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Current NASCAR Cup Series drivers with experience at Bowman Gray
By Staff Report | Monday, October 25, 2021
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer will climb into the Next Gen car and turn laps at Bowman Gray Stadium on Oct. 26. The drive is to prepare the car and tire combination for The Clash at the Coliseum event in February at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Some of NASCAR's current Cup Series drivers have some reps at the 0.25-mile track known as The Madhouse. Read on to see who you recognize.
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The K&N East Series — now the ARCA Menards Series East — raced five times at Bowman Gray from 2011-15. Here, Chase Elliott poses with NASCAR Hall of Famer Glen Wood in 2012.
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Elliott would start sixth and finish sixth at Bowman Gray in 2012.
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Now a NASCAR Cup Series champion, Elliott finished fourth in the series standings in 2012 — behind Kyle Larson, Corey LaJoie and Brett Moffitt.
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Chase Elliott winning awards. Some things never change.
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Matt DiBenedetto, left, won the first Pro Series East race at the Bowman Gray Stadium in 2011. Recognize the fella congratulating him? None other than Corey LaJoie.
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Matt DiBenedetto celebrates his first win of the 2011 season, and the third East win of his career (he had two in 2009).
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The words of advice here must have worked.
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Before he was winning nine NASCAR Cup Series races in a single season (and counting!), Kyle Larson was crushing it for Rev Racing.
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Larson won the pole for the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 and finished fifth.
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Bubba Wallace earned six wins in the Pro Series East in three full-time seasons from 2010-12.
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After signing autographs prior to the 2012 event, Wallace finished runner-up to race winner Corey LaJoie.
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Corey LaJoie got to celebrate in the infield when the series returned in 2012. He won a race that included six future NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
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LaJoie led 118 of 153 laps in his No. 07 machine.
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The host of "Stacking Pennies" has always been a crowd favorite.
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As an 18-year-old in 2011, Alex Bowman notched four top-fives in a full-season slate. He would run the ARCA Menards Series full time the following year.
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Here, Alex Bowman climbs into his car to prep for the 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame 150.
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Daniel Suarez competed for a title in the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series in 2013, and he also a full season in the Pro Series East. He would finish ninth at the Madhouse that year, then return for a runner-up showing in 2014.
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Add Cole Custer to the list of Cup Series drivers who got a taste of Bowman Gray early in their careers.
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Bonus photo: Before he was the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at NASCAR, Ben Kennedy raced full time. He won the 2013 Pro Series East race at Bowman Gray, one of his two victories on the season. Kennedy would go on to make 90 NASCAR national series starts from 2013-17.
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