NASCAR to Move 'The Clash' to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025
NASCAR will officially move its yearly NASCAR Cup Series pre-season exhibition event, The Clash, to Bowman Gray Stadium for the 2025 season. The first-ever Clash at Bowman Gray will be contested on Sunday, February 2, and will be televised by FOX. The news, which had been widely speculated for months, was made official by Ben Kennedy, NASCAR's Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer, in an announcement prior to Saturday night's events at the 0.250-mile short track in Winston-Salem, NC.
Let’s hear it, @BGSRacing fans!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 18, 2024
NASCAR EVP Ben Kennedy delivers the exciting #NASCARClash news! pic.twitter.com/wwEKGMnArl
“Bowman Gray Stadium has a storied history in motorsports, so we look forward to bringing the Cup Series back to this revered racetrack for the first time since 1971,” said Kennedy. “As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place as the original home to grassroots racing. With a history of intense competition, we are proud to host The Clash at the ‘The Madhouse.’
The Clash, which was established in 1979, was an exhibition event held on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway oval layout for 33 consecutive years. In 2021, the event was moved to the Daytona International Speedway road course layout, and then the LA Memorial Coliseum served as the host of the race for a three-year stretch beginning with the 2022 season.
The LA Memorial Coliseum concept took place on a makeshift 0.250-mile paved oval, which NASCAR built each winter leading into The Clash. That race served as the proving grounds to prove that NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars could in fact compete, and compete well at tracks with confines as tight as Bowman Gray Stadium.
Bowman Gray has played host to NASCAR-sanctioned events since 1949, and 29 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races were held at the iconic facility from 1958 to 1971.
Leading up to the NASCAR Cup Series return to Bowman Gray, NASCAR Studios and FOX Sports Films will team up to produce a one-hour documentary entitled The Madhouse: NASCAR's Return to Bowman Gray Stadium. The documentary will premiere on FS1 on a date to be announced later.
The track, which opened in 1937, has a seating capacity of 17,000 in its current form and has been the home of NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series events.
In March, NASCAR announced the acquisition of Winston-Salem Speedway, Inc., which earned the sanctioning body to serve as the manager of racing operations at the track. As part of that announcement, NASCAR revealed that it has a lease in place for the race track with the City of Winston-Salem, which runs through December 2050.
Allen Joines, the Mayor of the City of Winston-Salem states that NASCAR's commitment to making Bowman Gray the venue of the 2025 Clash has the city feeling grateful and that the news solidifies the city's relationship with the sanctioning body.
“The city of Winston-Salem is very excited and grateful to NASCAR for selecting Bowman Gray Stadium as the site for The Clash in 2025,” said Joines. “This further solidifies our city’s relationship with NASCAR and the many fans in the region as we welcome the NASCAR Cup Series back to Bowman Gray Stadium.”
When that announcement was made back in March, immediately the industry began buzzing about whether or not there could be a day where the NASCAR National Series could visit "The Madhouse" again. Roughly five months later, that question has been answered.
Bowman Gray Stadium returning the NASCAR Cup Series as an exhibition race venue coincides with another legacy short track within the world of NASCAR, North Wilkesboro Speedway, which was revived by Speedway Motorsports and has served as the host of the NASCAR All-Star Race since the 2023 season.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.