Report: 2027 NASCAR Clash to be run at Daytona one day before Super Bowl LXI

After years of NASCAR experimenting with new venues for its season-opening exhibition race, the Clash is returning to Daytona International Speedway in 2027, according to a report from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic. 

Bianchi reported Friday that the Clash, which hasn't been run on the oval at Daytona since 2020 and was run at the facility's road course in 2021, will be held on Feb. 13, 2027. 

That date is one day before Super Bowl LXI will be played a SoFi Stadium. The race will also return Daytona Speedweeks to a more traditional schedule, as the Daytona 500 is set to be held eight days later on Feb. 21. 

This year, the Clash was scheduled for Feb. 1, two weeks before the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15, though it did not run until Feb. 4 due to snow. 

Change should benefit NASCAR fans

The scheduling move will also make it more convenient for fans to spend a week at Daytona and see plenty of action with the Clash, Daytona 500 practice and qualifying, the duel races and Truck Series and O'Reilly Series races ahead of the Daytona 500 itself. 

NASCAR took the Clash to the LA Memorial Coliseum from 2022-24 and then to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., in 2025 and 2026.

Daytona hosted the Clash, which began as a 20-lap dash for cash among the previous season's pole winner, from 1979-2020, though the race's length, format and number of participants changed over the years. The 2020 Clash was a race marred by plentiful wrecks and ended with a torn-up car driven by Erik Jones taking the win.