Growing up Madhouse: Reflections from a lifelong Bowman Gray fan

Posted on June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Zack Albert

Editor’s note: Before TrackPass’ airing of the return to racing at Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday (8 p.m. ET), NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert offers his reflections of the Madhouse, a venue where he and his family watched many a race. | Subscribe to TrackPass here

Growing up, I thought every track was just like Bowman Gray Stadium. My family has lived in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, area for generations, so for Saturday night short-track racing, that’s just where we went.

The thought in my still-developing, grade-school mind was that every local short track regularly topped five figures in attendance for any given race meet (… they don’t) with admission prices that still barely crack two figures (again, no). Every track, I figured, featured the unbridled tour-type Modified cars (they don’t) on a tiny, flat track around a football field (they most certainly don’t). That’s what I knew because that’s where we went.

Now having been to other bullrings out in the wild, can confirm: There is no place like Bowman Gray Stadium.

PHOTOS: Family photo album from 1962-63 races at Bowman Gray

Before much more ground is covered, some disclosure and personal reference points: I stuck with Bowman Gray long enough to make the track home to a supplemental summer job through high school and college summers, keeping the points standings up to date and accepting any other go-fer work as needed. It was briefly part of a full-time job after college, working for the great newsman and PR whiz Hank Schoolfield. I still try to take as many current colleagues there to experience the stadium as our schedules allow.

Much earlier, back when lunch boxes and footed pajamas were still age-appropriate, Saturday mornings meant 1) cartoons and 2) checking the Winston-Salem Journal sports pages for the stadium’s weekly ad. Anything that read “Madhouse Scramble!” meant twin features and the track’s quirky inversion system. “Ladies Night!” (free admission back in those days) meant Mom might be a good sport and go with. “Demolition Derby!” meant my begging for Dad to take us would only be more intense, given my tendency to weaponize my Hot Wheels and Matchbox collection for crash re-enactments that would make a “Days of Thunder” scriptwriter blush.

Grant Halverson | Getty Images

Going meant getting a program, which often provided reading material that would last well into the next week. There were ads featuring drivers lucky (or good) enough to have sponsors willing to foot the bill for product placement, pictures from the previous week’s events and a roster of competitors for each of the four divisions, with their nearby hometowns.

And Lord, the names. For every Jimmy, Johnny, Billy or Robert, there were a substantial percentage of names that only seemed appropriate either on the driver roster or in a Marvel comic. Spider. Bubba. Dink. Eb. Puddin’. Even the long list of former track champions is crowded with entries for Pee Wee, Perk and Satch.

For years, the program listed every feature winner since the track began its operations in 1949. NASCAR Hall of Famers such as Tim Flock and Glen Wood blended in with local legends, and the 29 Cup Series races the quarter-mile hosted from 1958-71 were included. Richard Petty, David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Bobby Allison and Rex White all won there.

Each feature victory was listed in 7- or 8-point type, and the text seemed to get smaller each year in order to fit on a program page. It’s probably why I needed glasses at such a young age and, in turn, probably why Paul Radford was my favorite driver. Sure, he had a cool nickname — the “Ferrum Flash” in a nod to his Virginia hometown — and drove a bright orange No. 07 Modified, but the key connection was that he wore eyeglasses, something that made me more OK with being teased as “four eyes” as a kid.

Forging a personal bond with the weekly program and the stadium’s stars wasn’t exclusive just to me. Depending on which driver was featured on the cover of that Saturday night’s program (usually a winner from the previous week), some fans would rip the first page off and trash it if the driver was a bitter rival.

The rooting interests and passions still run deep at the stadium, almost cartoonishly so. The pictures of school-age kids in the front row offering middle-finger salutes to their racing villains has nearly reached meme status. And the near-weekly antics that turn viral on social media — be it physical confrontations involving cars, fists or both — have sometimes blurred the lines between racing and reality TV. It’s why the track and safety workers who respond to wrecks usually have the Winston-Salem police alongside them just in case a YouTube moment erupts.

