Why Bowman Gray deserves to be more than a one-and-done

Yesterday at 02:30 PM

The drivers weren't even strapped into their cars. A lap had yet to be run on Sunday at Bowman Gray Stadium. However, speculation, by way of the Sports Business Journal mentioning Brazil, had started about where NASCAR will contest its preseason Clash event next year.

Although it's the nature of the business, it felt like a quick rush toward looking to the future when Bowman Gray had not yet made its case for consideration. And after the show put on Sunday between the Last Chance Qualifying race and the Cook Out Clash, a strong argument was made that Bowman Gray Stadium deserves more than one year as the host facility. The sport needs more of what it got over the weekend, and the atmosphere seemed to indicate an immediate desire to see it again in 2026.

All the boxes were checked: The passion of the fans. A good racing product. The use of bumpers on a short track. A facility rooted in NASCAR history. And everyone from the fans to the drivers and teams having a good time. The latter, honestly, is hard to come by.

"It was really, really good," Joey Logano said on Sunday night of the experience. "I thought the pre-race ceremony was pretty cool. The fans being right there – it's what Bowman Gray is, right? You've got the fans heckling you and saying whatever they want and saying you’re No. 1 in two different ways, so that's what Bowman Gray was built off of.

"You look at when fans are cheering and screaming and those type of things, driver's brands are being exposed to everybody, which is great. Everyone has a favorite or not, and they're passionate about it and when you get everyone this close… I mean, you look at (Saturday). People hung out for the Modified race all the way until practice and the heat races. It was packed yesterday and tonight was standing room only, so, from that standpoint, the atmosphere was successful."

Sunday night was a sold-out crowd. NASCAR said afterward ticketholders came from 44 states, five countries and three continents.

The Clash does not pay points and, for the longest time, was considered a warmup to the Daytona 500 as it was held in the days before the sport's biggest race, with pole-winners making the field. Over the last few years, it has felt like the Clash has been searching for a new identity – one that seems to have landed on a chance to showcase NASCAR and its stars while reminding everyone that a new season is right around the corner.

Los Angeles served its purpose for three years (during which NASCAR also changed how the field was set by introducing heat races and a Last Chance Qualifying race) as a hype event where the racing seemed to take a backseat to the entertainment value. But it was in a market NASCAR wanted to serve, and accomplished its goal.

Bowman Gray Stadium put some of the focus back on the racing while also serving a fanbase that deserves Cup Series racing.

"I think the racing itself is an important factor," Denny Hamlin said. "While the race is going on, there is either going to be a social media buzz around positive of the racing or not. So, I still think that is an important thing. But you got a great point in that it is something else as far as the spectacle itself. It is an exhibition race.

"I think it's a primer to let people know that we're racing again, truthfully. L.A. had its own place and I thought it was really well done and here, it looks like they did a really good job with it. So, I think each place has its certain relevance, and I think (Bowman Gray) has its relevance as well, with the history. It just seems like moving it around and changing things is what's stirring the interest – not necessarily what's happening on track."

The weekend was filled with driver opinions about what should happen with the Clash next, and where it should be run. Over the last few years, NASCAR has shown that it is more open to change and trying different things than ever before and that's commendable. Whether going to new markets, building tracks inside unique venues or going international, none should be taken off the table.

But what's the rush? What happened at Bowman Gray was special, and NASCAR shouldn't be so quick to turn away from trying to capture that feeling again in the future.

"Those driver intros were epic," Shane van Gisbergen said. "The atmosphere and (being) pretty intimate with the crowd… there are some interesting specimens in the crowd, I'd say. But there are some awesome people. Everyone was really friendly and what a cool place."

Another way to look at it is this: NASCAR fans are vocal about the sport needing to return to its roots and Bowman Gray did that. So, why not stay that way for a while longer?