Bowman Gray Stadium

Bowman Gray Stadium

"the Madhouse"
Opening Night, Bowman Gray Stadium, April 2011
Location	1250 S Martin Luther King Jr, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27107
Capacity	17,000
Owner	City of Winston-Salem
Operator	National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC
Opened	1937
Major events	NASCAR Grand National (1958–1971) NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (2011–2015) Whelen Southern Modified Tour (2005-2016) (Series folded in 2016)
1/4 mile flat oval
Surface	Asphalt
Length	0.25 miles (0.40 km)
Banking	0 Degrees
Race lap record	12.965 seconds (Tim Brown, Team 83, 2016, Modified Division)

Bowman Gray Stadium

The Madhouse, Home of the Modifieds
Location	1250 S Martin Luther King Jr, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27107
Coordinates	36°4′58″N80°13′20″W / 36.08278°N 80.22222°W / 36.08278; -80.22222
Owner	City of Winston-Salem
Operator	Dale Pinilis
Capacity	17,000
Surface	Turf
Construction
Broke ground	1936
Opened	1937
Tenants
Winston-Salem State Rams (NCAA) (1956-present) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (NCAA) (1956-1967)

Bowman Gray Stadium is a NASCAR sanctioned quarter-mile asphalt flat oval short track and longstanding football stadium located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most legendary venues, and is referred to as "NASCAR's longest-running weekly race track". Bowman Gray Stadium is part of the Winston-Salem Sports and Entertainment Complex and is home of the Winston-Salem State University Rams football team. ^[1] It was also the home of the Wake Forest University football team from 1956 until Groves Stadium (now Truist Field at Wake Forest) opened in 1968. Bowman Gray Stadium was a popular venue for high school football in the 1970s and 1980s. Parkland and R.J. Reynolds High Schools shared Bowman Gray Stadium as their home field for high school football until the two schools built their own facility (Deaton-Thompson Stadium) in 1994.

History

The stadium was built in 1937 as a public works project to provide jobs during the Great Depression. The first event at the new stadium was a football game in the fall of 1938 between Wake Forest College and Duke University. In the beginning, the stadium's sole use was for collegiate football until trotter horse racing was added on the 0.250-mile dirt oval. The first auto racing at Bowman Gray was a type of midget car racing on the dirt quarter mile track from 1939 through 1949. The track was paved in 1947, after a promoter got the City of Winston-Salem to agree to pay to have the track paved in exchange for restitution of payments through a percentage of future income from races. However, after the track was paved the promoter fled before any payments were made to the city. ^[2] Stock car racing at Bowman Gray Stadium was started by Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, two men who were founding fathers of NASCAR. The track was NASCAR's very first weekly track and the very first paved track that NASCAR raced on. The track would run weekly NASCAR sanctioned events during the summer months.

The first NASCAR-sanctioned event took place on May 18, 1949, and was won by Fonty Flock. ^[3] The track was opened by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, and remains operated by members of the Hawkins family to this day. ^[4] By the end of the inaugural Bowman Gray season 11 races had been run and five more were rained out. Tim Flock won the track championship with a season that included four wins.

As the racing had become extremely popular at the track, an additional 7,000 seats were added in 1953, raising the seating capacity from 10,000 to 17,000. ^[5]

The track has hosted numerous series throughout the years including the NASCAR Grand National Series (now NASCAR Cup Series), NASCAR Convertible Division, NASCAR Late Model Short Track Division (now NASCAR Xfinity Series), NASCAR Grand American, Dash Series, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Division, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series. ^[6] The first Grand National event took place in 1958 and it was won by Bob Welborn. ^[7] Other winners include Glen Wood, Rex White, David Pearson, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Junior Johnson and Marvin Panch. ^[7] Richard Petty won his 100th race at the track. The Grand National Series first raced at the track in 1958 and hosted a total of 29 Grand National races through 1971.

