NASCAR News: Larson to start from pole in tonight’s Cook Out Clash
Defending series champion Kyle Larson (pictured) topped the leaderboard in Wednesday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session to claim the pole position for the 2026 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium at 63.663 mph in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series title winner will lead the field to green in the main event at 6 p.m. ET on FOX.
Rounding out the top five were Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Chase Briscoe in the No. 19 JGR Toyota and Christopher Bell in the No. 20 JGR entry. Rookie Connor Zilisch qualified for the main event in the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, placing 19th on the board. The points provisional currently belongs to No. 48 Hendrick driver Alex Bowman, who can still race his way in via the Last Chance Qualifier.
The top 20 cars from qualifying locked into the main event. The Last Chance Qualifier determined the final two drivers that would transfer to the main event.
No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell posted the fastest lap in cumulative practice sessions that preceded qualifying with a best speed of 63.411 mph. No. 12 Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney was second on the board at 63.295 mph.
Last Chance Qualifier Results
| Fin | Str | No. | Driver | Team | Laps Led | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 1 | 21 | Josh Berry | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 64 | 75 | Running |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Freightliner Ford | 0 | 75 | Running |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | Corey LaJoie | Solomon Plumbing Ford | 0 | 75 | Running |
| 4 | 8 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 11 | 75 | Running |
| 5 | 10 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Dollar Tree Toyota | 0 | 75 | Running |
| 6 | 15 | 38 | Zane Smith | Long John Silver’s Ford | 0 | 75 | Running |
| 7 | 13 | 4 | Noah Gragson | TrueTimber Ford | 0 | 75 | Running |
| 8 | 12 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 0 | 75 | Running |
| 9 | 14 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chef Boyardee Chevrolet | 0 | 75 | Running |
| 10 | 16 | 43 | Erik Jones | Advent Health Toyota | 0 | 74 | Running |
| 11 | 2 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Workforce Chevrolet | 0 | 74 | Running |
| 12 | 9 | 41 | Cole Custer | HaasTooling.com Chevrolet | 0 | 73 | Running |
| 13 | 17 | 66 | Chad Finchum | Garage 66 Ford | 0 | 73 | Running |
| 14 | 18 | 50 | Burt Myers(i) | Tibbetts Lumber Chevrolet | 0 | 73 | Running |
| 15 | 7 | 51 | Cody Ware | Evel Knievel Museum Chevrolet | 0 | 73 | Running |
| 16 | 6 | 35 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota | 0 | 72 | Running |
| 17 | 5 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 0 | 56 | |
| 18 | 11 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Dairi-O/Jerry Hunt Supercenter Ford | 0 | 47 |
Starting Lineup for Cook Out Clash
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Behind | Gap |
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 14.137 | 63.6627 | 0.000s | 0.000s |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Valvoline Chevrolet | 14.141 | 63.6447 | -0.004 | -0.004 |
| 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Monster Energy Toyota | 14.146 | 63.6222 | -0.009 | -0.005 |
| 4 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 14.147 | 63.6177 | -0.010 | -0.001 |
| 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Mobil 1 Toyota | 14.15 | 63.6042 | -0.013 | -0.003 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Bob’s Discount Furniture Toyota | 14.151 | 63.5997 | -0.014 | -0.001 |
| 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Robinhood Toyota | 14.153 | 63.5908 | -0.016 | -0.002 |
| 8 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fifth Third Bank Ford | 14.167 | 63.5279 | -0.030 | -0.014 |
| 9 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Choice Privileges Chevrolet | 14.184 | 63.4518 | -0.047 | -0.017 |
| 10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Chumba Casino Toyota | 14.195 | 63.4026 | -0.058 | -0.011 |
| 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 14.198 | 63.3892 | -0.061 | -0.003 |
| 12 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet | 14.204 | 63.3624 | -0.067 | -0.006 |
| 13 | 8 | Kyle Busch | zone Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 14.209 | 63.3401 | -0.072 | -0.005 |
| 14 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 14.211 | 63.3312 | -0.074 | -0.002 |
| 15 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet | 14.213 | 63.3223 | -0.076 | -0.002 |
| 16 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford | 14.215 | 63.3134 | -0.078 | -0.002 |
| 17 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Chevrolet | 14.231 | 63.2422 | -0.094 | -0.016 |
| 18 | 60 | Ryan Preece | Kroger/Coca-Cola Ford | 14.234 | 63.2289 | -0.097 | -0.003 |
| 19 | 88 | Connor Zilisch | Trackhouse Chevrolet | 14.237 | 63.2156 | -0.100 | -0.003 |
| 20 | 7 | Daniel Suarez | Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation Chevrolet | 14.242 | 63.1934 | -0.105 | -0.005 |
| 21 | 21 | Josh Berry | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 14.243 | 63.1889 | -0.106 | -0.001 |
| 22 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Freightliner Ford | 14.263 | 63.1003 | -0.126 | -0.018 |
| 23 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 14.29 | 62.9811 | -0.153 | -0.018 |