Clash expected to return to Bowman Gray in 2026
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Bowman Gray Stadium, NASCAR‘s longest-running weekly track, is the early favorite to again host the season-opening Clash exhibition race in 2026, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be a continued sign of the sanctioning body‘s commitment to the sport‘s roots.
In early February, NASCAR held the Cook Out Clash before a sellout crowd of more than 15,000 people at the venue that was built during the Great Depression in 1937 and still serves as the home of the Winston-Salem State University HBCU football team.
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Now, five people familiar with the matter have called Bowman Gray the favorite to land the event again next year, even though NASCAR has been considering taking the race elsewhere in 2026, including possibly internationally. In August of last year, some NASCAR executives reportedly met with representatives in Brazil about bringing the Clash to São Paolo in 2026.
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One of the people familiar with NASCAR‘s thinking said the sanctioning body may elect to hold an invitational exhibition overseas due to the exorbitant costs involved, while possibly keeping the Clash at Bowman Gray for the next couple of years.
