Though NASCAR might be moving in the direction of new avenues and audiences, it has still managed to keep the essence of NASCAR racing alive. Time and again, there have been demands for revamping the old iconic race venues, and one such dream came true with the return of NASCAR at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Building on the theme of reliving nostalgia and celebrating the sport’s rich history, NASCAR has now announced the takeover of Bowman Gray Stadium.

The quarter-mile race track was one of the earliest short-track racing venues for NASCAR in its early days. It is also credited with the title of “NASCAR’s longest-running weekly race track.” The legendary venue was under the leadership of multiple generations of the Hawkins family, but will now be under the reins of the racing operations of NASCAR. The Hawkins family has sanctioned a lease that will allow NASCAR to oversee the operations at the venue in partnership with the City of Winston-Salem.

NASCAR is returning to its roots with the takeover of Bowman Gray Stadium

Ben Kennedy, senior vice president of racing development at NASCAR, had already begun talks with Gray Garrison two and a half years ago. Garrison, who is the promoter of the racetrack, approached Kennedy during the testing of the Next Gen car at Bowman Gray and thus sowed the seeds of NASCAR taking charge of the iconic short track.

“There’s a lot of history of the families working together, and a lot of history that we’ve had with that stadium. They’re going to continue to stay involved with us as we kind of get our feet underneath of us because they know every nook and cranny of that entire facility. They know how things operate, and they have relationships in the city that are priceless. We’ve got to make sure that we’re shepherding that into the next generation.” Kennedy said via NASCAR.

This move by NASCAR is not for monetary gains but to keep the legacy of the racetrack running even after 70 years, says Garrison. “A lot of these things are not about money. It’s about relationships. I think NASCAR, they’re definitely not getting involved at Bowman Gray for the money… It’s pretty unique, we think, how it ties back in 70-some years later, how it comes back around, and we feel like it’s going to be in good hands.”

The next big question that pops into our minds after the takeover is whether or not NASCAR will return to racing at one of its earliest racing venues.

“Wouldn’t rule anything out,” says Ben Kennedy

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Bowman Gray Stadium has been associated with NASCAR in testing its Next Gen cars, and given the takeover, there can be a potential for running racing series back at the venue. Moreover, the facility at the racetrack has been well maintained since the funding of $9 million back in 2018. So there’s no doubting the stadium’s operational capabilities.

Speaking of the return of NASCAR events back at Bowman Gray, Kennedy explained, “Potentially. I certainly wouldn’t rule anything out, and I’d be lying to say if we haven’t talked about it before. We’ve talked about hundreds of tracks. So obviously nothing to report today. Our focus is really getting up and running on April 20 this year with weekly Modified racing.”

While a return of NASCAR racing back at Bowman Gray won’t happen overnight, it is indeed a welcoming change for the sport to reconnect with its earliest racing heritage.

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