Don’t point the finger (index, middle or other) at social media, though, because haymakers and brushback pitches have been happening at Bowman Gray before Facebook was ever a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye. Allison and Curtis Turner unleashed all manner of hell on their cars’ bodywork in a rough-and-tumble clash during the Grand National era that’s still talked about. The story has mutated with each retelling but usually ends with a ticked-off Turner buzzing the track with his plane on the way out of town.

The track’s legend and reputation have reached far outside of the North Carolina piedmont in recent years, perhaps partly because of its ability to go viral but it’s also an embrace that’s attributable to a renewed interest in stock-car racing history at the grassroots level. Bowman Gray has been doing this with some success for 70-plus years now, and after a season lost to COVID-19 in 2020, its racing schedule will resume this Saturday night with its annual 200-lap Modified main event.

The track has evolved with recent facility upgrades and some of the names have changed on both the driver roster and list of feature winners, but the sights, sounds and smells all feel familiar no matter the year. Before the track’s “Madhouse” nickname took on a life of its own, in our household it was simply called “the stadium,” with no other descriptors necessary.

There’s still no place like it.

Posted on June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Terrin Waack

More than a quarter of Sunday’s field for the NASCAR race at Sonoma Raceway has never turned a lap in a Cup Series car around the 2.52-mile road course in California.

There are 37 drivers entered in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and 10 will be making their Sonoma debuts in NASCAR. Of those 10, six are full-time 2021 competitors. Then, of those six, only two are rookies, which makes their introductions a given since Sonoma is a Cup-only track, and the other four lost their chance in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of Sonoma’s sole event.

Take a look at all 10 drivers and their situations (alphabetically listed):

Anthony Alfredo – full time; rookie season with Front Row Motorsports.
Christopher Bell – second full-time season, now with Joe Gibbs Racing; no Sonoma race in 2020.
Chase Briscoe – full time; rookie season with Stewart-Haas Racing.
Cole Custer – second full-time season with Stewart-Haas Racing; no Sonoma race in 2020.
James Davison – second part-time season, now with Rick Ware Racing; never raced Sonoma.
Scott Heckert – making second career Cup Series start with Live Fast Motorsports; previous was not at Sonoma.
Quin Houff – second full-time season with StarCom Racing; no Sonoma race in 2020.
Tyler Reddick – second full-time season with Richard Childress Racing; no Sonoma race in 2020.
Ben Rhodes – making first career Cup Series start with Spire Motorsports.
Garrett Smithley – fourth part-time season, now with Rick Ware Racing; never raced Sonoma.

Alfredo, Bell, Briscoe, Custer, Houff and Reddick are the six full-time Cup Series drivers right now fighting for points and ultimately the championship. Even though Bell is the only one who has won a race this season (Daytona Road Course) and is therefore automatically locked into the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs, Reddick ranks the highest in the current points standings among his Sonoma first-timers. He’s 13th. Bell is 15th.

RELATED: Sonoma 101 | Paint schemes | Betting odds

Reddick is truly on a roll this season.

The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet pilot has placed in the top 10 in eight of the 15 events down. Through last year’s 36-race schedule, he had nine top-10 finishes total – so he’s already on pace to set a career high. Also, the last time an RCR driver had at least eight top-10 results at this point was 2015 with Ryan Newman, who was in his 14th full-time season. Reddick is in just his second.

Reddick matched his career-best finish of second in the third event of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He was runner-up at Texas Motor Speedway last year in the 18th race of the season.

Two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas, Reddick won the Busch Pole Award, and it not only marked his first career pole but also Richard Childress Racing’s first road-course pole since 1996 with Dale Earnhardt.

BetMGM has Reddick at 50-1 odds to win Sunday. Bell is a bit better at 25-1 odds, but he hasn’t posted a top-10 run since Richmond Raceway in April – seven races ago. Reddick, meanwhile, is riding a three-race top-10 streak – and seven in the last nine – that includes a ninth-place showing at COTA.

So, based on overall consistency and recent performance, Reddick looks to be the favorite out of the 10 Sonoma newbies.

