NASCAR insider drops bombshell news on Bowman Gray Stadium’s potential return to 2026 schedule

The 2025 NASCAR Clash, the preseason exhibition event being held at Bowman Gray Stadium, was entertaining, and the stadium is expected to again host the exhibition-style Clash event in the 2026 season. According to reports of NASCAR insider Adam Stern, Bowman Gray is a top contender on the list to again host the 2026 Clash, as per people familiar.

Bowman Gray Stadium, the quarter-mile asphalt flat oval short track, is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and hosted this year’s season-opening exhibition race, Cook Out Clash, on February 2. This event marked the return of the Cup Series to Bowman Gray for the first time since 1971.

Stern, a renowned NASCAR journalist for Sports Business Journal, shared the news about Bowman Gray Stadium’s potential return to the 2026 schedule.

“Bowman Gray Stadium is the early favorite to again host @NASCAR's season-opening Clash exhibition race in 2026, per people familiar, in what would be a continued sign of the sanctioning body’s commitment to the sport’s roots,” Stern wrote on X.

This year’s Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium was successful, and the event was sold out.

According to Stern, five people familiar with the matter have considered the quarter-mile asphalt flat oval short track for the 2026 Clash even though NASCAR has been considering holding the event at different venues, including possibly internationally.

However, one of the people familiar with the idea of NASCAR said the sanctioning body could hold invitational exhibitions overseas due to the much more expense involved, and that’s why there’s a possibility that the preseason exhibition Clash will be held at Bowman Gray in 2026 for the second consecutive time.

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The defending NASCAR Cup champion shared his thoughts on Bowman Gray’s return in 2026

Joey Logano, the 2024 Cup champion, who finished fourth at this year’s Bowman Gray Clash, shared his thoughts on whether the event should return to the quarter-mile asphalt flat oval short track in 2026 or move elsewhere. He sees new venues for the season-opening Clash exhibition event for every season.

In a postrace interview with FOX Sports Bob Pockrass, Logano said:

“I would say it's very important to move things around. We seen the success of our sport moving to new racetracks. I'm a big fan of going to new places and bringing the racetrack to the fans that don’t typically get to see us, because it’s so hard to for a lot of people to travel a long ways, to see our races. So, going to new places is huge for our sport,”

Chase Elliott won the 2025 Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Regarding the 2026 Cup Series schedule, there has been no official announcement about Bowman Gray Stadium's inclusion.