NASCAR’s Support Of Bowman Gray Antics Proves Reputable Short Track Racing Of No Interest To Them

Whelen All American Series LogoFriday night at Stafford Motor Speedway, 17-year old rookie Ronnie Williams held off a hard-charging Sean Foster at the checkered to win his first career SK Modified feature at the track.

Williams joined an elite club, the who’s who of Modified racing past and present, in putting his name on the winner’s list for the division at Stafford.

Williams went to victory lane, carried himself like a seasoned veteran with professionalism in his post-race activies and walked away with a smile on his face after a job well done.

He did everything that could be expected of someone wanting to put short track racing on a pedestal as legitimate sport deserving of the attention of media and fans.

Unfortunately today, few will be searching the internet and finding much hullabaloo or conversation about Williams’ big victory.

But go searching for Bowman Gray Stadium through the channels of social media, and you’ll have an afternoon’s worth of entertainment from the 2014 season at the worn-out Winston-Salem, N.C. facility.

Another week, another viral video from Bowman Gray Sunday displaying two morons melting down to the crazed delight of the track’s fans and promoters.

This week it was Tim Brown and Burt Myers, two of the track’s stars, putting on a demolition derby in their Modifieds, looking like two chimpanzees fighting over a banana as they beat each other down with their cars in a smoky show of clown domination. The videos of similar antics of drivers using cars as weapons against each other during events at Bowman Gray this season have become about as common as fans wearing Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirts at a Sprint Cup Series race.

Week after week, drivers at “The Madhouse” take vengeance into their own hands and use their cars as the tools of inflicting their aggression, seemingly to the carefree delight of the promoters and officials at the track.

Like watching pro wrestling on TV, when the referee stands to the side and feigns being blinded and missing the rule breaking going on, the same thing happens at Bowman Gray where officials usually let it all go down for a while and then step in when the fun is over, putting on a great acting job of “trying” to stop it from happening.

Nobody gets suspended, nobody gets penalized, they all come back the next week and do it all over again.

And NASCAR puts their brand name on it and calls it “short track racing.” Just another track in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series short track lineup. Actually, not just another track. Actually it’s one that NASCAR probably promotes more than any other short track that’s part of the Whelen All-American Series.

And it’s pathetic that they do.

The fact that NASCAR stands idly by while the shenanigans happen week after week at this facility shows the sanctioning body has little interest in actually trying to promote short track racing as any sort of professionally produced sporting event.

NASCAR putting their name on the Bowman Gray Stadium product is essentially NASCAR saying, we don’t care if anybody gets hurt or killed in short track racing, as long as we can get paid.

NASCAR’s continued endorsement and backing of the facility shows the sanctioning body would just as soon see short track racing turned into a bloodsport, as long as it means the cash flow from the sale of driver and crew licenses continues to flow to Daytona.

The Bowman Gray apologists like to stress that the idiocy that takes place regularly, despite being what most people see about the track, is really just a small percentage of a great product as a whole. They like to say that the track shouldn’t be judged poorly by the fact that on a regular basis two idiots typically use racecars to try to maim the other in front of the grandstands like some sort of twisted duel to the death.

Imagine if one quarterback in the NFL got paralyzed every week of the season. Just one.

Could you imagine people saying, “Well, it’s just one play out of the game where something bad happened, you shouldn’t judge the whole product on that one play?”

But that’s exactly the mantra Bowman Gray apologists continually preach. With some taking it to an insane next step by saying short track racing across the US could be helped if more tracks operated like the three ring circus that is Bowman Gray.

Yes, the place has attendance that most short tracks in America would do anything to have. Promote bloodsport and that’s what you’re going to get.

Put up a poster on a city street corner promoting the fact that two individuals will be in that spot at 9 p.m. and they will beat each other with tire irons. We bet you get more than a few people who show back up on the that street corner at 9 p.m. to watch. And if you can get a crowd to show up, does that make two guys beating each other bloody with tire irons a good thing?

But that seems to be the case at Bowman Gray where so many of the apologists like to point to the grandstands and say the track is doing everything right that other tracks are doing wrong and the grandstands prove it. It’s an argument hilarious on so many levels. It’s basically saying, our guys are trying to kill each other or our officials every week, we allow it to happen and the crowds are great, so let’s call this good short track racing and everybody will be happy.

