NASCAR’s Return To Bowman Gray Proves 2025 Clash Was No Fluke

After a wildly successful return to its grassroots earlier this year, NASCAR announced Wednesday that it will return to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2026 for the second consecutive year to open the NASCAR Cup Series season with the Cook Out Clash.

The exhibition race weekend is scheduled for Saturday, January 31 and Sunday, February 1, 2026. The event will once again be televised by FOX Sports.

This marks a return to the Winston-Salem, North Carolina historic quarter-mile bullring built into a football stadium following the success of the 2025 Clash, which sold out the historic venue and delivered the first Cup Series event at Bowman Gray since 1971. That race, won by 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, was widely viewed as a successful blend of NASCAR’s history with its modern era. It was a spectacle on a track with more character in 440 yards than some superspeedways have in 2.66 miles.

“We wrote a new chapter in the storied history of motorsports at Bowman Gray Stadium with the Cook Out Clash this year,” said Joey Dennewitz, NASCAR Regional Managing Director. “As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, we are proud to bring the 2026 Cook Out Clash back to the original home of grassroots racing.”

Bowman Gray Stadium, known as “The Madhouse,” opened in 1937 and became the site of the first-ever weekly NASCAR-sanctioned races in 1949. NASCAR assumed long-term management of racing operations at the stadium in 2024, a move that signaled the league’s long-term interest in using the venue beyond its historic value.

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“The 2025 race was an immensely successful event for all parties involved,” said Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. “We will work hard to ensure that the 2026 Cook Out Clash is even more successful.”

The 2025 event brought national attention to the quarter-mile bullring inside a football stadium and received praise from fans, drivers, and broadcasters for its energy and intensity. Bowman Gray is one of the few remaining NASCAR venues where fans are as close to the action as they are to the players on a football field. The tight confines led to close-quarters racing and multiple on-track incidents in the 2025 event — a format that resonated with many longtime NASCAR fans.

Cook Out will return as the event’s entitlement partner. Based in North Carolina, the restaurant chain has a growing presence in the sport with additional title sponsorships at Martinsville, Richmond, and Darlington, as well as support for NASCAR’s youth and grassroots efforts.

Bowman Gray Stadium has hosted a number of NASCAR legends over the decades, including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, and Glen Wood. The track last hosted a Cup Series points race in 1971 but continued to run as a weekly short track and hosted East Series events into the mid-2010s. Among recent winners at the venue are Ben Kennedy, Ben Rhodes, Ryan Preece, and Corey LaJoie.

With its return in 2025, the Clash at Bowman Gray offered a glimpse of how NASCAR might continue blending its modern direction with the heritage that built the sport.

As NASCAR continues to look for ways to expand its audience while staying connected to its roots, the return to Bowman Gray is another indication that future exhibition events could follow a similar model — focused on shorter tracks, unique venues, and a deeper connection to racing’s foundation.