Motorcycle races were run on a temporary dirt track at the stadium in 1970 and 1971. The stock car races were run first in the events before construction crews would lay dirt down during an intermission for motorcycles races the same night. ^[6]

Bowman Gray's nickname, the "Madhouse", is largely attributed to the racing antics that take place on the tight, quarter mile bull ring. In 2014, Bowman Gray's promoter, Gray Garrison described the events at BGS as part racing, part religion, and part wrestling. ^[8] While this is partially the reason for the nickname, it actually originated from a qualifying format the track used in the 1950s called the "mad scramble." ^[4]

In 2015, Bowman Gray celebrated its 1,000th NASCAR sanctioned race ^[9]

On November 14, 2018, it was announced that the Stadium would get a $9 million renovation. It will begin in 2019, with construction starting in 2020 and ending in 2022. It will include new restrooms, a track resurfacing, and a new name for the football field titled "Rams Field At Bowman Gray". ^[10] Currently, the track features four divisions: the modifieds, sportsman, street stock and stadium stock. The modifieds are the featured division at Bowman Gray, the division started in 1949 and the all-time wins list features some of the best NASCAR drivers including Lee Petty, Ralph Earnhardt, Ned Jarrett, Richie Evans, and Jerry Cook.

The football history of the stadium is also quite storied. Wake Forest University played home games in the stadium from its move to Winston-Salem in 1956, until the 1968 season when Groves Stadium (now Truist Field at Wake Forest) opened. Players such as Brian Piccolo, the 1964 ACC Player of the Year who led the nation in rushing and scoring, played their home games in Bowman Gray. Piccolo later became famous as the teammate of Gale Sayers with the Chicago Bears, and the subject of the 1971 film Brian's Song . The Winston-Salem high schools of R.J. Reynolds High and Parkland High also played their home games at the stadium in the late 1960s through the 1980s.

Today

Bowman Gray's weekly racing tradition continues as part of the Whelen All-American Series, with races Saturday evenings from the end of April through August. ^[11] The track can seat 17,000 people in the stands, with an additional 2,000 standing-room around the wall above the seating areas. The weekly races during the year normally have an average attendance between 12,000 and 15,000 per night. Many events are standing room only, as some events have had estimated crowds of more than 23,000 show up. ^[6]

Weekly races include the modified, sportsman, street stock and stadium stock divisions. Bowman Gray is also a part of the special events including classic modified coupes and East Coast Flathead Ford Racing Association (ECFFRA), monster trucks, demolition derbies, chain races, skid races and INEX Legends Car and bandolero races. The History Channel show MadHouse was taped at the track during the 2009 season. The showed aired in January 2010 and ran through April 2010. On October 29, 2018, a new show titled "Race Night At Bowman Gray" aired on Discovery Channel. The show focused on the Modified Division. After the first few episodes, the show was moved to the Discovery Go App, after fear of cancellation. The show would later go on to eventually be canceled.

Spectators listen to the officials during the races on frequencies 461.200 MHz, 463.625 MHz, and 466.600 MHz on a scanner or "race radio." Many, if not all of the drivers also communicate via a two-way radio during the race. Most of them use a frequency between 450 and 470 MHz, but there are exceptions.

On October 11, 2021, NASCAR announced that they will be running a tire test at Bowman Gray for the Next Gen (NASCAR) car, in preparation for the 2022 Busch Clash, now in the L.A. Coliseum with a track layout similar to the Madhouse. This was the first time in over 50 years that NASCAR Cup Series cars ran on the legendary track.

For the 2022 racing season, along with the other previously announced renovations, new concession stands and drains in the apron of the turns were added to help remove water in the event of rain.

In July 2023 the stadium played host to baseball for the first time as the Winston-Salem-based Carolina Disco Turkeys hosted Albemarle's Uwharrie Wampus Cats and the Winston-Salem Moravians in a series of games featuring independent teams. ^[12]

On March 21, 2024, NASCAR announced that they had acquired the lessee of the track and would begin managing racing at the facility through 2050. ^[13]