And the fact that NASCAR’s name is still branded on a production the track wants people to believe is a competitive sporting endeavor shows that the sanctioning body – like the promoters of the track – love the fact that it’s out of control mayhem.

There will come a day when someone is going to get killed, or paralyzed or permanently disfigured because of one of these idiotic meltdowns, and then all those who have been party to promoting the antics – like those who oversee NASCAR’s Whelen All-American series short track program – will quickly distance themselves and preach that they’re all about safety in the sport.

But until then those people that should be stepping in and asking for it to be policed or controlled will instead celebrate it as a great part of short track racing. And all of short track racing suffers for the fact.

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Comments

  1. Grey Matter says

    Bowman is nothing but amusement to a mob. That place is a three ring circus and is unprofessional. I watched the video for three seconds and had to shut it off. What a disgrace to anyone involved in NASCAR.

  2. Only racetrack in the world that I’ll rejoice seeing turned into a housing development or mall.

  3. A fed years ago Bert Meyers was found with several very illegal parts at Martinsville. He received a NASCAR Suspension. That meant he couldn’t race anywhere there was a NASCAR sanction. Guess what… The then Promoter DENNIS HOOTH told NASCAR to go take a flyer because Mr. Meyers was going to race at B.G. that Friday night. Shawn I appreciate what you are saying and the point your trying to make. Problem is many of the fans in the stands are there for the thrills and spills and have little interest in good clean racing.
    Plainville Stadium in its heyday was almost as bad. Fans were taken out by police and put in school buses to be taken to the station. One had to be careful where he sat in the stands if his loyalty was for this or that driver. Danbury was just as bad. and less we forget the early days of the SK Modified at Stafford Speedway. There wasn’t a punching bag on the infield for nothing. More than one driver was given a police escort from Stafford,Waterford and Thompson when the TriTrack series was being run. I know that because I was there from the beginning. It took many seasons for Jack Sr. to get the division headed in the right direction. Speedway Scene writers had their credentials lifted because of what they wrote about the division and the track.
    Point is, it is what it is. As long as I can remember Bowman Grey Speedway has been putting on that kind of a show. There was a writer for AARN Larry ( sorry I can’t remember his last name) who begged me to go down and cover a race because people thought he was making stuff up.
    Ronnie Williams is part of the new breed. So is a Ryan Preece and many of the other up and comers. They have respect for the sport and people behind them that make sure they remember that. There will always be a Bert Meyers, there inbred into the sport. Nothing will be done by NASCAR nor Whelen or anyone else for that matter. Your words are fuel for the fodder but fall on deaf ears. Nice piece though.

  4. Crazy in NY says

    A number of years ago when Madhouse was all the rage I was one of the few dissenters
    that had a problem with what that show was portraying to the uninformed and the fact
    they do it with Modifieds is beyond the pale to me. I took my lumps on the Chromehorn
    and other sites for daring to speak out against this “perfect” short track venue but I have not wavered. There are any number of B/G vids on the Tube’ but my “favorite”
    is Burt dumping Brad Robbins who was leading at the time in the late laps of a feature.
    On cue Bad Brad waited on Burt to come around and just flat walled him and himself
    to “get even”. The audio of Burts dad telling Burt on the radio to get out and “beat his
    a**” was topped by Burt jumping on the hood and aircleaner and asking” Why’d you do that Brad?”. Simply breathtaking. I wonder if the good folks down in W/S know or care how they seen around the country. If Dale Jr says shi…..eet in a post race interview\ boy we can’t have that but as you say Shawn they look the other way at BGS because it’s
    a Saturday night deal and who cares. Well.. Brian..some of us do.

    Great article Shawn.

  5. Jimmy Milo says

    Mike actually it’s a high school football field next to the school. No mall or shopping center gonna happen there.

  6. I’d watch that any day over that nationwide race last night at Chicago. I find it nice to see that there are some racers that still have passion and the balls to do something about it. Top tier series in nascar have become all talk no action. If tony Stewart did that to dale jr the ratings would explode and tracks would be full. These rich kids racing today don’t care what happens because they don’t pay or work on the cars. If they want to destroy their cars that they paid for and worked hard on ,go at it. I’ll support any driver that shows real passion via buying their t shirts or buying something from their sponsor on the car.

  7. I hope that the track workers are getting Combat Pay. Some time soon one of the guys in the infield won’t react quickly enough and get run over. Welcome to Saturday night “Boys have at it”.

