Ryan Preece won the most recent high-profile NASCAR Cup Series event, the Cook Out Clash exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium, held on the night of February 4–5, 2026.

Quick Scoop

  • Winner: Ryan Preece, scoring his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series victory in the preseason Cook Out Clash.
  • Race type: Exhibition (preseason, non-points) Cup Series event, not a regular-season points race.
  • Track: Bowman Gray Stadium, a historic quarter-mile short track.
  • Notable twist: Rain and sleet at halfway forced teams onto wet-weather tires after a delay, adding chaos and strategy calls.
  • Top finishers:
    • 1st: Ryan Preece
    • 2nd: William Byron
    • 3rd: Ryan Blaney
    • 4th: Daniel Suarez
    • 5th: Denny Hamlin

What Happened In The Race

Preece started 18th in a 23-car field and had to claw through traffic on a tiny, contact-heavy short track. He took the lead briefly around lap 143, then grabbed it for good on lap 156 and held off William Byron over the final stretch.

The race featured 17 caution flags and even a 30-minute delay at halfway because of rain and sleet, which led NASCAR to switch everyone to wet-weather tires. On restarts, Preece’s car came alive, and he repeatedly gained spots to reach the front two rows before making his winning move.

Afterward, an emotional Preece described the win as the payoff for “years and years of grinding,” underscoring how long he has been chasing a Cup-level breakthrough.

If You Meant A Different “Last Night”

Because NASCAR’s main points season has not fully started yet and the most recent major Cup event was this Clash exhibition on Feb 4–5, 2026, that is the latest widely reported NASCAR night race result available. If you were watching a smaller series (like Trucks, Xfinity, or a local short-track event), the winner might be different and more specific to your regional broadcast.

If you tell me which track or series you were watching (Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, or a specific speedway), I can narrow down who won that exact race more precisely.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.