Semi-related and worth noting: There are also three new teams making their Sonoma debut – 23XI Racing with driver Bubba Wallace, Trackhouse Racing Team with Daniel Suarez and Live Fast Motorsports with Heckert. Wallace has two career Sonoma starts. Suarez has three.

Posted on June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 by Official NASCAR Release

Charlotte, NC– Today, NASCAR announced a partnership with Stay Plugged IN, the leading organizer of collegiate recruiting events in the US, to bring a three-part scholarship series to students throughout the country.

The partnership will see NASCAR provide scholarships to students interested in pursuing esports and gaming scholastically. Over the summer months, Stay Plugged IN will organize and produce two amateur tournaments where participants have the opportunity to compete in front of collegiate recruiters from around the country. Throughout gameplay, contestants will utilize NASCAR-themed vehicles available to the public for purchase in game.Additionally as part of the partnership will be a game creation competition where students learn to use coding to design games through the use of a coding platform. The partnership also creates resume building and experiential learning opportunities for students wishing to apply their skills at the collegiate level.

“Gaming is part of our DNA here at NASCAR – and we are firm believers in what the gaming world can offer students as they begin to map out their lives and careers,” said Nick Rend, NASCAR managing director of gaming and esports. “Whether it is competing in a high-level esports environment, building a career in the business of gaming, or some combination of the two, there are endless opportunities available to students to engage with the modern gaming world in a meaningful and rewarding way – and we are committed to doing our part to ensure that students can take advantage of these opportunities with the help of our friends at Stay Plugged IN.”

“We’re incredibly excited to work with NASCAR to give students more opportunities to learn, grow, and develop their skills in the gaming industry. NASCAR’s strong brand enables us to get our message out to many students across the US that may not realize the wealth of possibilities esports can bring them. We hope NASCAR fans can see how esports can be beneficial, and we know that many esports fans will be excited by the chance NASCAR is providing. Our visions aligned to blend a series of competition and educational curriculum in a way that engages students through STEM. With our companies being headquartered in Charlotte, it was a natural fit to introduce this program in our local community as well as on our national platform,” said SPIN Managing Director, Rick Suarez.

NASCAR, known globally as a leading promoter of motorsports, has made major strides in advancing its efforts in the gaming and esports landscape over the past decade – as today’s fans are able to engage with the sport across a variety of platforms such as iRacing.com, the NASCAR Heat series, Real Racing 3, and most recently via a new in-game content partnership with Rocket League.

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

While a Las Vegas bookmaker anticipates five-figure bets on some of the favorites in Sunday’s Toyota/ Save Mart 350 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Sonoma Raceway, one sharp NASCAR bettor is eyeing a different approach.

At skinny odds of 2/1, Chase Elliott sits atop the oddsboard at Vegas-based SuperBook USA, followed by Martin Truex Jr. at 9/2 (+450, or bet $100 to win $450). Elliott, whose six wins, 7.4 average finish and 125.2 rating in the 10 road courses races since 2018 are all best in the Cup Series among drivers with more than one start, and Truex, who has won the two most recent races at Sonoma (2018, 2019), are exactly the type of drivers deep-pocketed casino regulars like to play.

“We have a few players that are willing to bet a lot on these really tiny odds, and this is the kind of race where they’ll come and bet Chase Elliott at 2/1,” said Ed Salmons, vice president of risk at the SuperBook. “And they’ll put $10,000 or $20,000 on him.”

Such sentiment doesn’t surprise Blake Phillips, a sharp bettor who specializes on NASCAR. Phillips, though, is seeking a bigger payday on Sunday.

“It’s kind of the same guys every time (expected to win on a road course). It’s going to be Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch (7/1), and now of course everyone’s counting in (Kyle) Larson (7/1),” Phillips said. “…. So you’re going to have really tight odds on those guys, and you kind of have to look for the guys who have a shot that aren’t getting counted in.”

Clear that he had just begun his handicapping for the race, Phillips said Wednesday a few long shots jump off the page as worthy of consideration.