  8. Don’t tell the fans about how much a joke that track is. They think that’s what racing is suppose to be. And they wonder why they sometimes get labeled as dumb rednecks. What do they expect? I’ve said it many times. Thank God that the three tracks in CT are nothing like BGS. As far as I’m concerned BMS isn’t even a real race track.

  9. Bobby Richards says

    They Never did Care about SHORT TRACK RACING…..The REASON the Show MADHOUSE was taken off the air…Nascrap Tried to EXTORT DISCOVERY CHANNEL for some STUPID amount of Money because they were showing the Nascrap Logo, and they Refused to Pay!!! So instead of a Lengthy Law Suit they just Cancelled the Show….BAD DEAL!

  10. Mike Kalasnik says

    I stopped going to BG as of this year. If there’s a drop of rain the race gets called. They make zero attempt to dry the track. I finally had enough when they had a 100 lap feature for the mods and ran the race in the rain to get it past lap 50 so nobody can use a rain check. It was awful to see the leader and another car get destroyed because of it. The year before I stopped going because of the awful officiating. It was very bias towards certain drivers. If a guy blatantly crashes another car to win or for gain, they should be penalized…. not at BG. Don’t get me started on when Ryan Preece and TC came down and ran. Every good ole boy tried to wreck them and both guys got taken out… no reprimand from NASCAR.

    I love BG as a track. I love the passionate fans. I hate the drivers who treat it like it’s a UFC fight. Give me bumping and banging! I get you need to use the bumper to pass. The way some drivers go about it sickens me. Sadly it’s one of a FEW places to see mods in the south.

  11. f u rich says

    hey rich tell us what racing is supposed to be.

  12. Bill Steel says

    Another article and comments from people who have never been to the track…….Interesting

  13. Dan Darnstaedt says

    Bowman gray fills more seats than 90% of nwaas tracks for exactly that reason. And nascar (much like the rest of current america) nascad only sees the profit.

  14. Excellent piece. Some examination of the effect of B-G on the Southern Tour would be interesting; seems to me it cuts the heart out of the Southern Tour schedule.

  15. Tony Geinzer says

    I’d wrestle with Bowman Gray as an ethical conundrum as double fisted and nasty as Kanye West’s Hyprocrisy. North Wilkesboro is not a fairgrounds venue, even though its closed again and Bowman Gray is not, either, and Richard Childress’ Bid was quashed by Winston Salem State not willing to leave the stadium alone. If all 32 of the NFL’s Starting Quarterbacks where hurt like the Supercrosses 2012 4077 MASH Year, it would be watered down in the end. Granted, it would be easier to have more modern and secure Short Track Venues and a lot of Short Track Venues strive to have a family show, but, there are plenty of ruffians like the are at Copycat Summerfests who refuse to play by the rules once they get drunk.

  16. Demo derby in heavily reinforced cars at speeds approaching 30 miles per hour. Oh the humanity. The track sells out. People come to see the show, and the tracks without it fold. I say keep it as is anything you do to change it will only ruin it. And to the author, this isn’t golf or horse racing this is racing, where passion and anger leads to broken noses and crumpled sheet metal, not snark replies on ESPN post game coverage. Man up.

  17. Nikolaus,

    If you think two Modified race cars backing up and driving forward into each other over and over again or chasing each other through a grassy infield is “racing” then it hardly surprises me that you wouldn’t agree with this column. I’m guessing your the same type that would say boxers should carry knives and guns into the ring with them during fights because it would make that “sport” more interesting too right?

  18. Curious as to when you last made it to BGS, Shane. It may be a lot of things but worn out isn’t among them. For a venue of its age that’s also a college football field it is well maintained.

  19. Any single person who feels what goes on regularly at BGS is acceptable is an embarrassment to this sport. Someone is going to get hurt or killed very soon… THEN WHAT?

  20. Very interesting reading. I remember watching the Madhouse series and thinking what a disgrace to the sport of auto racing. I wonder if any tracks still give out sportsmanship awards.

  21. Maybe the people that own BGS can buy the speedbowl. Would be nice to see 15,000 people in the seats at the bowl or soon to be Home Depot / Walmart .

