“It’s like going home.” For Richard Petty, NASCAR’s visit to Bowman Gray wasn’t just about a season opener. It wasn’t even about NASCAR revisiting the track for the first time in over 50 years. It was about the time he once spent with the track. The track’s operating period from 1958 to 1971 fell smack dab in the middle of Petty’s prime, and after the Clash concluded, the King recalled a special memory from when he turned into a centurion.

55 years after reaching the 100 victories mark, Richard Petty took a trip down memory lane, in a special tribute to his achievement at the Madhouse.

Richard Petty becomes nostalgic about his most special Bowman Gray victory

Among the four Bowman Gray races Petty won, the 1969 victory stands out, not just for the driver, but for fans of the sport. Driving the #43 Ford Torino Talladega, Petty set up his legacy perfectly in the tight Bowman Gray tracks. With drivers like Bobby Isaac and David Pearson running against him, it certainly wasn’t easy, but Petty took the 1969 Myers Brothers 250 win regardless, bringing about his 100th victory.

Reflecting on the era, Petty remarked, “The racecars back then would get beat up pretty bad. You’d go to Bowman Gray and a lot of the cars would already have bent fenders.” It’s not just Petty’s era where these fender benders happened. Even at the first Cup race of the season last weekend, fans saw plenty of clashes. Bumpers hit bumpers and cars were squeezed into walls. That’s what happens when you put 23 drivers on a quarter-mile track.

Petty’s experience and strategic know-how were all the drivers needed to surmount the challenges and emerge victorious, his 100th in the NASCAR Cup Series. During one of the reflective talks on the race, Petty said, “By the end of the race, I was ‘Yards to Go,’ running third behind ‘Visitors,’ who was Bobby Isaac, and ‘Home,’ who was David Pearson.” For Petty, the fight with Isaac got especially tough, since the latter wanted to brave it out on the track, not make any pit stops and keep pushing.

For NASCAR, Petty’s 100th victory was just another milestone in his route to success. In the years that followed, the King doubled that tally in Dayton in 1984. And to understand the impact of that 100th win, you don’t have to look further than the all-time wins list. There’s just one person who crossed the 100 mark, that was David Pearson with 105 victories. Even Jeff Gordon came close but ended his career with 93 victories.

The current NASCAR landscape is a different story altogether and reflects technology precision; however, its foundation roots cannot be left out. Today, it continues to shine upon its storied past with victories, like the 100th one for Richard Petty, which lit Bowman Gray Stadium’s track up like no one’s business ever has.

Richard Petty’s honest take on the return to Bowman Gray for the 2025 Cook Out Clash

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Ahead of the 2025 Cook Out Clash, Petty reminisced about the track’s history and its passionate fanbase. Having hosted over 1,100 races in 76 seasons, the ‘Madhouse’ continued to be an attraction because of its close quarters and unpredictability. Petty underscored that it was precisely this chaos of the track that brought people back since no single driver could gain the upper hand.

Reflecting on the Clash’s return, Petty said, “I think the excitement of coming back to somewhere where we ran in 1949. To come back and see the improvements that they’ve done on the track. Also, just seeing the deal of how much the old fans really got excited about.” While NASCAR updated Bowman Gray with Musco lights and SAFER barriers, the track itself remains unchanged.

As for race, the 2025 Cook Out Clash had all the action fans expected: tempers flared, and the crowd roared. Chase Elliott, the winner of the race, and Denny Hamlin, who finished third, lauded NASCAR for its efforts to return to its roots. Petty was not as impressed by the main event. “It was strictly showtime.”. I don’t think the race was that good,” he admitted. Instead, he found Kyle Larson’s charge from 10th to survive nine cautions in the 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier more exciting.

Although he had his qualms, Petty still enjoyed his trip down memory lane. From struggling in his first race at Bowman Gray to becoming a multiple-time winner, the track remains special to him. After 54 years, coming back to Bowman Gray truly felt like coming home.