“I think there’s some guys worth a look, but I want to do a little bit more digging before I really go out on a limb, but the two that pop out instantly are Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick,” Phillips said. “Both good road course guys, and Harvick’s been historically really good at Sonoma (12.7 average finish, best in the series). Obviously, Stewart-Haas has been having some issues this season, but the issues primarily seem to be related to speed. Their cars just don’t have speed. Speed is not as important at road courses as it would be, say, at a speedway or mile-and-a-half. So sheer driving skill really comes into play, and Harvick’s a guy to keep an eye on.”

As of Friday morning, both drivers can be found at 20/1 at WynnBET, an official betting partner of NASCAR, while Blaney can be had for 25/1 at some betting shops.

Does one road course translate to another?

Analyzing data from comparable tracks is a useful tool when it comes to handicapping a NASCAR race. No two tracks are exactly alike, but information gleaned from similar 1.5-mile ovals can be applied to Charlotte Motor Speedway, for example, and steep-banked short tracks like Bristol Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway serve as useful comparisons.

Road courses, however, present a different challenge since the layouts vary drastically. Also, until recently, there have been very few road course races, meaning handicappers must work off small sample sizes.

“I do think the data translates from one road course to another, but with an asterisk,” Phillips said. “…. You have to kind of weigh them differently and understand they’re very different courses. The ROVAL (at Charlotte) is extremely different from Sonoma, for example. So if you’re treating ROVAL results the same as Sonoma results, I don’t think it’s going to give you that big of a picture.”

The 2021 Cup schedule features seven races on road courses, a big leap from the days of Sonoma and Watkins Glen being the only two such events.

Since being repaved in 2016, Watkins Glen “is so much faster than Sonoma. Sonoma is so slow and has more turns (12 vs. seven). There’s a part of the track that almost feels like Martinsville,” Salmons said. “…. Watkins Glen, they’re just flying around, they’re so fast. …. Sonoma is more technical stuff.”

Sunday’s Cup race will be just the 13th on a road course since 2017, and because of the small sample size, Phillips is taking a more qualitative handicapping approach for Sunday’s race.

“Definitely more qualitative than quantitative,’ he said. “…. A lot of what I’m going to be betting on is based on really small sample size data and recent form and some things that are tough to quantify, like which guys are really good at breaking. That’s pretty important on a road course, but it’s hard to glean from just looking at the stats. I’m going to watch a lot of previous races, the last several Sonoma races. In 2019, they had a different package, so you have to take that kind of stuff into consideration, too.”

Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Reid Spencer

AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric are a pair of bookends at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Driving the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske, Allmendinger won the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race there in 2013. Cindric, the reigning series champion, is the most recent winner there, also in a No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Cindric’s victory came in 2019, before adjustments to the Xfinity Series schedule necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic removed Mid-Ohio from the 2020 slate of events.

Cindric and Allmendinger — the latter now driving the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing — are both expected to contend for the victory in Saturday’s B&L Transport 170 at the 2.258-mile road course (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Because of the difficulty in passing on the tight, technical course, Allmendinger favors an aggressive approach.

“You’ve got to make your own passing zones,” Allmendinger says. “It’s for sure a challenge to pass at this race track. With an Xfinity car, with the way the tires go away, from start to finish you get a big difference in lap times from the start of a run to the end of a run, so it gets a little easier to pass.

“If you get through Turn 1, you can get a good run up toward Turn 2, and you can make a passing zone out of that. At the end of the back straightaway, there’s a good passing zone there as well. In the infield, you’re kind of single file, (but) with our cars, you have the luxury of being able to use the bumpers a little bit and being able to force somebody into a mistake, if that’s what you have to do.”

Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports is the only other former Mid-Ohio winner in the field for Saturday’s race, having taken the checkered flag in the 75-lap event in 2018. Another potential contender is road course ace Miguel Paludo, who will drive the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet on Saturday.

“I’ve always really enjoyed racing at Mid-Ohio,” Allgaier says. “It’s a challenging-but-fun road course. We had a strong run just a couple weeks ago on the road course at COTA (a third-place finish), and I feel extremely confident that we will have that same kind of speed with our Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet on Saturday.