  22. Couldn’t agree more. I have two young sons who race and Bowman’s approach is exactly what we have taught our boys to NEVER do. It is a very sad state that NASCAR endorses it, BG encourages it, and the crowd devours it. I hate to say it, but someone – driver, official or even a fan – WILL die as a result and then all they will say is, “Well, gee, we never meant for anyone to get hurt. It was all for a show for the fans…”.

  23. Blood sport? Who died?

  24. I guess Jimmy is the only one whos been around a while. This was Stafford is the early SK days every Friday night. Always a good brawl and people destroying one another.

  25. An embarrassment to true racing in any form. Iwould not be surprized if they are paid by the track to do it.these same drivers raceagainst each other at othertracks and have none of this wwf drama. like others have said , it plays to a packed house, but it ain’t racing.

  26. darealgoodfella says

    And now we know why bumpers, nerf bars and roll cages are required.

    Well, forget watching the cars going at it… watch the people in the stands while the cars go at it. I’m surprised Pro Faux Wrestling isn’t a major sponsor. The people in the stands, the packed stands BTW, are loving it and cheering for it. “Know your audience” was never more appropriate.

    There is a small contingency of that up here. Back a couple years ago when TC was regularly walling cars, the vast majority of people in the stands would hang their heads in disgust when he did this, and a few yahoos jumped up and down waving their fists in pure joy and excitement.

    There was a Mod race at Stafford a few years ago that got very chippy, and people left in droves long before the white flag flew. That sort of thing just doesn’t work up here. In the Winston-Salem area, they probably think it is all wrong up here.

    At the recent Loudon race, not a single Southern team made it up here. Maybe they just don’t like it up here. Funding clearly isn’t a problem, since they use Modifieds for demo derbies.

    There wasn’t a high speed collision… they stopped and then wrestled. Kinda like an old school hockey fight, they stopped, dropped the gloves and had at it. And hockey has gotten so much better since the goon aspect has been pretty much cured. The open ice hits at speed have caused serious injuries, and are now taboo. It would be another story if a car took a high speed run at another car. Watching those cars try to chase each other on the grass where they have no grip was hilarious, like watching beached whales mud wrestling.

    The Northern Tour has a great thing going because of drivers like Santos, Coby, Bonsignore and Preece. Those guys are outstanding, and pure awesome racers. Where there is talent, there is no need for goon antics.

  27. WhipperSnapper says

    But, back in the early days of the SK’s at Stafford or the Bowl, after the wreck or the fisticuffs, 90% those same guys would be drinking beers and helping each other make amends to get each other back next week. Now I can only take it at face value, but if it really anything like “Madhouse” it seems at BG, everyone’s goal is to fix the car just to go out next week and do it to the same guy again

  28. I have been to and raced at alot of short tracks on the east coast. when i went to b.g. the stands were packed.when i go to a short track now there are more empty seats than i have ever seen.b.g is doing something right they have alot of cars and fans. what short track in the usa dosent have fist fights and crashes??oh thats right the ones that are now CLOSED you can think what you want but all the short tracks might be able to learn something from b.g.

  29. So, I live 5 miles from Stafford. Grew up watching Richie, Bugsy, et al running full mods. I remember the introduction of the SK’s and everyone saying that it would be the death of Stafford. It wasn’t. I happened to be at BGS 2 days ago when Bert took pout Tim and the subsequent action after. Let me tell you, there wasn’t a single butt in the seat. Everyone in the place was either for or against what was going on, and VERY vocally. There is not a single chance that this track will close in the next 10 years. Is it for everyone? Heck no, but it certainly works for what the folks in Winston-Salem are looking for. Oh, and by the way – there was some GREAT racing on that race before the antics, as well as the other races that night.

    As to the earlier poster who stopped going because they cancelled at the first drops of rain? Well, it rained this past Saturday, starting 2 hours before the show. They had trucks on the track through 3 separate rains, got the track dry, only to have it rain again. No quit in them.

    Also, Jimmy, no football here. This is a pure racetrack now. They have ARMCO barriers in the infield to protect the track workers, they haven’t had a football game there in 10 years at least. And there is no way that they’ll be building a mall here, it is a big bowl with concrete stands embedded in the ground.

    Not to say that it’s for all, but don’t knock it based on a 90 second you-tube video.

  30. Frank Franklin says

    Rich is flat out wrong. Bowman Gray Stadium still is the home field of Winston-Salem State University Rams football program. This is why the auto racing program ceases operation in the middle of August to facilitate the conversion from racing to football.

