Bowman Gray lands first NASCAR points race since 1971

NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 23, 2026

Bowman Gray return

Bowman Gray Stadium will host a points-paying NASCAR national series race for the first time in 56 years, and the Craftsman Truck Series will make its first-ever start there when the series returns to the quarter-mile track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. NASCAR announced the move during Bowman Gray’s season-ending meet, and Rajah Caruth drove a No. 7 Chevrolet truck onto the track as part of the reveal. The race will land during Bowman Gray Stadium’s traditional finale weekend, which ties the event to one of the venue’s most familiar spots on the calendar. The return also gives NASCAR a rare chance to bring a national series points race back to a track best known for its tight quarters and long local racing history. For Bowman Gray, the move adds a new layer to a facility that already has a place in NASCAR’s modern schedule through its recent exhibition role. For the Truck Series, it opens a fresh stop at a track that has never hosted the series in points competition.

Truck Series field

NASCAR said the event’s format and procedures will be announced later, and the venue presents a clear challenge because Bowman Gray cannot accommodate the full 36-truck field in its feature race. That detail shapes the race well before the trucks take the green flag. The series has to fit its standard national format into a track that does not offer the same room as larger speedways, and that limits how the field can come together on race day. Bowman Gray’s quarter-mile layout has long defined the track’s racing identity, and that compact footprint remains central to the planning for the Truck Series event. NASCAR’s decision points to the kind of race Bowman Gray can produce, one built around a smaller space and a tighter competitive environment. The later release of the format and procedures will settle the details of how the field is arranged and how the event is run, but the headline piece is already clear. Bowman Gray is back on the national series map with a points race, and the Truck Series will handle the first trip.

Bowman Gray history

Bowman Gray Stadium has already served as part of NASCAR’s current exhibition rotation, hosting the Cup Series Clash over the last two years. That run kept the venue in the sport’s spotlight and gave NASCAR a recent measure of how the track fits a major event. The Clash will return to Daytona International Speedway next season, which ends that Bowman Gray stretch for the exhibition race and shifts the series back to one of NASCAR’s signature venues. Even so, Bowman Gray’s recent role helped set the stage for this new opportunity in the Truck Series. The track has shown it can host a national NASCAR showcase, and now it will do so in points competition for the first time in more than half a century. The move gives Bowman Gray a different kind of relevance, one tied not to an exhibition but to championship points. It also broadens the track’s place in NASCAR’s schedule, with the traditional local finale weekend now carrying a national series race that will draw attention far beyond Winston-Salem.