NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Christopher Bell paces NASCAR Clash practice at Bowman Gray

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Feb 4, 2026 3:24 PM ET

In the first on-track session of the year for the NASCAR Cup Series, Christopher Bell led the way.

Bell was fastest in Wednesday's practice session for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (6 p.m. ET, Fox), followed by Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe.

William Byron, Chris Buescher, Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano rounded out the top-10. Other notable practice results include defending Clash winner Chase Elliott in 11th, Denny Hamlin in 13th, defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson in 14th, Ty Gibbs in 18th and Corey LaJoie in 23rd.

Cup Series field tight on the speed chart

Per Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, Bell, Briscoe, Byron and Blaney all had the exact same five-lap average at 14.28 seconds. Blaney and Bell were tied for the best 10-lap average, while Briscoe and Byron tied each other for the best 20-lap average.

How close is the field here?

Blaney, Briscoe, Byron, Bell all tied for the exact same best 5-lap average (14.28).

Blaney and Bell tied for best 10-lap

Reddick best 15-lap

Briscoe and Byron tied for best 20-lap AND best 25-lap

Byron best 30-lap
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) February 4, 2026

That long run speed could come in handy during Wednesday's 200-lap main event (6 p.m. ET, Fox, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Twenty of the 23 spots in the race will be set in qualifying, while the last-chance qualifier (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox) will send its top-two finishers to the main event. The 23rd and final qualifier will be the driver who finished highest in the 2025 standings who is not yet locked into the main event.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

This article first appeared on Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI and was syndicated with permission.

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