“He flipped me off”: Team Penske ace relives his ‘vivid’ Bowman Gray encounter ahead of its NASCAR return

As NASCAR prepares to host its season-opening event at Winston-Salem’s Bowman Gray Stadium, Team Penske star Ryan Blaney recalled winning in a Bandolero at the historic quarter-mile racetrack back when he was just a 10-year-old kid.

For the first time since 1971, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to Bowman Gray, often called “The Madhouse” by the racing aficionados. This will mark the event’s shift from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which had been hosting it for the past three seasons.

Being an exhibition race, there is no pressure to win. As per reports, the total purse for the race is $2.21 million for 36 teams that are expected to compete, making it one of the lowest-paying events in the Cup Series.

But for Blaney, racing at Bowman Gray is bigger than money. Just the thought of it brought back memories from his childhood days. He said (via Sportsnaut),

“I’ve raced there twice, in a bandolero and legend car, and my one vivid memory, I won in a bandolero when I was like 9 or 10. My one vivid memory was that there was a kid, younger than me, flip me off over the barrier when I was 10 and he was 7, and he was just doing what his parents did.”

Scheduled for February 2, this year’s event will begin at 8 pm ET, with live coverage exclusively on FOX. Fans can also listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Ryan Blaney’s friend and fellow NASCAR drivers give their takes on Bowman Gray

For Chase Elliott, who is known as one of the best short-track racers out there, Bowman Gray seems a little too “short-tracky”. However, he would rather race there than at the LA Coliseum.

“If we’re going to have an event like that, if we need to fulfill television partner obligations, I’d rather it be in Winston-Salem than Los Angeles just from a logistical standpoint,” Elliott explained. “I think the racing will be similar. I think the TV entertainment value will be really similar but it will be a heck of a lot closer for all the teams in the Southeast.”

Bowman Gray is about an hour to a 90-minute drive from most race shops. It is close to Elliott’s teammate William Byron’s home as well. On that note, Byron said (via Sportsnaut),

“The Clash was alright but LA was a long flight. Bowman Gray, I can get in my car and get there. I’m excited.”

There’s a lot to expect from the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule than just tight racing at Bowman Gray. For the first time in the history of NASCAR, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City will host a point-paying, regular-season race on Sunday, June 15. In the words of NASCAR executive vice president Ben Kennedy, it’s the “most anticipated moment of the 2025 schedule.”