“It’s a big weekend for (sponsor) Brandt with Miguel back in the No. 8, so hopefully we can both have a strong day and battle it out for the win in the end.”

Preview notes: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has hosted seven NASCAR Xfinity Series races dating back to the inaugural event on August 17, 2013. The first Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio was won by Allmendinger driving for Team Penske. … The seven Xfinity races have produced four different pole winners, led by Sam Hornish Jr. with three poles (2014, 2016, 2017). … Austin Cindric leads all active Xfinity Series drivers in poles at Mid-Ohio with two (2018, 2019). … The seven Xfinity races at Mid-Ohio have also produced seven different winners — AJ Allmendinger (2013), Chris Buescher (2014), Regan Smith (2015), Justin Marks (2016), Sam Hornish Jr. (2017), Justin Allgaier (2018) and Austin Cindric (2019). … Jeremy Clements in the only driver to make all seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Mid-Ohio. … Chris Buescher (2014) and Justin Marks (2016) both won their first NASCAR national series race in the Xfinity Series at Mid-Ohio. … The youngest Xfinity winner at Mid-Ohio is Austin Cindric (08/10/2019 – 20 years, 11 months, 8 days) and the oldest is Sam Hornish Jr. (08/12/2017 – 38 years, 1 month, 10 days).

Posted on June 3, 2021June 4, 2021 by Staff Report

William Byron is set to make his return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the first time since 2016 in a partnership with Rackley W.A.R., the team and Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday.

The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series will field a second truck for the first-year team — the No. 27 Chevrolet — alongside newly signed Josh Berry, in the highly anticipated return to Nashville Superspeedway on June 18 at 8 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Byron is no stranger to success in the Truck Series, racing his way to seven wins, 11 top fives and 16 top 10s in 23 starts at just 18 years old in his lone full-time season driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports before moving to the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports.

Nearly five years later, he’s hoping to become the first series winner in Nashville since Austin Dillon in 2011 — almost a decade ago.

Already on pace for a career year in the premier series, Byron is riding an impressive wave of momentum that has him currently third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings — trailing only Denny Hamlin and teammate Kyle Larson.

Posted on June 3, 2021June 3, 2021 by Reid Spencer

If your name isn’t Truex, Busch or Harvick, you haven’t won a NASCAR Cup Series event at Sonoma Raceway in the past decade.

NASCAR’s premier division returns to the 2.52-mile road course north of San Francisco for the first time since 2019, given that the scheduled 2020 race there was squelched by the coronavirus pandemic.

The leading active winner at Sonoma with three victories, Martin Truex Jr. has triumphed in the last two events there and will look for a third straight in Sunday’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“We’ve been going there a long time, obviously, and been able to figure out some tricks and some things that work for me and really just dial the car in to the way I like to approach the track and the things I look for in a car,” said Truex, who is coming off a disappointing 29th-place finish in last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

“We’ve been lucky to have great teams and great race cars out there at Sonoma. For whatever reason, it’s just been a really good place for us. We need to get some momentum back, and this would be a good place to do it this weekend.”

Kyle Busch has two wins at the Sonoma road course, and Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick have accounted for one each. Among active Cup drivers, Truex, the Busch brothers and Harvick are the only former winners at the track in the field for Sunday’s race.

But Truex is the only current Cup driver who has won a race on the 2.52-mile configuration of the course, with the addition of Turns 5 and 6 replacing the short straight between Turns 4 and 7 in 2019. Turns 5 and 6 collectively make up the “Carousel,” a sweeping 200-degree radius corner that will have most drivers on edge as they navigate the difficult stretch of track.

“One of the toughest turns now is that Carousel,” says Californian Cole Custer, who has never raced a Cup car at Sonoma but who finished fourth in a 2019 K&N Pro Series West race on the new configuration. “I think it’s just a really awkward corner, and it doesn’t feel like a corner a race car should be going through.

“It’s really tight, really downhill, off-camber. It’s just a really tough corner, and it’s something that you never go through there and feel like you did it right. It never feels natural, so it’s one of those things you just kind of have to hit your marks and make sure you don’t overdo it through there.”

