“There’s a million things you could do”: Kevin Harvick discusses Bowman Gray’s future after impressive NASCAR return

Following the eventful Bowman Gray Stadium race, Kevin Harvick argued that NASCAR should host exhibition races on other local tracks. He said that the success of the Cook Out Clash shed light on the other "million things" the league could do in the future.

Harvick is a former NASCAR Cup Series driver who won the championship in 2014. He retired from the sport after the 2023 season and joined the Fox Sports broadcasting crew where he hosts his own podcast, Happy Hour.

In the show's latest episode, Harvick discussed NASCAR's impressive return to the Bowman Gray Stadium, a.k.a. the Madhouse, and its significance moving forward.

"I think if you have that exhibition event and you move it around like that, I think there's definitely something to moving it around. It'd be hard to take it away from Bowman Gray at this point because of the reaction to the fans and how good the racing was," the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver said.

The 49-year-old argued the league could move the exhibition races to short tracks such as Hickory in North Carolina and Berlin in Michigan. He imagined the other possibilities of hosting races on local tracks, saying:

"Think about all the places that you could affect across the country throughout the year, especially in season. If you had a spring series, summer series... whatever you wanted to do. I mean there's a million things you could do." [0:47]

The Happy Hour podcast host argued races like the Cook Out Clash should be exclusive to US-based tracks.

"I don't think you want to rip it out of the country. I think you'll offend our grassroots fans of places like Bowman Gray and the places that you could affect your own house here in our country," Harvick concluded. [1:15]

The 2025 Cook Out Clash marked NASCAR's return to Bowman Gray Stadium after 54 years. The pre-season race was held at Daytona International Speedway for years before being hosted at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the last three seasons.

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Chase Elliott shares his thoughts on winning Cook Out Clash at Bowman with Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick caught up with Chase Elliott to discuss the latter's recent victory at the Bowman Gray Stadium. Elliott said that while the Cook Out Clash was a non-points-paying race, it previewed what fans can expect in the following months.

Elliott stated (via Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour podcast):

"I know it's not a points race, I certainly understand that. I wish it was, for sure. But look, everyone shows up at those exhibition races and they bring their best. So, the field was just as competitive last night as it is going to be in two months." [7:45]

He added:

"That's just the reality. The race was just as hard to win yesterday as it's going to be when we are racing for points here in just a few weeks. So, I think there's a lot to be proud of over the weekend."

During the pre-season race at the Madhouse, Chase Elliott topped the timing sheets in the practice sessions. He also had a dominant performance in the Heat Race 1 to take pole position for the main event on Sunday.

While Elliott continued with his momentum in the main event, Denny Hamlin put up a good fight in the front of the field. However, in the end, the Hendrick Motorsports star led 171 of 200 laps to win the race.

The Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 will mark the first points-paying event of the 2024 season.