Every Saturday night from the end of April to the end of August, people from all over flock to a tiny race track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This tiny race track is called Bowman Gray Stadium, or often referred to by its infamous nickname, “The Madhouse.” For just $12 a ticket, fans can watch 3.5 hours of endless entertainment to guarantee themselves a memorable Saturday night. To many people, Bowman Gray racing is a great way to spend time and money several times throughout the summer. To many other people, Bowman Gray racing is more like a religion, where they never miss a race and the term “die hard” isn’t nearly enough to describe them. But to many others, Bowman Gray racing is largely unknown. And those people really don’t know what they’re missing.

Bowman Gray Stadium has been a racing venue since 1949 and is actually NASCAR’s first track to host weekly races. Famous fathers of NASCAR, Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins were the ones who brought racing to the track. So many racing legends have came through Bowman Gray, including Richard Petty who recorded his 100th victory there. It’s a track that has presented great racing for many generations of drivers and fans, and is just as popular now as it’s ever been.

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The thing that makes Bowman Gray Stadium so unique is its size. The track is just ¼ mile long and is completely flat. To give you an idea of how small it is, think about the track around your local high school football field: that is Bowman Gray. And the paved track actually surrounds the football field of Winston-Salem State University. When racing ends in August, football season begins at Bowman Gray, and come spring time, racing season starts back up. It truly is unique. However, the small size of the track plays a large part in why fans keep coming back to the stadium to watch races.

Being just ¼ mile in length and not very wide, the twenty-something cars must get creative in finding ways to pass one another. And when I say creative, I mean bumping other cars out of the way. They say “rubbin’ is racin’” and that’s never been truer than at Bowman Gray. There is passing without touching another car, but more than likely if someone wants around another car, they’re going to have to make a little bit of contact. Sometimes it’s just a respectable nudge, just enough to get around the other car. Other times it’s enough contact to put the other car into the wall, which almost guarantees that payback will be coming.

Throughout the years that I’ve been going to Bowman Gray, I’ve seen many tempers flare. There have been cars that get wrecked and will sit on the track (or go really slow) waiting on the other car to get back around the track so they can wreck them back. That’s fairly common, actually. Sometimes it’s a little less dramatic and the person who got wrecked will drive around the track real fast during the caution and give a slight bump to the driver who wrecked them, to let them know they didn’t appreciate it. I’ve seen drivers take off through the infield (the football field) after another driver to chase them down after being wrecked to drive right into the other car. I’ve seen drivers get out of their cars after wrecking to go confront each other before having to get restrained. I’ve even seen a driver get out of his car, climb up on the hood of the car that wrecked him, and stomp in the windshield of that car. These kinds of things get the crowd going like you wouldn’t believe it.

Many times there are fights and confrontations in the pits, which cannot be seen from the stands. The drivers, especially in the modified and sportsman divisions, take these races extremely serious and will not let any wrongful actions on the track go without payback in some way or another. The fans absolutely feed off this energy, which makes for such a fun atmosphere to be part of. Many fans take the racing just as serious as the drivers, leading to shouting things at certain drivers when they come by, and sometimes even leading to confrontations in the stands.

There are four divisions of races every week at Bowman Gray: The Modified, Sportsman, Street Stock, and Stadium Stock. The Modified Division is the main event and feature the biggest names that race at the track. The lightweight modified cars are the most powerful cars sanctioned by NASCAR and don’t look like a traditional stock car. The next largest division is the Sportsman Division, which features late-model cars that do look like a traditional stock car. This division has some very good drivers as well, and a lot of times will be the best race of the night due to the rambunctious drivers doing anything to win the race. Next is the Street Stock Division, which are similar to the Sportsman cars, but weigh more and have smaller carburetors. Drivers in this division usually aren’t quite as talented, but are every bit as rambunctious, giving way to some great races. Lastly there is the Stadium Stock Division. This division is open to cars and mini-trucks with four-cylinder engines. These cars are the least expensive and the drivers are the least talented, but that doesn’t take away from the race one bit. They want to win the race just as bad as the highly experienced modified drivers and won’t think twice before putting another car into the wall to do it.

Throughout the season, special events will be held after all racing is done for the night. These include chain races, skid races, demolition derbies, and a monster truck car-crushing. These events are highly entertaining, for example the chain races: Where two cars are chained together and the front car has the acceleration and steering, while the back car has the brakes. They must work together to beat the other chained cars around the track. It never fails that chaos ensues and the crowd is wildly entertained. Also after the racing is over for the night, the pits open up to the public, giving everyone the chance to meet the drivers and get autographs.

For just $12 a ticket, Bowman Gray racing provides one of the best entertainment values you can find. Once you go for the first time, you’ll quickly discover what all the hype is about. You’ll also discover why the History and Discovery Channels have each made a television series about the weekly racing and all the drama that takes place there. And chances are, you’ll be looking at the race schedule online planning your next trip to Bowman Gray Stadium.

Garett

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