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The Underdog House: A Dog-Eat-Dog World in the Madhouse

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The boys are back in town! And you know what that means?

That’s right, your favorite underdog drivers are back to pull off upsets, challenge the guardians of the NASCAR Cup Series and overcome the odds of being a Cup underdog.

What better place to kick it off than winding the clock back and going to Bowman Gray Stadium?

If you missed out on the news last season and decided to hibernate throughout the off-season, you read that right: NASCAR is back at Bowman Gray.

After three seasons of venturing out west to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASCAR returned to its roots by moving its annual Cook Out Clash to Bowman Gray (Feb. 2), marking the first Cup race at the historic venue in over 50 years.

A tenacious, 1/4-mile oval, Bowman Gray has gained a reputation for tempers, madness and a lifestyle for its loyal supporters. It didn’t take long for those qualities to surface in the Clash.

Top Dog: Todd Gilliland

Following the 200-lap exhibition event, Todd Gilliland left as the top dog in his new saddle in Front Row Motorsports’ No. 34. The fourth-year driver moved over to the team’s flagship ride from the No. 38 after veteran Michael McDowell departed for Spire Motorsports, and Gilliland now inherits the role as FRM’s most experienced driver at just 24 years of age.

Racing has a way of bringing irony into the mix, as Gilliland and McDowell, once teammates in a mentor/prodigy scenario, went head-to-head in their heat race for a spot in the main event. The 23-car field was set by the top five finishers in four separate heat races, filled out by the top two finishers from a last chance qualifier and the highest placing driver in 2024 points who was not yet locked in.

In the fourth and final heat, Gilliland and McDowell traded plenty of paint and tried to out-muscle the other for the fifth and final transfer spot. A “courteous” nudge from Gilliland’s No. 34 to McDowell’s No. 71 opened the door, and Gilliland slammed it shut in the end to advance to Sunday night’s show.

The Sherrills Ford, N.C. native had just as physical of a night as most drivers, fighting to survive on the lead lap in the first half of the race. That persistence got a little hairy when he and William Byron were battling to stay ahead of race leader Chase Elliott. And as any Bowman Gray fan knows, when desperate times call for desperate measures at the Madhouse, chaos ensues.

Gilliland made it to the lap 100 halftime break without further incident, sitting in 20th. Once the green flag waved and the racing plunged deeper into the night, the intensity picked up.

Fortunately, Gilliland was able to stay relatively clean the final 100 laps as patience wore thin ahead of him. That opened the door for him to climb forward, finishing the opening event of 2025 in 14th, a reminiscent performance of his consistency from last season.

Underdogs in the Show

As expected, only a couple of additional underdogs joined Gilliland in NASCAR’s version of the Royal Rumble. Carson Hocevar’s ascension into a rising star continued with his debut in The Clash’s main event, and he logged a 16th-place showing to ring the new season in.

Hocevar is notoriously aggressive, sometimes to his own downfall, but that didn’t change his nature at a venue tailor-made for that style.

The reigning Rookie of the Year punched his ticket to the dance by virtue of a fourth-place result in his heat race, slotting him into the 15th starting spot for the main event.

There is much optimism for Hocevar to build off his impressive rookie campaign from 2024, and he validated that notion early on in the race. Hocevar drove up into the top 10 before the midpoint of the race, entering the halftime break in seventh.

Early in the second half, it looked as though the No. 77 would continue to ascend, only for Bowman Gray to rear its head (or Joey Logano for that matter). Entering turn 3, Logano nailed Christopher Bell’s rear bumper, causing Bell to slip slightly and hook Hocevar, sending him into the outside safer barrier from the sixth position.

The Madhouse is unforgiving, and when one thing goes wrong, one must be prepared for another domino to fall. That happened to Hocevar on lap 120, just a few laps past an incident where he got shoved into Kyle Larson.

A stack up involving Brad Keselowski spurred a chain reaction, this time reversing the roles as Larson got into the back of Hocevar and spun him into the infield grass.

The Portage, Mich., native battled until the end to just miss out on the top 15.

Rounding out the underdogs in The Clash’s main event was Gilliland’s new teammate, Noah Gragson. The newest driver of the No. 4, which was claimed by FRM after Stewart-Haas Racing shuttered operations, had an eventful weekend in his third consecutive Clash appearance.

Gragson’s journey may have been the most physical, as he got spun, bounced off several cars, and made a three-wide pass on the top en route to qualifying for the main event from the first heat race.

Gragson started inside the top 10 on Sunday night, but he quickly faded as the laps went on. By the halfway mark, he had slipped to 21st. Involved in that down slide was another run-in with Kyle Busch.

Gragson ultimately finished 20th, one lap down. Despite those struggles, he displayed potential for FRM’s expansion as it dives into 2025.

A pair of Bowman Gray aces got the opportunity of a lifetime to compete at the Cup level, as 12-time track champion Tim Brown and 11-time track champion Burt Myers each got a taste of America’s premier level of stock car racing. Brown competed in Rick Ware Racing’s No. 15, while Myers piloted the No. 50 for Team AmeriVet.

Neither driver was able to transfer into the show for their home fans, but that didn’t cost them any respect. Myers took the brunt of the Last Chance Qualifier, getting tagged by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and sliding hard into the outside wall. On the bright side, Myers undoubtedly had the Bowman Gray faithful behind him.

What They’re Saying

Burt Myers (eliminated in LCQ):

Something to Chew On

With a new season on the starting blocks, there are plenty of storylines to run with concerning the underdogs. And while the Clash may stand as an exhibition on a track smaller than any other hosting a points race, a foreshadowing may have taken place.

FRM and Spire Motorsports are frequently being heralded as the two rising organizations, arguably investing more than any other smaller team into the vision for future success sooner rather than later. That was epitomized by the fact that the underdogs in the main event came from both of those organizations, with its missing drivers making plenty of noise as well.

Both Gilliland and Hocevar are popular sleeper picks for an upset this season, and Gragson, Zane Smith, McDowell, and Justin Haley should be in that boat as well. The upside for both organizations extends beyond reach, and it will be something to keep an eye on this season.

Small Team Scheme of the Week

“The Mayor of Throttleville” was certainly riding in style in his new shoes at FRM. Gragson sported the colors of TrueTimber Camo on his No. 4 Ford, complete with camouflage and ineluctable orange colors. This scheme was perfect under the lights, and it should already be a scheme of the year candidate.

Luken Glover joined the Frontstretch team in 2020 as a contributor, furthering a love for racing that traces back to his earliest memories. Glover inherited his passion for racing from his grandfather, who used to help former NASCAR team owner Junie Donlavey in his Richmond, Va. garage. A 2023 graduate from the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is the author of "The Underdog House," contributes to commentary pieces, and does occasional at-track reporting. Additionally, Glover enjoys working in ministry, coaching basketball, playing sports, and karting.

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