12/15/2024
F Y I π
Bowman Gray Stadium Preps for NASCAR ...
NASCAR is still seven weeks away from running its first ever Clash at the famed 'Madhouse,' but NASCAR hip deep into figuring out the logistics for the new event.
NASCAR made a pledge to fans to return to its roots, so Bowman Gray Stadium was chosen as the venue for the pre-season exhibition event. The only issue is the quarter-mile short track holds several logistical challenges for the Cup Series.
With no room for all the haulers needed for NASCAR to perform pre-race inspections, Charlotte Motor Speedway has agreed to let inspections take place in their infield before the cars are transported to the Bowman Gray. After the cars are inspected on Thursday, January 30th, they will be secured with tamper-proof seals and impounded. Teams cannot touch their cars until officials break the seals on Saturday. On Friday, teams will be allowed to unload their cars and set up their stations behind Bowman Gray's Fieldhouse.
Post race inspection on Sunday will also be different. The cars will be inspected only with scale and shock equipment instead of the Optical Scanning Station (OSS) NASCAR regularly uses.
The OSS will be set up at NASCAR's R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, that weekend in the case there are teams needing backup cars inspected pre-race.
While The Clash's full format will not be released until the new year, this week's schedule drop exposed a few things that NASCAR did at the Coliseum that will be mirrored at Bowman Gray.
Saturday will feature four 25-lap heats to set the majority of the feature lineup, with a 75-lap last-chance qualifier scheduled on Sunday, two hours before the green flag. Only green flag laps will be counted, with a midrace break at the halfway mark for teams to make adjustments.
Bowman Gray Stadium Racing