Nestled in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Bowman Gray Stadium stands as one of American motorsports’ most iconic venues. It’s a place where tradition, competition, and community collide on a quarter-mile asphalt oval around a historic football field.
Known affectionately as “The Madhouse,” this track holds a special place in NASCAR and short-track racing history, and its legacy continues to shape racing culture today.
From Football Field to Racing Icon
Originally constructed in 1937 as a public works project during the Great Depression, Bowman Gray was built to provide jobs and a community space for Winston-Salem residents. Named in honor of Mr. Bowman Gray, a philanthropist and president and chairman of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company who had passed away in 1935, the stadium first hosted collegiate football and community events.
Auto racing came to the venue in 1947, and the success of those early events led to paving the dirt oval, which soon became a heartbeat of local motorsports. Just a couple of years later, in 1949, NASCAR founders like Bill France Sr. helped introduce weekly stock-car racing at the stadium, cementing its role as one of NASCAR’s first sanctioned weekly race tracks.
Over the decades, Bowman Gray became synonymous with intense racing action and grassroots motorsports culture. From 1958 to 1971, the track hosted NASCAR Grand National Series races–the top level of the sport–drawing legendary competitors such as Richard Petty, David Pearson, Junior Johnson, and Rex White to compete on its tight, challenging oval.
The stadium earned its nickname, “The Madhouse,” not just for its compact size but for the dramatic, bump-and-thrill style of racing that unfolded there.
Today, the track continues to host NASCAR’s Weekly Series, drawing fans nightly during the racing season to witness short-track stars take on the quarter-mile in modifieds, sportman, and stock car divisions.
The Cup Series’ Return to Bowman Gray Stadium
Bowman Gray Stadium entered a new chapter in February 2025 when NASCAR brought Cup Series racing back to the venue for the first time since 1971. The Clash marked a historic return to NASCAR’s roots, placing the sport’s biggest stars on the same track that helped shape the stock-car racing in its earliest years.
The race delivered exactly what fans expected from Bowman Gray–tight racing, physical competition, and nonstop energy in front of a sold-out crowd. With national attention focused on Winston-Salem, the event showcased why the stadium has remained one of the most recognizable short tracks in the country.
Buoyed by the success of the 2025 event, NASCAR is bringing the Clash back to Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1st, 2026, and we couldn’t be more excited.
JKS Incorporated and Bowman Gray Stadium: A Story of Shared Passion
At JKS Incorporated, Bowman Gray Stadium isn’t just part of racing history–it’s also part of our story. We’ve worked with the stadium since 1985, when our first collaboration involved producing track signage and applying graphics to a fan-giveaway vehicle.
Over the decades, that relationship has grown stronger through projects like wrapping official pace cars and producing custom graphics that help bring the speed and spectacle of “The Madhouse” to life. It’s a partnership grounded in mutual respect for motorsports, community, and Winston-Salem’s unique racing culture.
*Banner image courtesy of the NASCAR Research & Archive Center.