Does NASCAR Own the Historic Bowman Gray Stadium AKA ‘The Madhouse’?

During the Season Opener at Bowman Gray Stadium at Bowman Gray Stadium.

NASCAR stands as one of the few motorsport institutions today that aims to look back on its legacy and cling to its roots while also progressing and growing as a sport. Naturally, the sanctioning body of American Stock Car racing has now decided to return to one of its most iconic tracks — after more than five decades away from it.

The City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina had become accustomed to the roaring engines of stock cars when the sport had embraced a 0.25-mile track as home. But after a long-drawn-out silence, 17,000 fans will be in attendance to kick off the 2025 Cup Series at the Cook-Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium once again.

Nicknamed ‘The Madhouse’ after the History Channel’s TV series, Bowman Gray is a stock car racing institution. But does NASCAR own the track now? Well, not quite but it still has a responsibility to uphold the track’s culture, history, and future.

Back in 2024, NASCAR acquired Winston-Salem Speedway Inc., the entity that was the lessee of the Bowman Gray Stadium. Whilst the track is technically owned by the city of Winston-Salem, the track premises were leased to the company. Now, NASCAR owns the lease to the track.

“We started having a few conversations and kind of over time, one thing led to another and here we are announcing that we’ll be the lease holder of Bowman Gray Stadium for the summer months,” explained Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s vice president of racing development and strategy.

Therefore, NASCAR now is entitled to manage the racing operations of the track and is expected to hold the lease until at least 2050. Going into the first race of the season this year, the track will host a NASCAR race for the first time since 1971.

Most notably, the quarter-mile track is the one where legend Richard Petty took his milestone 100th win in 1969. As the sport kicks off its 2025 season with the exhibition-style event at the venue, fans will be treated to the Next Gen car’s debut at the track.

Drivers will experience what has often been called a one-of-a-kind racing experience, given the passionate nature of the fans as well as the construction of the venue itself. The regular season will kick off after NASCAR‘s visit to Bowman Gray with the 67th running of the Daytona 500 in two week’s time.

Post Edited By: Rahul Ahluwalia
Bowman Gray Stadium NASCAR Cup Series Richard Petty

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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