NASCAR: 5 possible additions to the 2025 Cup Series schedule
By Logan Ploder
No. 5 - Bowman Gray Stadium
Like Long Beach, Bowman Gray Stadium wasn't really in many peoples' considerations up until a week ago. That's because NASCAR announced this past Thursday that it will be taking over racing operations at the facility until December 2050. Surely that means NASCAR plans to do something with it, right?
Bowman Gray Stadium encapsulates everything that the sport has been about from the very beginning; a historic, grassroots, small-town short track that has been hosting races since 1949. It represents the local circuits that a lot of its stars grew up racing on, plus what fans have been wanting for more than a decade now: more short tracks.
While it wasn't abandoned like North Wilkesboro Speedway was before its rebuild, an event there screams a very similar vibe to last year's All-Star Race, one where the core fanbase can enjoy the history of the sport right in their own backyards for the first time in years and celebrate what it means to be a NASCAR fan.
Of course, this track comes with some limitations, most notably its small nature and its lack of grandstands and safety features with respect to SAFER barriers. The objectively "poor" racing that the Next Gen cars produce on short tracks may also be a bit of an issue, as seen at North Wilkesboro in 2023.
Similarly to Dodger Stadium very likely hosting the Clash, Bowman Gray Stadium will probably need to take on the All-Star Race before it could ever be considered for a points-paying Cup Series event, due to its limitations and experimental nature.
What that would mean for North Wilkesboro remains to be seen, but it's hard to imagine that NASCAR would have gone this far with that track if it didn't have long-term plans to use it, so there shouldn't be any need for fans to worry.
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While the NASCAR Cup Series has never raced on any of the five tracks listed here, one thing is for certain: the sport is becoming more and more ambitious year after year and is willing to try new things to improve the product and grow, which is something that needs to be respected regardless of the results.
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