Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart will drive the Next Gen car in a test at Bowman Gray Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 26, NASCAR announced Monday (Oct. 25).
The test comes in an effort to prepare the car for The Clash at the Coliseum, a stadium race taking place at the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 6. Bowman Gray is a similar style to the track, which will aid in yielding results for comparison to the LA Coliseum.
According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Stewart will be in the car to start the day and perform the Goodyear tire test while Earnhardt Jr. and Bowyer, both of whom are now broadcasters, will drive the vehicle to learn its capabilities.
Bowman Gray test Tuesday with Next Gen is closed to public. One car. Tony Stewart to do Goodyear test in the morning. DaleJr and Clint Bowyer will take some laps in afternoon in an event that will be be open to media. Intent is to determine tire for Clash at LA Memorial Coliseum.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 25, 2021
Bowman Gray Stadium is a flat, asphalt oval located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The quarter-mile track/stadium has hosted several events, including auto racing, football and horse racing and has held NASCAR-sanctioned tracks since 1949. The test on Oct. 26 will be the first time since 1971 that Cup cars have been on track.
The Clash at the Coliseum was revealed with the 2022 Cup schedule on Sept. 15, marking the first time NASCAR will run at the venue.
NASCAR’s most recent test took place on Oct. 11-12 at the Charlotte ROVAL, hosting the largest field of cars participating in the test.
About the author
Luken Glover arrived on the Frontstretch scene in 2020. He has been an avid NASCAR fan for the majority of his life, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who used to help former team owner Junie Donlavey in his garage. Glover covers news for the site and took over "The Underdog House" column in 2021. In addition to being a college junior, his hobbies include volunteering at church, playing basketball and tennis, racing go-karts, and helping at his high school alma mater.
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Why not bring back Richard Petty, Cale and DW for the test?
Exactly!!! What’s the point?
It’s not like they’ll give their honest impression in an interview. I’m pretty sure their feeling would be, “Well, back to the drawing board!”
I don’t understand why Stewart is driving the car. If they need a tire test surely there are drivers that need a pay check that aren’t associated with a team.
I understand why NASCAR & their networks would want Earnhardt & Bowyer to drive the car but doing it at Bowman Gray makes no sense. Have either ever driven at Bowman Gray? I know that they wouldn’t have driven a cup car there. Bowman Gray is so different from any track where they drove cup cars will they be able to understand the differences? Why not take Earnhardt & Bowyer to track where they have experience so they can better understand the differences in the car?
If they are doing this to prepare the car for the opening 1/4 mile “event” next year, I can understand they do not want to give any current team an advantage.