Three NASCAR drivers who can make 2026 Clash after failing to qualify in 2025

Wednesday's Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium will not be a typical NASCAR event. 

The 200-lap main event during the exhibition race will be contested not by all 40 drivers on the entry list, but by 23, the top-20 drivers in qualifying, the top-two in the 75-lap last-chance qualifier and the highest-finishing driver from the 2025 standings that is yet to lock themselves in. 

There are several drivers who missed the main event in 2025 that could be bound for redemption on Wednesday. Here are three drivers who are best equipped to make the 200-lap Clash after failing to do so a year ago. 

Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

Among the drivers who failed to make the show in 2025, Gibbs' name stands out the most. The 23-year-old driver is talented and is in elite equipment, but neither of those factors translated to the 0.25-mile bullring at Bowman Gray in 2025. 

Gibbs finished sixth in his heat race in 2025 and 14th in the LCQ after spinning on the final lap. At the least, Gibbs will have a fast enough car where he should make the show. 

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

Short tracks have been good to Dillon over the years, especially Richmond Raceway, where he's won the last two Cup Series races. But Bowman Gray wasn't as kind to the six-time Cup Series winner in 2025.

Dillon finished seventh in his heat race and third in the LCQ, coming up one spot shy of making the main event. His Richard Childress Racing teammate, Kyle Busch, did make the race, however, finishing 15th. 

Dillon may not have enough pace to win the Clash, but he should at least be able to make the main event.

Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports

Smith finished sixth in both his heat race and the LCQ in 2025, even leading once for four laps in the latter. But he was the only one of the three FRM Cup Series drivers to miss the Clash. 

His teammates seem to have Bowman Gray figured out to an extent, and if he can be one spot better in qualifying on Wednesday than he was in his heat race last year, he'll be in the show.