NASCAR takes over racing operations at Bowman Gray Stadium, hints possible future inclusion in schedule

Bowman Gray Stadium's racing operations have been taken over by the stock car racing governing body. The famed short track has had ties to the sport since 1949 when the first race was sanctioned by none other than Bill France Sr. at the venue. It is also the site of the initial test session for the Next Gen NASCAR Cup Series car.

The quarter-mile-long bullring-style track's next chapter with the sport has been decided with the lease to manage all racing operations at the venue having been purchased by NASCAR along with the city of Winston-Salem.

Ben Kennedy, Senior Vice President of the stock car racing sanctioning body, spoke of the new development and told The Athletic:

“This is a really kind of special moment for us. I know it is especially meaningful for Jim seeing that he grew up around Bowman Gray Stadium. It’s a very special place to us personally, but it’s a special place in the sport as you think back to the ’40s and ’50s and NASCAR really beginning to grow through that first decade and a half or so. And Bowman Gray was a pretty big part of that.”

Despite the city of Winston-Salem owning the property rights of the Bowman Gray Stadium and surrounding property, NASCAR holds the exclusive rights to promote racing activities at the venue until 2050.

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Can the future of the NASCAR Busch Light Clash head to Bowman Gray Stadium?

While there has been no official announcement on where the future of the Busch Light Clash lies after consecutive runs at the LA Memorial Coliseum, the governing body's acquisition of racing activities at Bowman Gray Stadium means NASCAR is certainly looking at alternatives.

Speaking on whether the North Carolina-based track is up for hosting the event in the future, NASCAR Senior Vice President Ben Kennedy told The Athletic:

“We’ve talked about almost any racetrack under the sun and I’d be lying to say that Bowman Gray wasn’t somewhere on that list. So we’ve considered it, certainly, and we’ve had some conversations around kind of what that could look like. I’d say, in the grand scheme of things, anything’s possible, but obviously, nothing to report today.”

It remains to be seen whether the sport returns to this once-iconic venue during the 2025 season.