    In fact, WSSU is trying to buy the stadium from the city of Winston-Salem. It will be interesting to see if/how the racing changes over time when the landlord changes…
    http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/article_ec27dd34-ea56-11e2-9cae-001a4bcf6878.html

    Rich’s premise is easily disproved by a look at Google Maps which shows race cars practicing in the early spring whilst the football field markings are still visible. It also shows the infield Armco safety barriers are beyond the football end zone…

  31. Crazy in NY says

    “Another article and comments from people who have never been to the track…….Interesting”

    I’ve never been behind the walls of a maximum security prison or to the West Bank and Gazza but I know what goes on there. No Thanks!!

  32. Bowman Gray racing is the best racing/entertainment anywhere! Sprint cup and other big league racing is so boring that I wouldn’t go if someone gave me a ticket in one of the penthouses. I can’t even stay awake watching it on TV. Let’s face it, NASCAR has jacked with the rules in Sprint Cup racing to make the cars so evenly matched to create the “big One” (wreck that is) on all of the super speedways, because that is what sales tickets. So all of you haters of NASCAR saying they stand idly by and do nothing about Bowman Gray, should say the same thing about NASCAR standing idly by about not changing things to prevent the “big one” that happens at 200 mph at every race at Daytona and Talledega race. Now that is deadly. I have been going to Bowman Gray my entire life. 30 mph hour crashes in roll cages, helmets and haans devices are hardly a deadly combination. The track workers have all been told thousands of times that they are risking their lives and should stay out of the way. They choose to do it, because they love it too, not because they want/need the few extra dollars they get paid. They certainly could choose to not participate. So could the drivers. The drivers love to compete and potentially win in front 15,000 – 18,000 fans and Bowman Gray stadium is the only place in the USA that a guy can race a 1970’s Ford Pinto (known as the Pintang with “dad” scrawled on the side with a crayon) with only a few thousand invested and win and get that feeling. Anyone that wins at Bowman Gray will tell you that it feels awesome, more awesome than winning at any other short track. My brother owns a Super Late Model Sportsman team and they race very competitively and when they win at tracks like South Boston, Hickory, Caraway, etc. there are rarely more than a few hundred people there to see it. And they bring their car home just as destroyed, just as often without the antics of Bowman Gray. Have you noticed that tracks like Charlotte and Daytona can’t fill their stands? Charlotte has installed new seats of all different colors so that even when the seats are empty they look full, imitating a variety of colors of shirts. Now that is pitiful. Bowman Gray has never had that problem…and I hope never does. The city of Winston-Salem owns and operates the stadium but is negotiating a sale to Winston-Salem State University. Once they own it, racing’s oldest weekly track will probably come to an end and the haters will be happy and tens of thousands of fans will be saddened and hundreds of seasonal jobs created by the stadium will be lost. Thousands of teens that spend their Saturday nights at bowman gray will instead go elsewhere and some will likely end up in trouble. Oh..and I meant to tell ya’ll, WWE wrestling is fake in case you didn’t know…just like Sprint Cup racing and Bowman Gray racing. But no one watches WWE wrestling for the sport, they watch it for the show. Hope to see ya’ll there Saturday night! Junior Miller #69 all the way!

  33. Theoldman says

    I’ve been in attendance a BGS for almost forty years. It’s not the drivers that are hot heads, looking for destruction every Saturday night.It is the long time promoters of this facility , the Garrison family and the NASCAR track stewards to blame for the carnage.
    Down here we just call it track justice. When the officials have no regard for the rules why should the drivers? If your running second and you know there is no penalty for dumping the man in front of you what do you do? You dump him and win. That is standard operating procedure at this track. However not all BGS drivers have this mentality. I can count the bad seeds on one hand across all the divisions at the track. Unless the bad seeds are in contention, racing is usually very good at BGS. As for the track crew getting hazard duty pay, they are volunteers and their pay is a free night at the races. Until the promoter and the NASCAR officials rein in the bad seeds there will always be nights like last Saturday night. When the WHELEN tour comes to the track they bring their own officials and flagmen. The modified racing is as good as anywhere I’ve seen. The Yankee boys don’t seem to do well at BGS, not because of the redneck racers here. At BGS it isn’t how fast you go. it’s how fast you can make it turn. A packed house every Saturday night and were not doing it right according to Shawn Courchesne. I guess that translates
    to “WE DON’T CARE HOW YA’LL DO IT UP NORTH”.

