WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The atmosphere off the track was electric, exactly the feeling you want before an exhibition race designed as a made-for-television event to jumpstart the season. On the track, the action produced the rough-and-tumble racing that has become synonymous with historic Bowman Gray Stadium.
After a 53-year absence, NASCAR made a grand return to Bowman Gray on Sunday night, with the quarter-mile short track that once was a staple on the Cup Series schedule delivering a success.
It would stand to reason then that NASCAR’s annual exhibition opener, the Clash, should be back at Bowman Gray next year. If NASCAR wants to capture attention heading into its marquee Daytona 500, visiting the affectionately nicknamed “Madhouse” certainly checks enough boxes to warrant an encore. A crowd estimated as high as 20,000 fans packed into the place — a low number compared to other Cup Series races, but the collective spirit made it feel like significantly more. These fans trekked to Winston-Salem, N.C., from 44 states, five countries and three continents.
Almost certainly, Bowman Gray will one day host the Clash again. The track has proven itself worthy. But will it be in 2026, or some time down the road? No decision has yet been made.
NASCAR’s desire to have more races internationally is well known, a way to expand the United States-centric sport globally. Many of its teams are receptive to that idea — provided it can be done on a limited basis and makes sense both financially and logistically. Mexico City, where NASCAR will race this summer, fits this criteria, which is why it will be the first Cup Series race outside the U.S. since the 1950s.
“I know we’re kind of testing the waters a little bit with the Mexico City race this year, but I think the real test would be going overseas, and I think this race would be a good opportunity to do something like that where it wouldn’t be committing to a points race somewhere that’s a long ways away,” Chase Elliott said Saturday, before winning the Clash the next day. “I like the idea of using it as a potential stepping stone to help grow the sport.”
Even beyond Mexico City, NASCAR is open to additional international races on its schedule. And two countries atop the list are Canada and Brazil, both of which NASCAR has spoken publicly about. Montreal hosted a popular Xfinity Series race from 2007-2012. Brazil is considered an emerging, untapped market for NASCAR, with a league executive telling The Athletic in 2022 that it planned to hold a Cup race there by 2031, a proclamation that coincided with NASCAR announcing the formation of the Brazil Series. An exhibition race there would be the next logical step.
“I’m probably in that boat or really anywhere that helps grow and get some excitement going for the season,” Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin said. “I don’t really have a bucket list place where I would want to put it.”
Fans from all over the U.S. and beyond packed Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday for the Clash’s debut at the North Carolina short track. (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
With the Clash designed to promote the mid-February Daytona 500, shifting it off its early February date is unlikely. This makes a winter excursion to Canada not feasible. If and when Canada secures a Cup date, it’s more likely it will be a points race sometime during the summer months.
But in Brazil, this week average temperatures across the country ranged in the high-80 degrees to low-90s, according to AccuWeather. A late January or early February timing also helps negate one of the biggest challenges with a race outside North America: How to transport the cars and equipment to a country well outside NASCAR’s footprint.
At a minimum, teams would need 10 days on the front end to efficiently prepare, according to multiple team personnel, then a week on the back end to return and get ready for the forthcoming Daytona 500. Accommodating this timeline doesn’t work once the season officially starts, as building in off weekends before and after a hypothetical Brazil race is difficult. But it would be possible at the beginning of the year (or end) without necessitating substantially rearranging the 36 points races on the schedule. For example, when NASCAR held exhibition races in Japan during a three-year stretch in the late 1990s, the races were held after the season concluded.
“Maybe just from the standpoint that there is probably more time to prepare for the race teams,” said Hamlin, who is also co-owner of 23XI Racing. “It’s not in the middle of the season, and then you have the gap after that for the Super Bowl for you to get back and get reset and go for the 500. Perhaps.”
Another option NASCAR is contemplating is whether to shift the exhibition to a different short track. Similar to how NASCAR made infrastructural improvements to Bowman Gray, the league would come into the selected short track and spruce up the venue to accommodate its premier series. Among the improvements at Bowman Gray were adding new guardrails, installing SAFER barriers, and bringing in temporary seating and scoreboards.
It’s a costly venture, though so is racing overseas. The upside of NASCAR choosing this option is any money spent would be a reinvestment in grassroots racing, helping prop up a facility that may not have the funds to make such improvements.
“Seeing the upgrades here, looking at other tracks around the country, we could do some of the same stuff,” Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch said. “There are short tracks in Florida that are cool. (Five Flags Speedway) is one of them that would really benefit from this opportunity. There’s a couple in Alabama that would really benefit from this opportunity. That could be a really cool thing down the road that this continues to float around.”
“I think the real test would be going overseas,” Chase Elliott said Saturday, “and I think (the Clash) would be a good opportunity to do something like that.” (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
Ideally, any short track selected would be able to replicate Sunday night’s festive atmosphere. Not many have the same unique charm as Bowman Gray, but several candidates fit the criteria NASCAR wants in a Clash host.
There is also the cost. While buoying grassroots racing is noble, it still does have to make economic sense for NASCAR. The novelty of a race outside the U.S., or even at a venue like the Los Angeles Coliseum (the previous Clash host) is the intrigue in attracting an audience that otherwise might not pay attention.
“I think the return on investment is the younger generations and the younger racers that want to be somebody and get to race at a cool place and then can move up the ladder and someday, one day go back and race at their home track as a pro,” Busch said.
Of course, running it back at Bowman Gray is also on the table. Even with the concern of diminishing returns — similar to what occurred over three years at the Coliseum — the positive vibes from Sunday night could make an encore hard to resist.
This is what NASCAR must determine over the next weeks and months. Should it continue to push forward in the search for new fans in new markets, harken back to its roots by racing on a classic short track, or maybe some sort of rotation that ensures freshness every year?
Whatever the decision is, the consensus in the garage is that it needs to put NASCAR in the best position to promote itself. As demonstrated by the Coliseum in its first two years and Bowman Gray last night, the Clash is a great marketing tool when properly utilized.
“This is a perfect race that you have a chance to move it around and go to different parts of the country and maybe even outside of the USA to give a different part of an area and a fan base something to watch,” Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney said. “Where I would like to see it? I really don’t have a preference. I was fine with the Coliseum; I was fine with it here. …
“Wherever you want to take it that you can get a lot of eyes on it, I think it’s fine with me.”
GO DEEPER
NASCAR garage talk: What I heard and saw at the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium
(Top photo of the Bowman Gray Stadium crowd watching a last-chance qualifier Sunday during the Clash: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
