Sometimes, there are just days that are special. Sunday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was one of those days for NASCAR and its fans.
Bowman Gray Stadium hosted a sellout crowd on both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend’s festivities. The “Madhouse” was unlike anything I had ever seen for a NASCAR race weekend.
When driving up to the track, it is very different than most tracks. Bowman Gray Stadium sits propped up on a hill off to the right surrounded by nearly nothing. The 0.25-mile track is right next to the campus of Winston Salem State, so it is one of the most unique sites of any race day.
As I walked into the garage at around 2pm, it was also opening up for work. Members of all 39 crews came flooding out of the east gate eagerly or anxiously to get to work on their machines. Though, unlike other tracks, they were just working on these cars in the middle of a parking lot behind a football locker room. It does not get much more grassroots than that.
The media center was located in the Winston Salem State Fieldhouse. NASCAR did a great job getting this facility ready for all of its media members, but you could still tell that a football team inhabited the building as there were shoulder pads and a locker room that was just outside of the media room door.
As the sun began to set, the day was only beginning. The last chance qualifier dropped the green flag at 6:40pm, so all of the cars got ready on the grid at around 5pm. Usually, the grid is on pit road, but for Bowman Gray Stadium, the grid was a fencedoff row of cars behind the fieldhouse. Many of the cars were already beaten and calloused from Saturday Night’s heat races.
Right before the last change qualifier began, I made my way into the grandstands. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Every seat was filled in a place that only hold about 15,000 seated fans. The concourses, that are not very big, were also filled with clogged up foot traffic. There were drivers and media alike who had made their way into the stands to watch the last chance qualifier. No matter what your affiliation with the sport was, you were locked in on what was about to happen.
The LCQ did not disappoint, as Kyle Larson drove from the back of the field to win. Brothers Austin & Ty Dillon traded paint, Ty Gibbs almost went flying on top of a car in retaliation, and Josh Berry’s car appeared to have been in a demolition derby, but he still finished second. This was just a 75-lap race, but now the 200–lap main event loomed.
Earlier in the day, we had heard rumblings that the prerace ceremonies were going to create an environment like no other. NASCAR had brought into temporary speakers and strobe lights which were propped up by cranes at the top of the grandstands. As these ceremonies began, it was breathtaking. The new lights at the track were shutoff, as the red and blue strobe lights lit up the facility. Instead of walking out on stage, the drivers walked with their crew & racecar around the track as they were introduced to boos, cheers, or fans telling them they were number one.
As the engines fired and the green flag was displayed, things just felt right, besides the cold weather. It did not matter about what was going on in the race itself, but rather the event as a whole. NASCAR’s premier series was at a place where the most passionate racing fans in the country are located. Every move warranted the crowd’s opinion, one way or another. There was steady contact being made in the 23-car field. I felt like I had gone back in a time machine to when NASCAR was in its infancy.
Chase Elliott dominated much of the 200-lap event and was the winner. As did many drivers postrace, he spoke very highly of the event and Bowman Gray Stadium. Elliott event went as far to say that it is “paramount” that NASCAR continues to haveraces at grassroots venues.
Because Sunday Night was the return to Bowman Gray, I do not think an atmosphere like that can be recreated. However, I believe NASCAR should try their best to replicate this event for as many years in the future as they can. The sport needs to let the short track faithful know that they still care about them and the history of the sport. NASCAR did just that on Sunday Night.