  34. Mike Kalasnik says

    Agreed, WSSU uses the field. This is why they cant do any make up dates into football season. Seems like every other year, they have a rain date saved for the middle of August and it never gets used. Instead, they screw the fans and drivers out of a chance to see more racing and get the points they deserve to race for.

    BG did run the cars in the rain. BG did run them past lap 50 and then call it at lap 51. Ive been going for 4.5 years, driving 90 min up there. Multiple times it started to rain and they simply call it, all before 9pm. Almost everytime they called it, it was a passing shower that lasted 20 minutes tops. Oh, they also have a curfew there, and weve had racing suddenly stop because of it. Ive only had ONE instance where they dried the track, and that was because it was still around 7pm and sunny.

    I refuse to drive 90 minutes to get a race called due to rain time after time. I love seeing guys like Tim Brown and Burt beat each other up, but this is beyond that. Im all for a guy getting some revenge on another, and settling it on the track. If they wanted a demo derby, they do have that as a special event at BG. This destruction doesnt stop in the mods either. The 3 other classes have similar issues. The track turns their head at cars drilling each other for a win on the last lap.

    BTW: I grew up going to Stafford on Fri nights and going to NHIS 3 times a year since the track opened. I would hope I know a thing or 2 about seeing good racing at quality tracks.

  35. My bad on the football call. Had no idea that they took the ARMCO barriers out and reset them. Good for them for making use of such a nice stadium. And I also can’t speak for past behavior, just what I saw during my first trip there, which was them trying everything that they could to get the show in. The racing (including the Pintang, which ended up 3rd I believe) was very entertaining, and I wish that the rest of the night could have been run.

    Shaun, here is the press release from Bowman-Gray regarding Saturdays “modified demo derby”. I guess they do have their limits ….

    http://www.bowmangrayracing.com/press/2014/072114_penalties.html

  36. Edit on previous post – Sorry, I missed the part about the Armco being beyond the football field area.

  37. darealgoodfella says

    Rich, thanks for posting the press release about the penalties. That incident had to be a cumulation of smaller escalating events that should have been weeded out a long time ago. The ‘bad seeds’ were allowed to germinate. It never should have progressed to what happened. What happened showed that NASCAR and the track management allowed it to happen. Although the teams were penalized, NASCAR and the track are the ones that look like fools. It went way too far.

  38. Heres my take on BGS, it works for them. I do not agree with the way things are being run down at BGS but that doesn’t mean its any less entertaining to the fans that want to see it. Nor do I have to like it. Its not my type of racing. If the fans didn’t want to see than they wouldn’t come in droves. If the drivers/teams didn’t enjoy it than they wouldn’t come either. I really don’t care about how much it costs to run there because of all the bent up cars week after week. If it didn’t work for them at BGS than we’d be hearing about another short track struggling to stay open. I personally go to Stafford and i would expect if someone gets turned by the second place car to win or otherwise there going to the back or being parked. Its not the same kind of racing between the two tracks and the reality is, is that’s okay. There bringing the fans what they want, like it or not.

    Does anyone remember the first bungle on the beach. They allowed everyone who spun the leader and won to keep there win. On National Television, followed up by Mike stefaniks. Its Just Bull S**T comment. Cause it was. That is not what happens at 90% of the short tracks across the country but NASCAR allowed it to be portrayed that way. Gray Gaulding who is one of NASCAR’s future cry babies got his first win by driving into the leader spinning him out and taking the win. Are you kidding me? And then to have to listen to DW say hes proud of the kid for doing what he had to do stand behind his actions. This is why The upper divisions in NASCAR are in for a rude awakening. Its boring, Its a 450 lap parade with 50 laps that possibly matter. You can watch the first 25 laps take a 3 hour nap, wake up with 25 to go and really not miss anything. I would watch 150 laps of a modified parade than watch 450 laps of a sprint cup parade.