Past NASCAR Cup Series winners

Year	Date	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race distance		Race time	Average speed (mph)	Report
					Miles	Laps
1958	May 24	Bob Welborn	Julian Petty	Chevrolet	37.5	150		40.407
1958	Aug 22	Lee Petty	Petty Enterprises	Oldsmobile	50	200		39.258
1959	Mar 30	Jim Reed	Jim Reed	Ford	50	200		43.562
1959	Jun 27	Rex White	Rex White	Chevrolet	50	200		41.228
1959	Aug 21	Rex White	Rex White	Chevrolet	50	200		44.085
1960	Apr 18	Glen Wood	Wood Brothers	Ford	50	200		43.082
1960	Jun 26	Glen Wood	Wood Brothers	Ford	50	200		45.872
1960	Aug 23	Glen Wood	Wood Brothers	Ford	50	200		43.389
1961	Apr 3	Rex White	Rex White	Chevrolet	37.5	150		45.500
1961	Jun 10	Rex White	Rex White	Chevrolet	50	200		42.714
1961	Aug 9	Rex White	Rex White	Chevrolet	37.5	150		42.452
1962	Apr 23	Rex White	Rex White	Chevrolet	27	108		43.392
1962	Jun 16	Johnny Allen	Fred Lovette	Pontiac	50	200		45.466
1962	Aug 18	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	50	200		46.875
1963	Apr 15	Jim Paschal	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	50	200		46.814
1963	Jul 13	Glen Wood	Wood Brothers	Ford	50	200		44.390
1963	Aug 16	Junior Johnson	Ray Fox	Chevrolet	50	200		46.320
1964	Mar 30	Marvin Panch	Wood Brothers	Ford	50	200		47.796
1964	Aug 22	Junior Johnson	Banjo Matthews	Ford	62.5	250		46.192
1965	May 15	Junior Johnson	Junior Johnson	Ford	50	200		47.911
1965	Aug 28	Junior Johnson	Junior Johnson	Ford	62.5	250		46.632
1966	Apr 11	David Pearson	Cotton Owens	Dodge	50	200		51.341
1966	Aug 27	David Pearson	Cotton Owens	Dodge	62.5	250		45.928
1967	Mar 27	Bobby Allison	J.D. Bracken	Chevrolet	50	200		49.248
1967	Aug 12	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	62.5	250		50.893
1968	Aug 10	David Pearson	Holman-Moody	Ford	62.5	250		42.940
1969	Aug 22	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Ford	62.5	250		47.458
1970	Aug 28	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	62.5	250		51.527
1971	Aug 6	*Bobby Allison	Melvin Joseph	Mustang	62.5	250		44.792

• In 1971, the Grand National Series allowed drivers to choose a smaller car from the Grand American division, which ran smaller pony cars, like the Ford Mustang which Bobby Allison chose for the race, alongside cars like the Chevrolet Camaro and AMC Javelin. Allison's usual car was the Ford Galaxie, but for this race at the shortest paved track on the schedule, he chose a shorter-wheelbase car with a much smaller engine, 302cui, 5.0ltr. V8 versus the Galaxie's 427cui, 7ltr V8. The shorter wheelbase allowed much better handling on slow, narrow short tracks like Bowman-Gray, but gave Allison an advantage that was seen as unfair by his competitors, such as second-place runner Richard Petty, whom filed an official complaint with NASCAR officials at the close of the race. NASCAR officials agreed, and stripped Allison of his win and prize money. However, instead of declaring Petty the winner, NASCAR left the race without an official winner. To this day, Allison reports his win count as 85, despite his official win total being 84. In motorsport series with different classes of cars in the same event, there are different class winners per race (a procedure similar to what NASCAR used for later combination races). In this case, Allison, in a Grand American car, would be classified as the overall race winner and Grand American class winner, and Petty, in a Grand National car, would be classified as the Grand National class winner. Petty would have 201 wins under this classification.

Multiple Winners (Drivers)

Wins	Driver
6	Rex White
4	Glen Wood
4	Richard Petty
4	Junior Johnson
3	David Pearson
2	Bobby Allison

Multiple Winners (Owners)

Wins	Driver
6	Rex White
6	Petty Enterprises
5	Wood Brothers
2	Junior Johnson
2	Cotton Owens

Manufacturer Wins

Wins	Manufacturer
12	Ford
9	Chevrolet
4	Plymouth
2	Dodge
1	Oldsmobile
1	Pontiac
1	Mustang

Past NASCAR Convertible Series Winners

Year	Date	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race distance		Race time	Average speed (mph)	Report
					Miles	Laps
1956	Aug 3	Curtis Turner	Pete DePaolo	Ford	37.5	150
1957	Apr 22	Curtis Turner	Pete DePaolo	Ford	35	140	0:58:42	35.775
1957	Jun 22	Bob Welborn	Bob Welborn	Chevrolet	37.5	150	0:57:46	38.95
1958	Apr 7	Bob Welborn	Julian Petty	Chevrolet	37.5	150	0:52:03	43.228
1959	May 23	Glen Wood	Wood Brothers	Ford	50	200	1:09:17	43.300

NOTES:

• Apr 22, 1957: Race shortened from 150 laps to 140 due to rain.