Chase Elliott comes to Sonoma as the undisputed master of NASCAR Cup Series road course races over the past three seasons. The reigning series champion got his first Cup victory at Watkins Glen in 2018. Six of his 12 wins have come on road courses, most recently in the inaugural Cup race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Sonoma, however, is a riddle Elliott has yet to solve. In four starts at the technical track, Elliott has a best finish of fourth in 2018.

“Sonoma is a place that I haven’t done a very good job in the past,” Elliott says. “It’s been a pretty big challenge for me. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been there, so it’s been a while.

“When we were there in 2019, I felt like we were doing a great job and in a good position before we had our mechanical issue, so I’m looking forward to getting back and having another shot at it.”

Posted on June 3, 2021June 3, 2021 by Staff Report

With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race a little more than a week away on June 13 at Texas Motor Speedway, fans can continue campaigning for their favorite driver through the Fan Vote.

The top 10 vote-getters are, in alphabetical order: Aric Almirola, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Matt DiBenedetto, Timmy Hill, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace.

Fans can vote here for one eligible driver once a day per unique email address. Votes shared on Facebook and Twitter will count as bonus entries, for a total of four votes per day.

To compete in the All-Star Race, drivers must be a NASCAR Cup Series winner in 2020-21 or be a full-time driver who was a previous All-Star or past Cup Series champion. The stage winners and overall race winner in the All-Star Open and the Fan Vote winner will also be eligible for the race.

The 17 drivers who are already entered into the All-Star Race include Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Cole Custer, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman.

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Zack Albert

Jill Gregory grew up roughly a two-hour drive away from Sonoma Raceway in California’s central valley. The picturesque road course would become intertwined in her life and career, but truth be told, it registered with only a blip before her first visit.

“To be honest, giving up my secrets, I was not a big NASCAR fan growing up,” Gregory says now, with a smile you can hear coming through the irony.

Thankfully, the cousins who lived nearby and brought her to Sonoma for the first time were. Gregory’s memories of a hillside vantage point on a blanket with a handy cooler from that day still resonate, but so does the spectacle and all the soaked-in sights and sounds.

“It was unique, from the setting and the racing standpoint, so it’s always been my No. 1 track,” Gregory says, “and to be here now is pretty surreal.”

From casual spectator to a vested supervisor, Gregory is now in charge of charting the 2.52-mile circuit’s path into the future. She began her tenure as Sonoma Raceway’s executive vice president and general manager in February, assuming a central role in preparing for this weekend’s NASCAR festivities, including the Cup Series’ Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM).

If it feels like a homecoming for Gregory, there’s good reason to support the notion. When her career spanned motorsports-centric marketing posts for Bank of America, Sprint/Nextel and eventually an executive role with NASCAR, Gregory would make a point to book extra travel time — either on the front or back end of a Sonoma race weekend — to visit friends and family.

Now back in her home state, Gregory has those loved ones within closer reach. But she’s also reconnecting with California’s great outdoors, enjoying the natural beauty of the nearby beaches, mountains and other surroundings.

“So I think once we get through this race here on Sunday, I’ll have time to do even more of that,” Gregory says. “But it just does feel familiar, like I never left.”

Gregory had established her own roots with NASCAR starting in 2007, settling into the role as the organization’s executive vice president and chief marketing and content officer. The breadth of her work led Adweek to recognize her as one of “The Most Powerful Women in Sports” for two years running, and her influence remained a guiding force as the sport navigated the COVID-19 outbreak last year.

But the pandemic’s interruption of normal operations provided Gregory with an opportunity to hit pause as well.

“At the end of the year, I started to think about 2020 — as everybody did — as a little bit of a reflection,” Gregory says, “and I was aware that Steve Page had retired and they were looking for someone to lead this place, and it just started a little idea in the back of my head, thinking is that a way I can keep all my experience and relationships and what I love about NASCAR and the sport and the family we have, but also do it in a place that is home to me in California. It just made a ton of sense.”