    As far as NASCAR goes… who cares.. there two busy counting money to notice what is going on “beneath” them. NWAAS only matters to them when it will benefit by promoting there upper divisions. The MUD SUMMER CLASSIC is airing tomorrow night and they’ll go on and on about how it used to be and how exciting the heat races are, but god forbid they actually maybe incorporate them into some short tracks or there mod series. NASCAR as we know it has two divisions. The 3/4 divisions that we see on TV that offer up an excuse to take a nap on a Sunday afternoon. and the mod series. Has anyone seen a k&n race recently. Watch paint dry is more exciting, at least the fumes make it more exciting. If you really want to know who they care about. Go to Wikipedia and look up the NASCAR tracks they currently run and see who the owners are. you will find i believe 28 +- tracks are owned by 3-4 people/companies. ISC SMI, The France family in one capacity or another. They care about taken care of the people they partner with that’s it. Otherwise they would have moved the darlington race back to where the fans want it not were it benefits the track owners. Getting rid of some many 1.5 mile d shaped ovals…. ugh… please. Go out and support the local guys that spend there hard earned money to put on a show. Not these rich getting richer people that dont give a crap about what the fans want.(regardless of what they say)

    JMO.

  39. Tim morse says

    I thought racing was about competition and the thrill of victory. I see more and more that racing becoming something different. All this on track violence is going to do is shorten the list of young drivers willing to give racing a shot. I race now and my 11 year old daughter wants to race but with racing like this becoming the norm it’s time maybe for a new hobby.

  40. It’s just how tens of thousands of people like it in NC. Apparently lots of the racers do too. It is not for everyone. Kind of like some people like WWE and others like MMA. There are hundreds of other short tracks where you can keep doing the boring, fanless type of racing you enjoy. Just don’t judge what we consider good entertainment.

  41. Scott,

    It’s not racing though. It’s a demolition derby with occasional racing on the side. Calling two guys ramming each other on the track over and over again racing is like if you put two guys in pads and helmets, let them beat each other unconscious on a grass field and someone told you that was “football”.

  42. What makes it any different from riverside park when they use to run the figure 8 races. I remember being a kid and thinking these guys are crazy and awesome at the same time. It just different and it makes it more exciting . Just to let you know they don’t screw you at the gates either. $12 for southern mod race coming up. $5 for twin 50’s this week. Ladies $2. Now that’s looking out for the fans and why it is supported so well.

  43. You have a very narrow definition of what racing is based on what are your ideal rules and circumstances. I suppose the late Dale Earnhardt wasn’t a racer…he wrecked hundreds of cars to advance his position. Same thing at bowman gray. Doesn’t matter how many times you have to hit them to gain the position or put them out of the race, the result is the same, one hit by Dale Earnhardt or 20 hits by Tim Brown at bowman gray. When you hit them at 30 mph you have to hit them a bunch to cause the same consequences as one hit at 200 mph. So I suppose your ideal is any contact with another car and you should be black flagged?

  44. Here my take on it. If it is not broke. Then don’t fix it.

  45. Scott,

    Two cars in a corner of a track banging back and forth into each other is NOT RACING. Going the wrong way on the track and ramming into another competitor is NOT RACING. Chasing a competitor through the infield is NOT RACING. And just because people pack the grandstand doesn’t mean it’s a recipe for successful short track racing. All that means is fans like watching guys who like to publicly act like morons.

  46. Mike Kalasnik says

    A lot of people are missing Shawns point here. We both feel rubbing is racing and theres going to be contact, but when you take 2 cars and try and use them as battering rams and trying to go on top of each other, thats not racing. I feel like we can all agree to that. If they had nothing but cars ramming into one another, chasing each other around the track and trying to hit one another…. oh wait, thats a demo derby. Its a clear line between whats racing and whats a demo derby. Im sure this race did have racing in it, but the video mostly shows 2 guys who are trying to destroy their cars and possibly hurt each other.

    If you spin the leader intentionally, then the track or NASCAR should police that. Is that racing? Sure… but its dirty. Dale Earnhardt never said he raced clean. Go and listen to interviews from Tim Brown and Burt Myers…. and listen to see when they admit they dumped a guy. Doesnt happen very often. Atleast Dale would admit it, and didnt back down. He also wouldnt ram his car into a guy over and over. If he had an issue with you after the race, he would take care of it like a man.

    If these guys legit hate each other that much, let them duke it out on their own time. If the Bowman gray fans like this stuff, then so be it. I dont think Shawn or anyone is saying BG needs to be shut down or the mods needs to stop running there or that people should stop going. Its not his cup of tea and the MAJORITY of fans would want to see rockem sockem racing each week without 2 guys trying to destroy race cars and hurt one another intentionally. I grew up watching guys like Ted Christopher spin guys out for a spot or the lead, and the fans booing loudly. The times he was sent to the back, people went nuts. Did TC ever do THIS to another car? Nope, but you bet the fans still kept coming back to see that #13 car go at it again and again.

