
Joey Logano in practice for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday, February 1, 2025. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — While the 2025 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium was dominated by Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano climbed three spots to ultimately wind up finishing fourth behind Denny Hamlin in the 200-lap event.
The weekend started with Logano qualifying his iconic No. 22 Pennzoil/Shell Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske as the seventh quickest car of the 39 entries for the Cook Out Clash. Logano followed up his qualifying effort by competing in the third heat race on Saturday night, finishing runner-up to Denny Hamlin, solidifying himself into the seventh starting spot for Sunday’s main event.
Logano began his night from the inside of Row 2 alongside Christopher Bell. As the field began to settle into a single line with race leader Chase Elliott checking out on the field, Logano filed into the ninth place spot behind NASCAR Cup Series rookie contender Shane van Gisbergen before the first caution of the day came out for a spinning Kyle Busch in Turn 3 after contact with the No. 4 of Noah Gragson.
As the race restarted on Lap 21, Logano began making moves, passing the No. 88 of Shane van Gisbergen and the No. 60 of Ryan Preece, and found himself back in seventh place.

Joey Logano (No. 22) battles with Shane Van Gisbergen (No. 88) and Ryan Preece (No. 60) in the 2025 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. (Photo Credit: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
As the third caution flag of the day waved on Lap 78 due to William Byron spinning out on the front stretch, the Middletown, Connecticut native managed to keep Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 car in check while running in the eighth position up until the caution was called.
The caution only lasted for one lap and Logano restarted to the outside of Briscoe. Christopher Bell gave the third place car of Chris Buescher a shove up the hill into Turn 3, which stacked up the inside lane, allowing for Logano to sneak by and make the pass, clearing the No. 77 of Carson Hocevar as he sent both Briscoe and Bubba Wallace up the track in Turn 2.
As the halftime caution break fell on Lap 100, Logano filed in for the eighth spot after letting 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie Of The Year recipient Carson Hocevar take the seventh spot.
Logano’s most notable moment in the race occurred on Lap 109. After locking up his brakes in Turn 3, he gave Bell a shove, which initiated a chain reaction. This collision caused Hocevar to be hit from behind by Bell, spinning Hocevar into the tire barriers at the pit entrance in Turn 3. This incident brought out the fifth caution of the race with just over 90 laps remaining.
With under 30 laps to go, Logano began his ascent, skillfully navigating the track in the No. 22 car. He made his move, passing the No. 17 of Buescher and finally breaking into the top five for the first time all night.
Joey Logano made his final pass for fourth place, overtaking Bubba Wallace, and maintained that position until the end of the race. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott secured the victory, leading 171 of the scheduled 200 laps. The strong finish provided Logano with significant momentum as he heads into Daytona in two weeks.
“It was really, really good. I thought the pre-race ceremony was pretty cool. The fans being right there. It’s what Bowman Gray is, right? You’ve got the fans heckling you and saying whatever they want and saying your number one in two different ways, so that’s what Bowman Gray was built off of,” said Logano in a post-race press release.
Joey Logano’s most recent victory in the Clash occurred at the inaugural Busch Light Clash held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2022, where he achieved the first-ever win in the then-brand-new Generation 7 race car.
Logano continued to speak on the success of the event and how he saw the 2025 Cook Out Clash as bringing in that grassroots feeling of racing. The fans who attended the race brought vibrant energy all night long and their dedication to watching every single moment of the action from Saturday to Sunday did not go unnoticed.
“Everyone has a favorite or not and they’re passionate about it and when you get everyone this close, I mean, you look at yesterday. People hung out for the modified race all the way until practice and the heat races. It was packed yesterday and tonight was standing room only, so, from that standpoint, the atmosphere was successful.”
Logano will gear up for Speedweeks as the NASCAR Cup Series begins the build-up to the Daytona 500 next week for Daytona 500 pole qualifying on February 12, followed by the Daytona Duel qualifying races on Thursday, February 13.