Peter Casey/Imagn
For nearly 50 years, the NASCAR Cup Series has signaled the unofficial start to its season with the Clash, an exhibition race featuring a select group of the series’ top drivers. From 1979-2021 the race was hosted at legendary Daytona International Speedway two weeks prior to the Daytona 500.
In 2022, NASCAR made waves when it moved the Clash across the country to Los Angeles and built a temporary track inside of the legendary LA Memorial Coliseum. But after just three years in LA, including a chaotic, rain-soaked final year, it was time to move on. NASCAR hosted this year’s event at history Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina.
Bowman Gray began host NASCAR races in 1949 and did so all the way until 1971. But this year’s Clash represented a return to the track, which seats just 17,000 and also serves as the football stadium for Winston-Salem State University, for the first time in over 50 years.
The event was a huge success, with a great crowd, great racing, and former series champion Chase Elliott taking the victory. But it doesn’t sound like fans should get used to the race being held at Bowman Gray.
.@NASCAR is using its season-opening Clash exhibition this year to go back to a classic venue that the Cup Series hasn’t run at since 1971 in Bowman Gray Stadium, but next year the event could be held overseas, possibly Brazil, as the racing property also looks to grow globally. pic.twitter.com/1wwe3TVQTq
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) February 2, 2025
NASCAR Considering Hosting Clash In Racing-Crazed Brazil In 2026
Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal reports that the series is exploring taking the event internationally in 2026, with Brazil being the leading contender.
Brazil is a racing-obsessed country, with Formula 1 legends such as Ayrton Senna and Emerson Fittipaldi considered among the country’s all-time great athletes. In 2012, NASCAR launched the NASCAR Brasil series. The series races primarily on road courses, but added an oval track to the equation in 2024.
Now it appears the country could host the world’s most-popular stock car series. But American fans are not happy about it.
Absolutely, positively, emphatically, don’t. https://t.co/kQxa67iNm3
— Koty Geyer (@kgeyer3) February 3, 2025
Amazing. Leave it to @NASCAR to make a winning decision and immediately blow it. If tonight is anything like last night this event needs to become a fixture on the schedule. I was skeptical of it at first but that was a great warm up for the season!
— Keith Lyons 🏁 (@Keith_Lyons6) February 2, 2025
Of course, Brazilian fans were over the moon about the news. But those fans don’t seem to matter to NASCAR’s “core” audience.
Segundo o Adam Stern, um dos jornalistas mais respeitados que cobrem a Nascar, o Clash de 2026 pode ser aqui no Brasil!! 🤯 https://t.co/eQuAEqLBDL
— Felipe Giacomelli (@daewlz) February 2, 2025
NASCAR has not yet announced its plans for the 2026 Clash. But it sounds like Brazil is a serious possibility, and it has the potential to be an absolutely incredible environment.