Jeff Speer | Sonoma Raceway

Gregory leapt, but the scenario full of ideals also had its hurdles. As NASCAR officials modified the 2020 schedule to allow for racing with streamlined weekends, protocols and only essential personnel, a handful of tracks had race dates reassigned. Sonoma Raceway was among those; its Cup Series event moved to Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, citing “the ongoing uncertainty around large events in California” amid the state’s stricter lockdown.

With Gregory taking the reins, the track’s primary thrust turned to safely hosting events this season. Sonoma will reopen with attendance capped at 33%, and screenings and face coverings will be required. While the protocols will be far different from when the track last hosted NASCAR’s road show in 2019, the renewed roar echoing through the Sears Point community will be familiar.

“I think part of what we’ve been focused on in having an event again here in ’21 is bringing NASCAR back to the fans,” Gregory says. “… So the excitement and I guess what we’ve been focusing on is making sure that when those fans do come back, even at a reduced capacity, that they get everything that they love out of a NASCAR event — the competition, the excitement, the experience — so we’re only allowed to have 33% capacity here at the race on Sunday, just still following the California state and our county protocols, but even at that capacity, we’re sold out and fans can’t wait to come back.”

Gregory knows the number well, and “714” rolls off like it’s a round figure. In this case, it’s not the number best known by sports-trivia savants as Babe Ruth’s career home run total. It’s the number of days between Sonoma Raceway’s last NASCAR Cup Series race and the one that’s approaching.

“That’s a long time to be gone if you’re a NASCAR fan,” she says.

When fans return, there won’t be an “under new management” sign out front, but this weekend’s attendees can expect subtle improvements and accommodations on the track’s grounds. COVID-19 may have limited what Gregory and her team have been able to develop this season, but there’s already an eye toward next year and beyond, with hints that more substantial enhancements to the at-track experience are in the works.

“We’re doing a ton of research to find out what they want out here,” Gregory says. “We’re going to make some significant capital investments here in the facility, so even what you see in ’21 will probably look a lot different in 2022, just with some investments in suites and the hospitality area and fan amenities. So really the minute that we kind of turn the page on Sunday night, we’ll be looking at ’22 and how do really re-invent what happens here at Sonoma Raceway.”

MORE: Memorable moments at Sonoma

If nothing else, it’s an intriguing time to be a road course on NASCAR’s calendar. Gregory recalls when she made her first visits to Sonoma Raceway, the track was one of two road courses on the Cup Series schedule alongside Watkins Glen International. It was still the era of the “road-course ringer” and a time when some traditional oval-trackers didn’t exactly warm to the left-and-right racing discipline.

The number of Cup Series road races has grown to seven this season, with new circuits, historic venues and oval-road hybrids now dotting the schedule. Is it more of a crowded field now? Maybe, but Gregory believes the track she first experienced from a blanketed knoll still stands out as unique.

“As long as we’re racing here in the Sonoma Valley, I think we’ll always have a special place in the road-course hierarchy, just because we have a ton of tradition, drivers have been racing here for a long time and everybody seems to love road-course racing now, so we get the best of both worlds,” Gregory says. “I’m thrilled that there are more road courses on the schedule, but I still think we’re one of the best.”

Posted on June 3, 2021June 3, 2021 by Staff Report

For the first time since 2019, NASCAR is back in Napa Valley to snake its way through Sonoma Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday (4 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Sit back, enjoy the left and rights, and pour your best glass of Cabernet Sauvignon as the stars of the Cup Series hit their second road course in three weeks.

STARTING FROM THE TOP

On the heels of a dominant performance at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, Kyle Larson claimed the Busch Pole award for the fourth consecutive time at Sonoma, eclipsing the previous record of three set by Ricky Rudd from 1990-92. Joining Larson on the front row will be his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and road course ace Chase Elliott, while William Byron and Denny Hamlin complete the second row. Read the entire starting lineup here.

FAN ATTENDANCE

Sonoma Raceway is sold out at its allotted 33% capacity for Sunday’s Cup Series race. Fans on site are reminded to wear masks at all times and that cash will not be accepted at the track, in addition to other fan safety guidelines.

