The Clash headed to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025 (2024)

The Clash is coming to Bowman Gray Stadium.

NASCAR’s biggest exhibition race in the Cup Series will be run at the famed stadium on Feb. 2, 2025. The announcement was made during prerace activities before Saturday’s weekly races. The longest NASCAR-sanctioned track in the country is winding down its 76th season with its final races to be held next week.

It will be televised by FOX in primetime.

The Clash, which has been held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum the last three years, will be run on the quarter-mile flat track that has plenty of history. Now, it will make more history in February.

Ben Kennedy, the executive vice president of NASCAR, is a great grandson of Bill France Sr. He made the official announcement to the fans at Bowman Gray.

“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, who won a race at Bowman Gray Stadium in 2013. “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 Madhouse.’”

Allen Joines, the mayor of Winston-Salem, said having a national event here is a big deal.

“The city is very excited and grateful to NASCAR for selecting Bowman Gray Stadium as the site for the 2025 Clash event,” Joines said. “This further solidifies the city’s relationship with NASCAR and the many fans in this area.”

In early June, the rumor that The Clash might come to Bowman Gray Stadium gained momentum when Matthew Dillner, an announcer for FloRacing.com, made a video that went viral. In recent weeks, there were more indications that an announcement would be made.

Chris Fleming, a veteran driver in the Modified Division, said The Clash coming to Bowman Gray adds another layer of history. Fleming and his family, which includes older brother, Frank, have been racing at the stadium for nearly 50 years.

Frank and Chris have combined to win 38 Modified races in their outstanding careers.

“It’s going to be great for Winston and great for Bowman Gray, but you aren’t going to find a motel or hotel room anywhere in this area,” Fleming said. “I would definitely say it’s a historic day because we all get to race on that little track all the time but now the highest division in NASCAR will get to see our track.”

As part of The Clash coming to Winston-Salem, FOX Sports Films is also working on a documentary called “The Madhouse: NASCAR’s Return to Bowman Gray Stadium.”

The one-hour show will premiere on FS1, and it will explore the deep history of the Winston-Salem venue while weaving a narrative that focuses on preparations for The Clash in February.

A big benefit to all the race teams that compete in The Clash are the travel expenses that will be saved after going to Los Angeles for the last three years, then coming back east to head to Daytona. Most of the race shops are in and around North Carolina.

As for the weather in Winston-Salem in early February, the average temperature is 53 degrees, according to weatherspark.com. The last time there was significant snow here was in January 2022.

Last year on Feb. 9, it was 69 degrees. The coldest day in February last year was on Feb. 4 when it was 32 degrees at Smith Reynolds Airport.

Kennedy said he’s also looked at the weather history around here for February.

“The good news is if there is weather, we can push the race to Monday if needed because the race teams are all mostly in and around Charlotte, so that will make it easier to get to Daytona,” Kennedy said.

NASCAR will have to come in and do some restructuring to accommodate the fans. Bowman Gray Stadium holds around 14,000, but there’s room for temporary bleachers if needed.

Kennedy said he doesn’t know if temporary bleachers would be needed.

“The goal is to make it feel like any Saturday night here, so we don’t want it to have a different look,” Kennedy said. “We will need some time to figure out the other aspects of what’s needed for the Cup Series race but we have a few months for that.”

The old-school guard rails will also likely be replaced by the soft walls that are used at NASCAR tracks.

“You won’t be able to get in, it’s going to be so crowded,” Fleming said. “It’s going to be exciting, and I know the fans will love it.”

Kennedy’s great grandfather, Bill France Sr., and Alvin Hawkins brought motorsports to Bowman Gray Stadium in 1949 when the Bowman Gray Stadium weekly series began. It was the first paved track in NASCAR history.

The stadium was built in 1937, and after NASCAR bought the lease from the City of Winston-Salem earlier this year from the Hawkins family it’s not a surprise to many that The Clash is coming. NASCAR has made it a point to reach back into its history with a good example being the revival of North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Bowman Gray Stadium has played host to 29 NASCAR Grand National, now NASCAR Cup Series, races from 1958 to 1971. The stadium has had many legends race there, including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Glen Wood, David Pearson, Ned Jarrett, Richie Evans and Jerry Cook. Petty, who won 200 career races, won his 100th race in the 1969 Myers Brothers 250 at the stadium.

Petty’s father, Lee, also raced at Bowman Gray Stadium in the early years.

More recently, Bowman Gray Stadium hosted several East Series races from 2011 to 2015, with Kennedy winning there in 2013.

Current NASCAR Cup Series drivers Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace have all competed in their professional careers at Bowman Gray.

The Clash, which is sponsored by Busch Light, has been the traditional exhibition race on the NASCAR Cup Series since 1979. It was held at Daytona International Speedway from 1979 through 2021 before it moved to Los Angeles for the last three years. Last year’s race was won by Denny Hamlin.

Before NASCAR headed to Los Angeles in 2021 for The Clash, drivers tested the new Next Gen car at Bowman Gray. In October 2021, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the track to themselves as they tested the new car.

It was during that testing session that Earnhardt Jr. talked about the history of the stadium. That was his first visit there.

Earnhardt’s grandfather, the late Ralph Earnhardt, won four times on the track while racing in NASCAR’s highest division.

“It’s 45 minutes from my house, and I’ve been dying to come here. I was a big ‘Madhouse’ fan when that show was on the History Channel,” Earnhardt Jr. said in October 2021.

Earnhardt said he checked a box for racetracks where his family had success.

“They’ve got a great thing going on,” he said of Bowman Gray Stadium. “So, it’s fun to be able to come here and its really cool to be here and get some laps. It’s a very intimidating place with the guardrail, and you are racing around... Those guardrails are just chewed up and it’s just daring you to hit it.”

The last time the Cup Series was at Bowman Gray Stadium was in 1971 when Bobby Allison won a race at the famed track.