Track Champions

• 2020 season was canceled due to COVID

Year	Modified Champion	Sportsman / Amateur Champion	Street Stock / Hobby Champion	Stadium Stock / Blunderbust Champion
1949	Tim Flock
1950	Jimmie Lewallen
1951	Billy Myers
1952	Bobby Myers
1953	Billy Myers
1954	Glen Wood
1955	Billy Myers
1956	Pee Wee Jones
1957	Pee Wee Jones
1958	Pee Wee Jones		Bill Scott
1959	Pee Wee Jones
1960	Pee Wee Jones
1961	Glen Wood	Robert Berrier	Shorry Riggins
1962	Perk Brown		Leon Russell
1963	Billy Hensley	Bubba Beck
1964	Ken Rush
1965	Carl Burris
1966	Ken Rush		Bill Covington
1967	Pee Wee Jones		Ralph Brinkley
1968	Perk Brown
1969	Perk Brown	Al Hill	Wendell Edwards
1970	Don Miller	Al Hill
1971	Max Berrier
1972	Max Berrier	Al Hill
1973	Ralph Brinkley	Al Hill
1974	Ralph Brinkley	Al Hill	Max Martin
1975	Billy Hensley	Al Hill	Mitchell Warden
1976	Ralph Brinkley	Bill Wilder	Ken Cheek
1977	Paul Radford	Jimmy Johnson	Ben Jordon	Timmy Canard
1978	Paul Radford	Jimmy Johnson	Tony Hulin	Sherman Dalton
1979	Don Smith	Jimmy Johnson	Ben Young	Roger Craver
1980	Ralph Brinkley	Billy Kimel	Sherman Dalton	Dale Ward
1981	Ralph Brinkley	Jimmy Johnson	Spider Kimel	Dale Ward
1982	Ralph Brinkley	Jimmy Johnson	Billy Duggins	G.R. Merritt
1983	Satch Worley	Dink Osborne	Danny Trivette	Dean Ward
1984	Johnny Johnson	Spider Kimel	Danny Trivette	Dean Ward
1985	Satch Worley	Phillip Hill	Larry Eubanks	Ricky Gregg
1986	Ralph Brinkley	Bill Wilder	David Adams	Chris Ward
1987	Ralph Brinkley	Kenny Mabe	Ricky Gregg	Frank Ward
1988	Phillip Smith	Jimmy Johnson	Kenneth Stimpson	Mark Faust
1989	Phillip Smith	Ricky Gregg	Barry Edwards	Dean Ward
1990	Junior Miller	Ricky Gregg	Ronnie Clifton	Dean Ward
1991	Don Smith	Mike Miller	Barry Edwards	Rob Neely
1992	Junior Miller	Ricky Gregg	Bryan Weatherman	Brent Weaver
1993	Junior Miller	Todd Hunt	Bryan Weatherman	Tommy Neal
1994	Robert Jeffreys	Gene Pack	Tim McGlamery	Tommy Neal
1995	Robert Jeffreys	Gene Pack	Tim McGlamery	Randy Moore
1996	Tim Brown	Willie Newman	Rik Newsom	Charlie Curry
1997	Tim Brown	David Adams	Rusty Harpe	Ronnie Bassett
1998	Tim Brown	David Adams	Kyle Edwards	Matt Hill
1999	Burt Myers	Jason Brown	Mack Little III	Randy Moore
2000	Junior Miller	Jason Brown	Mack Little III	Johnny Burke
2001	Burt Myers	Barry Edwards	Jason Myers	Mitch Gales
2002	Tim Brown	Ronnie Clifton	Kyle Edwards	Charlie Curry
2003	Junior Miller	Ronnie Clifton	Steven Berrier	Kenny Bost
2004	Tim Brown	Ronnie Clifton	Johnny Arnder	Kenny Bost
2005	Tim Brown	Ronnie Clifton	Steven Berrier	Kenny Bost
2006	Junior Miller	Ronnie Clifton	Steven Berrier	A.J. Sanders
2007	Burt Myers	Ronnie Clifton	John McNeal	Michael Wells
2008	Tim Brown	Ronnie Clifton	Ryan Nelson	Johnny Burke
2009	Tim Brown	Ronnie Clifton	David Sumner	Dale Barneycastle
2010	Burt Myers	Kyle Edwards	Matt Cotner	Jason Keaton
2011	Burt Myers	Robbie Brewer	John McNeal	Chris Lawing
2012	Tim Brown	Derek Stoltz	Billy Gregg	Charlie Curry
2013	Burt Myers	Mack Little III	Doug Wall	Chuck Wall
2014	Danny Bohn	Taylor Branch	Chase Hunt	Chuck Wall
2015	Tim Brown	Zack Clifton	Derrick Rice	Chuck Wall
2016	Burt Myers	Tommy Neal	Derrick Rice	A.J. Sanders
2017	Burt Myers	Derek Stoltz	Jacob Creed	Wesley Thompson
2018	Burt Myers	Kevin Neal	Spencer Martin	Wesley Thompson
2019	Burt Myers	Justin Taylor	Billy Gregg	Chuck Wall
2021	Tim Brown	Tommy Neal	Billy Gregg	Brandon Brendle
2022	Tim Brown	Tommy Neal	Billy Gregg	A.J. Sanders
2023	Brandon Ward	Chase Robertson	Christian Joyce	A.J. Sanders

