Livescore
Hey NASCAR fans, it’s race week.
Been a while, hasn’t it?
No, it’s not an official, points-paying race on the 2025 schedule, but a high-profile exhibition on a tiny oval circling a football field.
Sound familiar?
It should, because it’s the same way they started each of the last three seasons.
But man is it ever different this time.
Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, host for Sunday night’s Clash, is so far removed from the L.A. Coliseum, it might as well be in Le Mans.
A QNA WITH SVG Daytona 500, NASCAR Cup season ahead for Shane van Gisbergen
Unless you’ve visited in person, you can check out Bowman Gray action through old videos and experience the mild culture shock of watching cars turn laps outside the big grass infield whose day job is football grounds for Winston-Salem State.
This weekend, the whole place is bound to be gussied up for its big NASCAR/Fox TV closeup, complete with new SAFER barriers and additional seating and sparkles and shines.
But it’s still the place they call the “Madhouse,” and you can also find plenty of videos testifying to the authenticity of that label. No points or playoff berth awaiting in Victory Lane, but there’s some cash and sponsor visuals to be had, so don’t be surprised if a few dudes leave angry.
They’ll then get two weeks to inhale and exhale before the peace and tranquility of big and roomy Daytona. Right?
There doesn’t figure to be any easing into the new year for the Boys in the Body Shop.
First Gear: Who’s Bowman and who’s Gray? Glad you asked
You may wonder why there’s not a hyphen between Bowman and Gray. Well, you may not, but others may be asking, “Who was Bowman and who was Gray?” Turns out, it was just one guy — Bowman Gray, long-ago president and chairman of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem. Kind of a big deal, to say the least.
He was quite the local philanthropist, and his name isn’t just on the old football field/racetrack. In 1935, he died of a heart attack at age 61 while on a cruise ship off the coast of Norway, and he was buried at sea. True story.
Anyway, Bowman Gray was built for football purposes but soon welcomed horses for trotter races around the perimeter, and eventually race cars and, from 1958-71, NASCAR.
Oh, Winston-Salem? Yes, a hyphen. The name came from the merging of two neighboring towns in the early 1900s.
Second Gear: A little FYI on the LCQ
The format for Sunday night’s Clash is pleasantly easy to comprehend.
Four 25-lap heat races, lineups determined by practice speeds, with the top five finishers from each transferring to the main event. Put down your fingers — that’s 20 spots.
After the heat races comes a staple of short-track racing worldwide: the LCQ, officially known as the Last Chance Qualifier — 75 laps, top two finishers gets spots 21 and 22 in the Clash.
Then a dose of corporate welfare: A 23rd starting spot given to the driver who finished highest in last year’s points standings but didn’t make the Clash main event through the heats or LCQ. There you go, 23 cars, which will be plenty on this tight layout.
The grand finale is 200 laps with a halftime break at Lap 100. Only green-flag laps count, it must finish under green, and yes, it might take a while.
Third Gear: No bull, Jägerbombs are back!
Here’s some sponsor news that seems more interesting than most.
Red Bull is returning to NASCAR in a limited capacity. In racing circles (or road courses, specifically) the Austria-based energy drink has become best known for its Formula One team over the past 20-some years.
Red Bull owned a two-car Cup Series team from 2007-11 and was rather underwhelming. Just two wins in 324 combined starts — one each from Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne. It’s a far cry from the team’s success in F1, where it has twice won four consecutive championships — with Sebastian Vettel from 2010-13 and Max Verstappen from 2021-24.
During that time, its U.S. presence has, for some, been relegated to the bar scene, where Jägerbombs and Vodka Red Bulls have made or ruined many a late night. But now it’s back in NASCAR with (who else?) Trackhouse Racing, which is co-owned by a Bull of its own — Pit.
Red Bull will adorn Shane van Gisbergen’s Chevy for five Cup races this year and finance the Cup debut of Connor Zilisch in early March at COTA in Austin.
Sponsorship news has been occasionally bad in recent years, but this has to be considered a positive development on the marketing front.
Fourth Gear: Like a Rock, another NASCAR throwback
You can call Rockingham a throwback track within the NASCAR world. And in April, it’ll be host to a throwback driver.
Granted, you don’t have to throw it too far back to find Kasey Kahne, who retired after the 2018 season and has been racing on dirt ever since.
He’ll return to pavement for an Xfinity Series race that’s part of a Rockingham doubleheader with the Truck Series on the third weekend of April. Kahne will drive a Childress Racing Chevrolet with sponsorship from HendrickCars.com.
The Rock hasn’t been on NASCAR’s Cup or Xfinity schedules since 2004. Lots of older fans would love to see the track back on the Cup menu, but given the current direction of things, that might be a reach.
With its one-mile length and banking between 22-25 degrees, it suits nearly every fan’s desires. Smallish but fast.
If you’re in the neighborhood, though, some bad news. The old LobSteer Restaurant on U.S. 1 closed a decade ago. Can’t win ’em all.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR news: Bowman Gray, LCQs, a Rock throwback and Jagerbombs!
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