NASCAR, Winston-Salem closing in on multi-year deal for races at Bowman Gray

A new deal between NASCAR, Winston-Salem, and Bowman Gray Stadium will have race fans very excited for the future. There is going to be national series racing at The Madhouse for the next half-decade.

The Winston-Salem Journal has reported that the city of Winston-Salem and NASCAR are close to agreeing on a new five-year deal. That deal will include further updates to Bowman Gray Stadium.

As the Journal reports, a new $1 million scoreboard will replace the old one at the stadium. Winston-Salem will approve half of the cost for that project. As a condition of that financial commitment, NASCAR will host races at the track for the next five years. Those races must involve at least one of the three national series: Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series.

“NASCAR officials have shared that they received negative feedback about the functionality of the stadium scoreboard and consider the replacement of the scoreboard the highest priority to ensure Bowman Gray Stadium can host The Clash in 2026, as well as other NASCAR events, Winston-Salem State University football games, and community events,” the city said in a resolution approved by council, via the Journal.

Bowman Gray Stadium is home to the Winston-Salem State football program as well. The football program is paying for 10% of the new scoreboard. Meanwhile, Winston-Salem Speedway Inc., owned by NASCAR since March 2024, will fork over the remaining 40%.

NASCAR continuing to invest in Bowman Gray Stadium

Even with a car that is no good on short tracks, the quarter-mile at Bowman Gray Stadium put on a good NASCAR show. Was it the best race that has ever happened? No, but it was really good for what it was.

What this deal says to me is that we are going to see a couple of series that are really good on short tracks mix it up at The Madhouse. Maybe we can even get ARCA or the ARCA East schedule back to Bowman Gray?

If you pair up a Truck Series or Xfinity Series race with an ARCA support and of course, the Bowman Gray Modifieds, you’re looking at a great race product. NASCAR clearly wanted to see more improvements after adding new lights and a SAFER barrier for this year’s Clash. Put up a new scoreboard/videoboard, and that place is going to be a modern facility very quickly.

For all of the complaints about races like Mexico City and Chicago Street going away from the roots of the sport, NASCAR keeps coming back with Bowman Gray. They come back with North Wilkesboro, Rockingham, and Iowa. These are tracks that are for the old-school fan, the fans who want to see good, hard racing on a traditional oval.

Five years of NASCAR racing at Bowman Gray Stadium, and that’s just the start. Seriously, the Truck Series is going to make headlines when they line up on the quarter-mile track. That series might not be able to handle the Madhouse, especially with points and a playoff spot on the line.