup can be found here.

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET, catch the live telecast of the Last Chance Qualifier on Fox from Bowman Gray Stadium. After that, keep watching for the Cook Out Clash itself. Sign up now for a free trial of FuboTV to make sure you don’t miss any exciting moments!

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2025-02-02 17:02

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