CLASH 2025: Bowman Gray Stadium
Well… it is beginning to look a lot like Nascar! We now know who will faceoff in this years Super Bowl and we know for sure that Clint Bowyer is excited to see his Chiefs taking on the Eagles. For the fourth consecutive year NASCAR opens up it’s transition from the NFL to racing by placing the Clash right inside a football stadium. For the last three years it opened up in the LA Coliseum. This year it’s at Bowman Gray Stadium which is embedded in the heart of NASCAR. It’s the MADHOUSE!
On the eve of the Clash there are some top things to watch for this weekend
#1 – Will we see some racing? Of course we will see cars on the track racing but the big question is will it be racy. Everyone knows why it is called the Madhouse. It’s all about the fights, the drama at Bowman Gray. The consensus around this track is that people have showed up on Saturday nights for years to watch a fight in hopes that a race might break out.
This track has traditionally been one dominated by the bottom and in order to get by you have to move someone over. With it being an exhibition race I am not sure how willing some of these drivers will be to move each other out of the way. What I will be watching for in these heat races tonight is to see whether the top lane is effective at all or will it just be a race to see who gets to the bottom first. If it ends up being the latter I am concerned that it may be an uninspiring weekend of racing. Let’s hope for some two-wide action.
#2 – Will the tempers flare. If this race ends up being a single car affair, we may see drama early on at the Clash. This year there will be 23 cars in Sunday’s 200 lap main event. With a total of 39 cars making the trip to Winston-Salem that will leave 16 drivers on the outside looking in. Tonight, we have 4 heat races taking place with only the top 5 in each advancing to the main event.
Even in these heat races we have some that may already be in desperation mode. Two Drivers that stick out are Tim Brown and Burt Myers. These guys are the local track ringers. They have lived their lives at Bowman Gray Stadium and this weekend is nothing short of an opportunity of a lifetime. If you find them in the back of the field in their heat races don’t be surprised if we see some sparks fly. Do you really think they will just ride back there content to give it one final chance in tomorrow’s LCQ. I don’t think so.
Another guy to watch will be Ty Gibbs. To me, this is really a pivotal year for him. Last year ended very badly for him. His last 5 races saw him finish 30th or worse. Granted, he did lead 23 laps at Las Vegas before an unfortunate ending but at Phoenix he finished…40th! This year he has a new crew chief in Tyler Allen. Last year, Allen kicked butt in the Xfinity Series recording 8 wins in the Joe Gibbs No. 20 All-Star car. Though it is his first year as crew chief he has won a championship and been to four other Championship 4 races while with Joe Gibbs. Needless to say, I believe there is great pressure on Ty Gibbs this year. You couple that with his impatient driving style and let’s just say we may see some fireworks. Keeping with the spirit of the NFL, one Terrell Owens said, “Get your popcorn ready.”
#3 – Will Brown or Myers make it into the Main Event. Everybody loves an underdog. When I think underdog I think of Kurt Warner and the inspiring career he had as an NFL quaterback. He went from a man just struggling to get by to hoist the Lombardi trophy. How about Trevor Bayne’s improbable run to win the Daytona 500 in 2011. Fast forward 10 years and Michael McDowell pulled off the same miracle at the high banks of Daytona. Moments like that in sports are what make March Madness of NCAA College Basketball what it is… Madness! So the question is can they do it?
Let’s start with Burt Myers. The deck is stacked pretty high against him. Team Amerivet, is the little guy in every way. Not too much funding, no big brand, no real alliance, just a family, literally, that loves racing. That team has recently went through a rebrand but in years past we have been able to sneak into the biggest race in Nascar, the Daytona 500, a couple of times. It is safe to say that this is a tall hill to climb.
When you think of Tim Brown he isn’t it much better of a position. Rick Ware Racing hasn’t been barn burners in these Clash. They have only had Justin Haley make it to the Main Event these last 3 years. Both times he did it didn’t end well and they finished toward the back of the field.
With both these guys you have to factor in the “Homefield Advantage”. There is no question that the experience they have at the track, albeit not in a NextGen car, will help them. I predict that in some wild fashion they both make it to the Main Event. Can you imagine what the crowd will be like if they make it through? One Word. Madhouse.
#4 – Who will win it? It literally is anyone’s game. Not like Daytona or Talladega, where destiny meets with reality and the Red Sea seems to part for drivers to win there. This weekend if you don’t have a car that handles it is going to be a problem. I think everyone wants to lean towards Joey Logano, last year’s Champion. We all do it for the same reason. He is the king at whatever Nascar does for the first time. We go to Bristol and race on dirt, he wins. We go to the Coliseum for the first time, he wins. Will it happen again?
My prediction is that Chase Briscoe brings home the trophy. I know it is a different track but he has faired well in the Coliseum apart from mechanical failures. Not to mention, he is strapping in for his first time in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19. That same number took the checkered in LA in 2023. Last year another JGR car in Denny Hamlin came home with the hardware. What a new chapter it would start in the career of Chase Briscoe.
Once again, it’s anyone’s game. Who do you think will be Takin’ the Checkered?