NASCAR’s Clash returning to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem
The NASCAR Cup Series is coming back to “The Madhouse.”
Next year’s Cook Out Clash will return to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem on Feb. 1, 2026, officials announced Wednesday morning.
After the historic short track hosted a sold-out Clash earlier this year, NASCAR’s annual season-opening exhibition will be the second Cup Series event at Bowman Gray since 1971. The famed venue that hosts Winston-Salem State football games and weekly modifieds races is set for another NASCAR weekend.
“We can’t wait to see what 2026 holds,” Joey Dennewitz, managing director for NASCAR Regional, said Wednesday. “We invested a fair amount into the facility last year to bring it national-series ready. You’ll see a little bit of tweaking here and there, especially around our fan experience, but we want to keep it the same. Run it back the same way.”
Another return to the sport’s North Carolina roots
Known for its intense short-track racing and tight corners, Bowman Gray hosted 29 Cup Series (then Grand National) races between 1958 and 1971.
Richard Petty earned his 100th career victory at Bowman Gray in 1969. When Chase Elliott took the checkered flag in February, it was a return to one the sport’s original homes — NASCAR’s first weekly track and first paved oval in series history.
The two-day event that kicks off the 2026 Cup Series campaign is set for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 and will once again be televised by FOX Sports.
“It was a resounding success in 2025 from all sides — from a competitor standpoint, from a fan standpoint and with our partners — as everybody showed up and understood the assignment,” Justin Swilling, project lead for the Clash, explained Wednesday. “They understood why were there at Bowman Gray Stadium, and that was to shine a national spotlight on what that place means to our sport, and hopefully, what it always will mean to our sport.
“Everybody showed up and showed out. When you talk to competitors, race teams, the fans and partners, to see how electric that place was on Sunday night when we dropped the green flag, it was hard to look at it and be like, ‘We can’t do this again.’”
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 11:28 AM with the headline "NASCAR’s Clash returning to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem."
