NASCAR stars hope fans bring Madhouse energy to Bowman Gray Clash

Out goes the Coliseum
In comes the Stadium

The Busch Clash will move from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where it has been held the past three seasons to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem North Carolina, where it will also be a homecoming of sorts for the NASCAR Cup Series.

The football stadium, home of Winston-Salem State University, is also where NASCAR sanctioned its first pavement race in 1948 and was the host to 29 Cup Series races from 1958 to 1971 back when it was known as the Grand National Series.

Even after the Cup Series left, The Most Exciting of Them All has continued to host NASCAR’s longest running weekly series divisions on Saturday nights from April to August, where it has a weekly average attendance over 10,000 with a maximum of 17,000.

NASCAR now owns the lease to weekly show , which opened the door for this announcement in the first place.

From 2011 to 2017, what is now the ARCA East division held the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 there, where seven current Cup drivers have raced there with Corey Lajoie even having won an event that also saw participation from Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman and William Byron.

Larson finished fifth from the pole in the 2012 race, in his first season driving pavement Stock Cars full-time, and says the experience left an impression on him.

“I sat in the stands that night we ran the K&N race and they had Modifieds running after us and there’s no other experience like Bowman Gray as a race fan,” Larson said. “I hope that same style of a crowd shows up for a Cup race there; flipping all of us off, leaning over the wall and screaming at us.

“It’s amazing. It’s such a cool atmosphere. I’m excited for it.”

That’s what Suárez remembers too.

“The fans are super passionate,” he said. “Everyone wants to fight each other there. I think its going to be a lot of fun.”

To their point, the earned reputation of Bowman Gray Stadium is one where diehard fans live and die with every lap. They shout and cuss at the drivers. There are no shortage of middle fingers. To call it a raucous crowd would be an understatement.

“I don’t know if our show will be crazy enough for them,” joked Tyler Reddick. “They may not like us.”

Wallace remembers getting into Brett Moffitt late in the 2012 race and it turning into a bit of a fracas.

“I remember getting into a fight with Brett Moffitt,” Wallace said with a laugh. “And I went to apologize to him! I ran there with JGR and finished third. It was nuts then and back then, that was the biggest car I had been in. It was the pinnacle for me so now going there in a Cup car …. good luck.”

He said that with a laugh too.

Chase Elliott finished sixth in that race but doesn’t remember anything other than struggling that night and the year before when he finished 18th, in a race won by Matt DiBenedetto.

“I remember going but I don’t remember the atmosphere,” Elliott said. “We didn’t run any good either one of the years. I wasn’t in the mix or in the fight, and maybe would have felt it more if I were. So, I’m sure there was and I’m sure there will be (an atmosphere) for the Clash.”

Elliott also just doesn’t personally like that kind of flat bullring racing whether it was The Coliseum or The Stadium.

“I didn’t think either of them was good when I did it,” Elliott said. “Those places are really small and really tight. We are in really heavy cars. It’s really hard to do. I will say the durability of these cars, and the front bumper is probably, if it was going to be good for anything, was going to be good for that from an entertainment standpoint.

“People can knock each other out of the way and that will be good for someone watching, probably. I don’t know. I think Bowman Gray, the history of that track and its reputation is probably a better fit for us with the history there.”

And that’s the one thing that everyone conceded is a positive, that NASCAR is returning to one of its oldest homes, in its best television market, and with a chance to add amenities to a facility that will benefit local racers for generations to come.

That point was articulated by Joey Logano.

“It’s going to be another grind it out type race, a lot of contact,” Logano said. “But to me, they’re probably going to put SAFER Barriers in there and that’s going to help out short track racing all the time. It’s cool because we’re bringing NASCAR to Winston-Salem but we’re also improving the race track for the local racers.”

Kyle Busch, like Logano, has never been.

“I have never been no, I’ve never been on the premises,” Busch said. “I’ve seen a lot of highlight reels from over there so I will have to call upon a driver coach, probably Burt Myers, to give me some pointers about what to do and what to look out for and how to get around that place. Him and I are pretty close and been friends for a long time. He seems to be a champion over there and knows how to get around there well.”

To wit, Myers just claimed his 11th Tour Type Modified championship at the track last month .

“How small is Bowman Gray,” Wallace wanted to know.

Basically the same, probably a little smaller.

“Great,” he said back.

To that point, Martin Truex Jr. expects the race and track to deliver exactly what NASCAR wants for its annual preseason exhibition.

“The Coliseum seemed longer, with more room to race,” he said. “Bowman Gray will be tighter and probably a one-groove track, and I don’t see the outside lane being able to keep up. There will be more rooting and gouging, which is what people want.”

And most importantly, it’s an hour drive from home, important given that NASCAR is also adding Mexico City to the Cup Series schedule next season.

More must-reads:

• Brandon Jones returning to Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Xfinity team
• NASCAR still working towards tire and aero fixes for short tracks
• The latest on NASCAR and teams’ charter negotiations; how drivers feel