  47. YES IT IS RACING! Your capital letters don’t make it the truth. Just cause you say so, doesn’t mean it is the truth either. What are you a 13 year old girl writing a text message? Haha. Merriam Webster’s dictionary lists the following synonyms for racing: Battle, Contend, Face Off, Fight, Rival, Vie. Then they list the following related words for racing: Challenge, Engage, Play; Jockey, Jostle, Maneuver. So based on one of the most popular dictionaries of the English language, I would say Burt Myers and Tim Brown were RACING up a storm down there in turn one Saturday night at the most exciting RACE track on planet earth (my opinion). So try to go get some education and do some research of the English language before you go trying to be the judge and jury of what is and isn’t racing. But what I want to know is why do you care? You have boring racing, that no one cares about (your words not mine) up there in yankee land which is what you want, so you should be happy. We aren’t going to come up there and mess up your boring racing, we could care less. Your problem is you are jealous beacuse our bowman gray racing is more fun, more exciting, and even reality television worthy. Well frankly you should be jealous! If I were you I would be jealous too. I love to get jealous yankees fired up. Haha! No one ever retires and moves North. Too many Yankees down here already screwing up everything. Clogging up our beaches and hospitals with your retirees. Hopefully you and the rest of the haters up there will stay up there where riding around in a circle following the leader for an hour or so is what yuse guys call RACING and when your boring race tracks finish going bankrupt, us southerners will buy your like new race cars for 10 cents on the dollar and destroy those slow pieces of crap in one season at Bowman Gray all for our entertainment at your expense. Come on down to Bowman Gray, sit in the beer garden and talk smack about Burt Myers, Tim Brown, Derek Stoltz and Junior Miller (you call them morons and chimpanzees) and how RACING is done at bowman gray with a Northern accent. I bet Bowman Gray fans will beat the brakes off of you. Then you can write another blog about how talking smack at bowman gray is what yankee morons do and taking a beating in the grandstands is poor sportsmanship. Are you mad yet? Haha! Thanks for the entertainment. Thanks for letting me jerk your chain and thanks for responding by getting all upset with your panties in a wad. I don’t even know you, but I knew you would respond just the way you did….

  48. darealgoodfella says

    Hey Scott, I just checked the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of “racing” and I found the following: (noun) the sport or profession of engaging in or holding races, and for those just learning the English language: the sport or profession of racing horses, cars, etc.,
    such as auto/yacht racing

    Then I checked the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus and saw what you posted as synonyms of “racing”. Interestingly, the Thesaurus did not cover the word “racing”. The Thesaurus presented the instructions and synonyms for use of “race” and not “racing”. “Race” and “racing” are two different words. You presented the Thesaurus description of “race”, and the dictionary definition of “racing”. But the Thesaurus instructions for the use of “race” also included this which you apparently omitted: to proceed or move quickly , which indicates the sense of speed which is the normal meaning associated with “race” and “racing” when used in context with auto racing. After all, the objective of auto racing is to be the fastest.

    When the cars were chasing each other in the infield, there was no speed involved. When the cars were bludgeoning each other in the corner, there was no speed involved.

    So before you go lecturing others on the use of the English language, you should brush up on the use of a dictionary and thesaurus, and the English language. But then, because of the complexities of the English language, in order to properly use a dictionary or thesaurus, one must first be reasonably proficient in the use of the English language.

  49. in my 50 years of attending races at bgs, I have never seen ANYONE hurt while the drivers show their displeasure with each other-& it’s been the same those entire 50 yrs. if you don’t like it -we really don’t care. go to your tracks & enjoy your brand of racing & be happy. just leave us be to do the same…but until you attend the experience that is bowman gray stadium on a Saturday night, you really don’t know what your talking about.

  50. Excellent article! I simply don’t understand the Bowman Gray “cult.” They can’t pass. They have to wreck someone to get by them. It’s just sad how the crowds are dwindling at great short tracks where there is good racing and passing, yet people flock to that place. Has to be the “reality” TV mentality.

  51. Love it or hate, it’s not going anywhere with 15-21k fans every week. And now for the second time there will be a TV series there.

    They must be doing something right.

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