If you told a fan a decade ago that NASCAR would be racing at Bowman Grey, North Wilkesboro, and Rockingham in 2025, they would have laughed in your face. Today, we learned that the 2025 schedules for Cup, Xfinity, and Trucks, will race at these historic tracks in 2025—a big move for NASCAR that is constantly trying to modernize itself, and with an international race on the same schedule.
NASCAR Moves the Clash to the ‘Mad House’
Bowman Grey Stadium will be the new host of the season-opening exhibition race, The Clash. The event was previously held at the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum, where a temporary .25-mile oval was built over the football field. Bowman Grey similarly, was a football stadium, hosting the University of Winston-Salem until 1968. Today it still hosts a weekly race, making headlines for its chaotic racing and earning the nickname ‘The Mad House’.
The Stadium hosted 29 Cup Series races, with the last being in 1971. In 2011, the K&N Pro East series began racing there. The series raced five races, with names like Matt DiBenedetto and Corey Lajoie winning at the track. In 2021, while the Next-Gen car was under development, retired stars Dale Jr., Tony Stewart, and Clint Bowyer tested the car at the track. The test was for tires and to understand how the car handled on a short track in advance of the inaugural Clash at the Colosseum.
NASCAR’s Xfinity and Truck Series return to ‘The Rock’
One of the newest additions, Rockingham Speedway, was last raced by the Craftsman Truck Series in 2013. Since then, the track has sat dormant. It would occasionally host a vintage stock car race, but no NASCAR race in over a decade. Rockingham had been on the schedule since 1965, and many fans were outraged when it was removed. But now, two of the national touring divisions will return to the 1.6-mile speedway.
In 2021, Governor Roy Cooper allocated 40 Million dollars for three North Carolina tracks, Charlotte, North Wilkesboro, and Rockingham. The speedway used this money to install new lighting and a fresh repave. In May, the repave was finished and renovations to the lighting had been made, all in hopes of securing a NASCAR race in 2025.
Out of the two new historic additions to the schedule, this race weekend is the one I am most excited about. The unique shape of the track, and the history of the speedway, it is one location the sport should have never left.
North Wilkesboro Speedway continues to host the All-Star Race:
Since 2023, North Wilkesboro Speedway will play host to the All-Star race. This year, it was the initial running of the option tire, a second softer tire that would debut in competition at Richmond this month. It will again host a Truck Series points race.
North Wilkesboro Speedway’s revival is a case study in modernizing your roots. The track was falling apart in 2022 and in just a year, SMI turned the place into a time capsule to stock car racing roots.
NASCAR honoring its roots in a modern world:
It’s hard to stay close to your roots while trying to modernize the sport of Stock Car racing. With these new additions to the schedule for all three series. Tt seems NASCAR is going back on some mistakes it made in the early 2000s. These tracks are in NASCAR’s backyard, home to generational NASCAR Fans. While the sport should always have a focus on expansion, with additions like a race in Mexico or possibly Canada in the future. But these racetracks are where the greats, Petty, Earnhardt, Allison, Waltrip, and Gordon, created Hall of Fame careers. These are tracks that should be staples of the schedule.
