Clash Returns to Daytona in 2027 with Wheatley Vodka Sponsorship
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 4, 2026
Clash returns to Daytona
NASCAR will bring The Clash back to Daytona International Speedway in 2027, restoring the preseason exhibition to the track that hosted it for decades and putting it back at the center of Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth. The race is set for Saturday, Feb. 13, 2027, and will carry the Wheatley Vodka name after Wheatley American Vodka signed on as sponsor. The event will be branded as the Wheatley Vodka Clash, and Wheatley American Vodka will serve as the Official Vodka of NASCAR. The race will not count in the NASCAR points standings, but it will still carry a major spot on the calendar because it opens the Daytona stretch that leads into the sport’s biggest week. NASCAR said more details on the 2027 Clash format and eligibility will come later, leaving the core announcement clear and the competitive setup still to be defined.
The return gives Daytona another early-February spotlight and adds a fresh sponsor to a race that has already shifted locations and identities in recent seasons. NASCAR is positioning the event as the first race of Speedweeks, which keeps the Clash at the front of the conversation before the full slate of Daytona races begins. The timing also places it well ahead of the Daytona 500, giving teams and fans an early look at the venue and the rhythm of the week. Wheatley’s arrival on the NASCAR stage gives the sport a new marketing partner for the exhibition while also tying the race to a title that has a long history of change. The name may be new, but the role is familiar. The Clash remains a showcase event, a lead-in race and a marker that the new season is moving toward the Daytona 500.
Daytona 500 week
The 2027 Clash will sit at the start of a packed week at Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona 500 is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 21, 2027, and the support events around it are already set. Daytona 500 qualifying is scheduled for Feb. 17, 2027, followed by the Duel at Daytona on Feb. 18, 2027. A Truck Series race is scheduled for Feb. 19, 2027, then the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and ARCA Menards Series races will follow on Feb. 20, 2027. That schedule gives Daytona a full run of races across the week, with the Clash opening the stretch before the sport turns to the Great American Race. NASCAR also confirmed the summer Daytona weekend will include an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on Friday, Aug. 27, 2027, and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2027. Those dates keep Daytona central in the schedule long after Speedweeks ends and give the speedway another major weekend later in the year.
The Clash does not award points, but it still matters because it sets the tone for everything that follows. Teams get a race atmosphere before the points battle starts. Fans get a live preview of the stock car year at the sport’s most familiar superspeedway. Daytona has long been one of NASCAR’s busiest and most visible venues, and this schedule keeps that role intact. The run from the Clash to the Daytona 500 gives the sport a clear early-season storyline, then the summer weekend extends the track’s place on the calendar. NASCAR has stacked Daytona with marquee events in both February and August, and the 2027 slate shows how important the venue remains to the series.
Clash history at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway hosted The Clash from 1979 to 2021, which made the Florida track the event’s original and longest home. NASCAR later moved the race to Los Angeles for three years, then took it to Bowman Gray Stadium for the last two seasons before announcing the return to Daytona for 2027. That path gives the exhibition a wide range of settings, from a superspeedway to a short track and back again. The move back to Daytona restores a familiar backdrop for a race that has spent the past few years on the road. The Clash last ran at Daytona in 2021 on the road course, and Kyle Busch won that race. Erik Jones won the final oval edition of The Clash at Daytona, adding another chapter to the event’s history at the speedway. Those results reflect the different versions the race has taken over time, from the traditional oval format to the road-course edition that closed the first Daytona run.
The 2027 return reconnects the event with its roots. Daytona is where the race built its identity, and Daytona is where it will open another Speedweeks. The history gives the announcement weight because The Clash is more than a one-off exhibition. It has moved with NASCAR’s needs and experiments, and now it is coming back to a venue that has defined much of its past. The combination of the race’s return, the new sponsor and the place it holds on the schedule gives NASCAR a clean opening act for 2027.
