“I’m looking forward to hopefully coming back next year.” Ryan Blaney’s words following the 2025 Cook Out Clash race unequivocally echoed the larger sentiment. For the first time since 1971, NASCAR returned to the Bowman Gray Stadium earlier this year. And it was a thumping success – energetic fans stood up from their 17,000 seats lap after lap, as NASCAR-core beating and banging ensued on the quarter-mile track.

Chase Elliott, seven-time Most Popular Driver, fueled this endless fandom energy by winning the exhibition race. “I hope we didn’t disappoint. It was fun for me at least. We’ll hopefully come back here one day,” he explained.

So now comes the big question – will NASCAR return to Winston-Salem? Given the enhanced reception compared to Los Angeles, one higher-up just dropped an encouraging hint. Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovations Officer, has a special connection with Bowman Gray. “I think walking into that place, you could just sense and feel everything that had transpired at that track before,” he said in January this year.

Stories of legends like Richard Petty and Fonty Flock winning them comprise its history, but Kennedy himself ran three races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East division between 2011 and 2013. He won the race in 2013, which instilled his love for ‘Madhouse’ forever. So who better to tout the prospective return of the historic Winston-Salem track than Kennedy himself? In a recent interview with Chris Weaver, Ben Kennedy could not help but shower praises on the 2025 event first.

“We had a great event this spring, it was a fantastic event. The energy was electric there at the track. The fans turned out in droves, partners turned out in droves – FOX did a nice job in getting it put on. We’re still going through a lot of data. I think things are trending in a really good direction. I think regardless, we want to continue to celebrate weekly racing and Saturday night racing like we were going to do from April to August every year.” 

Bowman Gray is known usually for hosting NASCAR’s late model and modified divisions. However, the Cup Series revival saw no less of a footfall – fans from 44 states and 5 countries graced the Clash race. Although the seats were not as many as 80,000 as in the L.A. Coliseum, the limited number of fans present were no less excited.

So Kennedy dropped his bold claim: “Could there be a place for Bowman Gray in the Cup Series? I think there could be. We just want to be very thoughtful about the timing of it, make sure it keeps the same level of energy in a second year if we decide to go down that path. We’ll still keep in Bowman Gray what makes Bowman Gray special.” 

Cup Series drivers are also eager for a comeback. However, fan popularity is not the only reason for it. Whenever NASCAR repaves a racetrack, a storm of controversy follows. Track repaves lead to a potential loss of grip and impacts the overall racing experience. For example, the 2021 repave and reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway had the goal of making a superspeedway experience. But since the track lost its traditional characteristics, fans fired critical shots at NASCAR.

So when Cup Series drivers returned to Bowman Gray, an old, battered track used by Late Model stars – they were happy. The drivers could race on a worn surface instead of on a freshly paved one. This countered the track at the L.A. Coliseum which had a new and temporary racing surface.

Chase Elliott pointed out this crucial racing feature after hauling home his Clash trophy. “[The track] just seemed bigger to me. I don’t know what the technical distance would be, how different it is or not. The straightaways seemed a little longer, the corners weren’t so sharp, it didn’t seem like it was such a sharp apex. All of those things, that combined with the track surface having some age to it, probably had a pretty large impact on the race being better and kind of putting it a little more in your hands as far as tire management and all that stuff.”

Even outside the repave, the Madhouse brought old-school racing back for fans. While NASCAR’s willingness to bring in changes this season and experiment has been acknowledged, they have been a step outside traditional NASCAR, and that’s what Bowman Gray brings to the table, according to Dale Jr.

On his podcast, he explained, “We’ve debated formats for a long time, and I’m kinda tired. And so I was entertained with this one. I would keep it the way it is. It was a pure race. No gimmicks. No inverting and silliness. It’s up to you whether you want the inside or the outside at this track, and the outside groove surprises—me. Am I gonna drop down in the corner of the bottom, risking the fact that I might get punted or run into the guy in front of me, charging the corner? I mean and there was a lot of contact because of those moments. For sure. And so those‌ are always very entertaining. And, I mean, honestly, it’s a quarter-mile racetrack.” 

Evidently, the desire to run at Bowman Gray again is not just in the Cup Series grid, but also in NASCAR. We can only wait and see if that exciting experience will have a second chapter next year. For now, NASCAR has its international plans brewing.

NASCAR set to go north of the border

Coming into the 2025 season, the biggest talking point might just be NASCAR going south of the border for a Cup Series Race in Mexico. It’s been discussed for a long time and now that it’s inching closer, it gets hard to believe with every passing day. However, Mexico is just the beginning. In its bid for global expansion, NASCAR is set to visit its icy neighbor from the North, Canada.

According to reports emerging from the country, NASCAR’s Xfinity Series is set to travel to Canada in the Summer of 2026 for a race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a track known for its high-speed action. It won’t be the first time Xfinity has raced at the track. Xfinity cars ran at the track for five years between 2007 and 2012.

If these reports are to be believed, the Xfinity Series would eventually be followed by the Cup Series in the future. If NASCAR does indeed move north for a race, it will be interesting to see how Cup action unfolds on a track like the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It’s not like most road courses NASCAR drivers are used to.

Regardless, what makes this rumor so believable is NASCAR’s plans for international growth. Mexico was just the first step. Brazil was already being talked about as a potential location to host the Clash in the future.

What do you think of NASCAR’s plans for the future? Let us know in the comments below!