The madhouse is about to get a whole lot crazier. NASCAR has finally confirmed what seemingly every NASCAR fan has been praying for – the Clash 2025 preseason exhibition race will take place on February 2nd at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Yes, you heard right. The very stadium that NASCAR took the keys to this year.

Speculation? It is now fact.

Traditionally, the Clash started in Daytona, the cathedral of speed. Then, in 2022, the circus packed up and headed west to the LA Memorial Coliseum, where it surprised everyone with a huge success. For three years, the Clash brought Hollywood flair to the track, but after the deal with the Coliseum was sealed, it was time for a change.

NASCAR is not just going back to its roots, it’s digging right back to its origins and diving headfirst into history. Built in 1937 in the midst of the Great Depression, Bowman-Gray Stadium is both a relic and a racetrack. First it hosted football games, then horse racing, and finally in 1939 the real fun began – auto racing. The dirt oval track was paved in 1947, and a year later NASCAR was born. In 1949, Bowman-Gray hosted the first sanctioned NASCAR race. It was the first paved track in NASCAR’s storied history and the first to host weekly races.

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From 1958 to 1971, 29 Cup races were held in the stadium; at that time it was still called the Grand National Series. Legends such as Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and David Pearson have left their mark on the quarter-mile oval, and Petty himself won his 100th victory there in 1969. Modern stars such as Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson have also experienced the gladiatorial combat that Bowman-Gray offers.

Bowman-Gray also hosted several NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series races from 2011 to 2015. Ben Kennedy, the great-grandson of Bill France Sr., won an East Series race there in 2013. Other winners include two-time NASCAR Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes and NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey Lajoie.

“Bowman Gray Stadium has a rich motorsports history, and we’re excited to bring the Cup Series back to this venerable track for the first time since 1971,” said Kennedy, now NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovation officer. “As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place as the original home of grassroots racing. With a history of intense competition, we’re proud to host The Clash at ‘The Madhouse.'”

Throughout its history, the Bowman-Gray course’s close, action-packed racing has sparked countless rivalries and dramatic confrontations – some of which are immortalized in clips that show drivers going head-to-head like bullfighters. The track was even the inspiration for a short-lived Discovery Channel documentary series.

In October 2021, NASCAR hosted a tire test at the stadium with the Cup Series’ Next-Gen car, marking that series’ return to the track for the first time since 1971. The test was in preparation for the 2022 Clash at the LA Coliseum, which features a similar configuration.

Now the Cup Series is returning, this time for much more than just test drives.

And while the LA Coliseum seats 77,500, things will be a little cozier at Bowman-Gray. The stadium has 17,000 bleacher seats and a few thousand more standing room. But the people crammed in there will keep each other warm. Because there’s a reason the weekly series at Bowman-Gray doesn’t start until April. The average high temperature in Winston-Salem in February is 53 degrees. The lack of seats, the weather, none of that will matter, though.

NASCAR’s return to this hallowed ground isn’t just a race; it’s a homecoming. A chance to say, “We’re back. Have you missed us?”