SRIGLEY: NASCAR’s Return to Bowman Gray Stadium Was a Smashing Success

On Sunday, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, roughly 17,000 people were crammed into the standing-room only grandstands of Bowman Gray Stadium, where they flocked to watch the NASCAR Cup Series return to the historic quarter-mile facility for the first time since 1971.

Those 17,000 people, which at points throughout the night sounded like 170,000, came from 44 different states, five different countries, and three continents to watch one of the most historic racetracks in the United States host some of NASCAR’s best and brightest.

There were no brawls breaking out in the middle of the racetrack, or any super aggressive on-track retaliations, so maybe it wasn’t the most chaotic race that Bowman Gray Stadium has ever put on (which is probably a good thing), but the on-track product was stellar, and included lots of full-contact racing.

In this instance, it wasn’t about what the NASCAR Cup Series brought for the people packed into the grandstands, in terms of the on-track product, but it was more about what the fans brought to the NASCAR Cup Series… the true spirit of Bowman Gray Stadium.

Just ask Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., he experienced it first-hand, after getting into local legend Burt Myers and sending him crashing into the Turn 1 SAFER Barrier during the Last Chance Qualifier on Sunday. Collectively, Bowman Gray wasn’t a fan of the HYAK Motorsports driver.

Race fans show their displeasure to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after contact that puts out fan-favorite Burt Meyers. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/f3Arx8zqSK
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) February 3, 2025

That’s the pure beauty of Bowman Gray Stadium, though… the unhinged culture means that fans aren’t bashful about informing drivers of their number one status… even if they have to show them twice.

“I thought the pre-race ceremony was pretty cool,” said defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. “The fans being right there, it’s what Bowman Gray is, right? You have the fans heckling you, saying whatever they want, saying you’re number one in two different ways. That’s what Bowman Gray was built off of.”

“I don’t know if you guys got the boos I got,” Logano quipped. “Overall, I would say it was successful. When fans are cheering and screaming, the drivers’ brands are being exposed to everybody, which is great. Everyone has a favorite or not. You’re passionate about it.”

All of that energy, whether it’s just the general hype of those getting to watch a NASCAR Cup Series event at ‘The Madhouse’, rooting on your favorite driver, or making obscene gestures at a driver who just passed your favorite driver, funnels into an electric atmosphere, one that the driver certainly notice.

“It was an extremely special moment. I think the people in the crowd made it that,” said race-winner Chase Elliott. “I’m thankful for that. It was a moment I’ll never forget, for sure. It’s not every day you not only race in an environment like that, but to have the opportunity to win and kind of share that moment with the crowd, it was really cool.”

It’s not just the fans in the stands that deserve credit for a successful return to Bowman Gray Stadium, but also NASCAR, who over the last several months have spent countless hours, and a lot of dollars, preparing this quarter-mile racetrack to be up-to-spec for the NASCAR Cup Series – adding a catchfence and SAFER Barriers.

“I thought NASCAR did a good job of making a show, which is exactly what they wanted for all of this,” said Bubba Wallace. “I think the pre-race stuff was really fun. I thought the fans were engaged. It was good. It was good from start to finish. The best thing about it, is most of us in the room got a 45-minute drive back home. Not a stay in LA, fly six hours. All in all, it was a good weekend.”

Denny Hamlin, owner of Wallace’s NASCAR Cup Series entry, and driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, also offered his props to NASCAR, saying: “I was happy. I thought the atmosphere was fantastic. I thought NASCAR Productions did really well with kind of the whole pre-race and everything. Yeah, made it feel like a big event. I thought overall it was a good exhibition, pre-season to our season coming up in a couple of weeks.”

The initial success of the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium has raised a number of questions about whether the pre-season exhibition event should return to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, or if the event should branch off into new markets, like NASCAR tried by having the event at the LA Memorial Coliseum from 2022 to 2024.

“Looking forward to hopefully coming back here next year,” Blaney said in a post-race press conference. “I don’t see why you wouldn’t come back here. Hope everyone had a good time. You’re going to pack it out. There’s going to be just as many people here next year as there was tonight. I don’t think it would lose any of its luster.”

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano agreed, saying: “From what I hear, they pack this place out every weekend without the star power of Cup guys. Just race fans, they like racing. The other thing, too, remember its not a huge stadium. You pack it out, it looks good, the energy is real, it’s not like you have this ginormous stadium and you get half or three quarters of it full. Standing room only, it’s a special feel. It’s hard to get the ticket, which people want what they can’t have.”

An overwhelming consensus, at least from the drivers that performed well on Sunday at Bowman Gray Stadium, is that they would love to come back to the quarter-mile track for another edition of the Cook Out Clash.

“I don’t have any issue with coming back,” said Chase Elliott. “Like I said, overall, it seemed like a good show. The tire wear came into play. The environment from not only tonight but last night, the place was packed out. Just seemed like a good all-around event. Yeah, I just feel like if we're going to race on a football field, this is probably as good of a place as any to do it.”

Even Noah Gragson, who finished 20th in the main event Sunday, was on-board with returning to Bowman Gray Stadium, and when asked by Andrew Kurland of Dirty Mo Media whether the track should host a points-paying race for the NASCAR Cup Series, had an excitable response: “F**k yeah.”

And I’d imagine, there are at least 17,000 people who would agree with him.