Modified and Sportsman car counts were thin during the latter part of the 1950s and the track combined the two and let the V6s run with the V8s and named it the "Modified-Sportsman Division". Leading into the 1968 season, the track dropped the Sportsman cars and title, hence officially named the featured division as the Modifieds.

The Amateur Division was the support division to the Modified-Sportsman and ran from 1950 to mid-1958, where the division dissolved and the track picked up the Hobby Division.

The Claiming Division was tabbed as a third weekly division in 1964. It was a division that cost only $99 to run, it was so popular that the track had to cut the fields down to two races with ten cars apiece. The division ran from 1964 to 1972. The track changed the name to what is now the Sportsman Division.

The Hobby Division, which was the predecessor of the Street Stock Division, ran from mid-1958 to 1974. Then the following year, the division was renamed to the Street Stocks.

Bowman Gray ran Blunderbust races as a fourth division from 1977-1989 until they replaced that division with the Buzzbomber Division in 1990. The following season, the track kept the cars, but changed the division to what is now the Stadium Stock Division.

Gallery

• 
  Press Box side
• 
  Endzone fieldhouse
• 
  Turn 4 and frontstretch

See also

• Whelen All-American Series
• Whelen Southern Modified Tour
• NASCAR
• Bowman Gray, former CEO of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• NASCAR K&N Pro Series East

References

1. Zona, Chris; Trevin Goodwin (2007). 2007 Rams Football (PDF). Winston-Salem State Athletics. p. 30.
2. Miller, Richard (2013). Bowman Gray Stadium. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7–12. ISBN   978-0738599182.
3. "A LOOK BACK: Bowman Gray". hometracks.nascar.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
4. Getty Images for NASCAR (2015-08-14). "Bowman Gray Set For Special Night | NASCAR Home Tracks". Hometracks.nascar.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
5. Miller, Richard (2013). Bowman Gray Stadium. Arcadia Publishing. p. 14. ISBN   978-0738599182.
6. Miller, Richard (2013). Bowman Gray Stadium. Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN   978-0738599182.
7. "Bowman Gray Stadium NASCAR results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
8. Posted 10:47 pm, July 23, 2014, by Neill McNeill (2014-07-23). "Newsmakers: Bowman Gray promoter Gray Garrison". myfox8.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
9. Jay Spivey/Winston-Salem Journal (13 August 2015). "1,000 Races: Bowman Gray to reach NASCAR milestone Saturday - Winston-Salem Journal: Bowman Gray". Journalnow.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
10. "New Deal Brings Million In Bowman Gray Stadium Improvements". 14 November 2018.
11. Fan Information." Retrieved on May 22, 2014.
12. "Batter up at Bowman Gray with the Carolina Disco Turkeys". yesweekly.com. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
13. Albert, Zach (March 21, 2024). "NASCAR to manage racing operations for Bowman Gray Stadium". NASCAR.com.

External links

• Official Site of Bowman Gray Stadium
• Bowman Gray Stadium race results at Racing-Reference