Ryan Blaney Shows Support for NASCAR Clash Announcement With 8-Word Message

Bowman Gray Stadium made a triumphant return to NASCAR’s top tier after 54 years in 2025. ‘The Madhouse’ lived up to its reputation while hosting the Clash, as it delivered short tempers, fans booing when their local hero got wrecked, and entertaining short track racing. Built in 1937, this municipal gem ran Cup races from 1958 to 1971 and has been a summer staple for weekly racing. NASCAR took over operations in 2024, bringing the Clash back in 2025 for a sold-out showdown won by Chase Elliott.

Joey Dennewitz, NASCAR Regional’s managing director, said, about the inaugural Clash at Bowman Gray, “We wrote a new chapter in the storied history of motorsports at Bowman Gray Stadium with the Cook Out Clash this year.” From Richard Petty winning his 100th race there to Bobby Allison pipping him to win the last points-paying Cup race at the track in 1971, ‘The Madhouse is steeped in history. This is why the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Ryan Blaney, is all in for its return in 2026. Here’s what he had to say.

Blaney’s take on the clash at Bowman Gray

NASCAR’s announcement that the 2026 Clash will return to Bowman Gray Stadium has fans and drivers buzzing. The historic quarter-mile track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, circling the football field at Winston-Salem State University, is set to host the preseason exhibition on February 1, kicking off the Cup Series’ FOX Sports broadcast schedule.

While chatting on SiriusXM, Ryan Blaney didn’t mince words about the Clash’s return to Bowman Gray. “Absolutely love it! I was hoping they would do that again. I thought it was a huge success earlier this year. I loved running around that place. I think everybody really enjoyed it. I think they put on a really good show, honestly,” he said.

His enthusiasm mirrors the buzz from the 2025 Clash, where he started dead last in a 23-car field and clawed his way to second place behind Chase Elliott. That charge showcased his aggressive driving and passing savvy nature of the track, earning nods from drivers and media alike. Blaney kept the love going, adding, “There was a lot of passing. There was a lot of tire fall off, so I think it was good they finally got that out there. I see everybody excited about it, as they should be. So that’s great news. I love keeping it there at Bowman Gray, at least for 2-3 years… I’m happy it got a second date.” The packed stands and wild crowd energy only amplified the show, proving the quarter-mile delivered big.

Bowman Gray’s return to NASCAR for 2026 also highlights the sport’s willingness to rotate events and stick with them for 2-3 years to use the hype. When the Clash was moved to the Los Angeles Coliseum in 2022, it garnered massive hype, as fans and media alike had never seen something like this before. However, by the third iteration of the race in 2024, fans were fed up with it, and thus, Bowman Gray stepped in. So, Ryan Blaney is glad that this same idea is being applied to the Championship race.

After being hosted in Homestead -Miami Speedway for over a decade, the race moved to Phoenix in 2020. While the Phoenix finale draws a bigger crowd, the racing has been far from the cinematic finales that Homestead Miami produced. This is one reason why NASCAR is moving back to Homestead in 2026, and Blaney wants that to rotate too, saying, “We talk about rotating the championship weekend, you can rotate that race too, and they’ve done that.”

Ryan Blaney talks about the ills of simulation racing

Technology has changed the game in NASCAR, with simulators becoming a go-to tool for drivers to prep for races. These high-tech setups help drivers get a feel for tracks, especially road courses, but Ryan Blaney recently shared a reality check on their limits during a Team Blaney Podcast episode.

The 2023 Cup Series champ said he skips sims for ovals, finding them most useful for road courses to nail down bumps and braking zones. But he’s clear-eyed about their downsides, noting, “I think you can learn some bad habits if you’re fully trusting a sim. I mean, it’s just real life to sim work in anything. There’s always going to be a little bit of a disconnect, at least nowadays. Maybe 10 years from now, it’s going to be perfect.”

Blaney’s cautious approach comes from experience. He’s seen glitches where the car moves one way and the screen lags, throwing off his mind-eye coordination and forcing him to shut down the sim. “It doesn’t happen very often, but yeah, I use a lot for gear reference. Brake points, I feel like, get to be fairly similar,” he explained. Having used simulators like Ford Performance for nearly a decade, he spends hours on them for road courses, especially with limited practice time.

Still, he prefers studying data over sim time for most races, saying last year, “Everyone’s a little different. Some guys do SIM, others watch races, and look at data from last year. I’m more kind of a data guy than a SIM guy. But everyone’s a little different.” For Blaney, simulators are a visual aid, not a crutch, and he’s not afraid to keep it real about their limits.