CUP HISTORY AT SONOMA

— Sonoma held its first Cup race in June 1989, a 74-lap contest around the 2.52-mile circuit won by Rudd.

— In 2019, the Cup Series returned to the “full course” layout of Sonoma by running The Carousel, a section eliminated from Cup competition in 1998 through 2018. The Carousel, which dives from Turn 4 and sweeps left through Turns 5 and 6, is back in 2021.

— With the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-induced cancelation, Sonoma has marked the 16th race on the schedule since 1998.

— Martin Truex Jr. has won each of the last two races in Napa Valley, leading at least 59 laps in each contest to go along with his 2013 victory.

— Chase Elliott has won five of the last six road-course races but has yet to visit Victory Lane in Sonoma. In four starts, he has two top 10s and a best finish of fourth (2018).

Source: Racing Insights

RULES PACKAGE

The 750-horsepower, low-downforce road course package is back in action this week in the rolling California hills. The last time NASCAR raced at Sonoma, the Cup Series utilized the same horsepower package but had more downforce than they’ll carry into the weekend this time around.

GOODYEAR TIRES

Teams will traverse the 2.52-mile circuit on a new tire code this time around, running the same compound on all four tire positions at Sonoma.

The change in compound was made to give drivers more grip around what is often considered the most technical courses of the season.

“Sonoma gives us a slightly different feel than what we see on other road courses like Watkins Glen or our recent stop at COTA,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Sonoma is a more technical course than most. Hard braking and acceleration on and off the tight corners means that grip is at a premium. Teams could make it a two-stop race, but many will choose to pit a third time to take advantage of fresh tires, especially at the end of the race.”

As with all road courses, wet-weather tires will be available at Sonoma, but teams won’t need them in the California sunshine, with clear skies forecast through the weekend.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

It should come as no surprise that Chase Elliott is the clear-cut favorite for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. BetMGM lists the defending series champion at 21-10 odds to win ahead of two-time defending race winner Martin Truex Jr. at 15-4 odds.

Elliott has won six of the last nine road courses and five of the last six. His current streak is unmatched, but Truex offers solid competition as the duo has combined to win nine of the last 11 road course races.

Others to keep an eye out for are Kyle Larson (7-1), Kyle Busch (15-2) and Denny Hamlin (10-1).

If you’re looking for a sleeper, perhaps watch for Alex Bowman. While he lacks the resume of his dominant HMS teammate, has scored top 10s in four of the last five starts on road courses and has never finished worse than 14th at one since joining Hendrick. His best road-course finish is a second at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course in 2019.

RELATED: Betting odds for Sonoma

SONOMA STORYLINES, SEASON TRENDS

— Chase Elliott could, in theory, become NASCAR’s all-time winningest road course racer by the end of 2021. Jeff Gordon holds the current record with nine victories, but Elliott is already up to six with five road courses left on the Cup schedule this season.

— Hendrick Motorsports has finished 1-2 in each of the last three races (Dover, COTA, Charlotte). The last team to finish 1-2 in four consecutive races was Carl Kiekhafer Racing in 1956, the only time in Cup it has happened.

— HMS has also won each of those three races with three different drivers, the first time the organization has done so since 2015 (Jeff Gordon at Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson at Texas and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Phoenix).

— Tyler Reddick has finished top 10 in eight of the first 15 races this season, including seven of the last nine. The last Richard Childress Racing driver to score at least eight top 10s in the first 15 races was Ryan Newman in 2015.

— Each of the last two Sonoma races have been won by Martin Truex Jr. on a three-stop strategy, pitting with two laps to go in each of the first two stages. Kevin Harvick won in 2017 on a four-stop strategy.

— No cautions have fallen during the final stage since 2016, with the exception of a last-lap caution when Harvick won in 2017.

— After the season began with 10 different race winners in 11 races, three of the last four races have been won by repeat victors.

Source: Racing Insights

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts. It’s not too late to join in on the competition.

The 2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Denny Hamlin (629), William Byron (548) and Kyle Larson (543).

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.