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.
Luken Glover joined the Frontstretch team in 2020 as a news writer before elevating to a columnist, where he served as the longtime writer for The Underdog House. Currently, he is an editor for the site and conducts feature interviews. Glover has covered several forms of racing for the site including NASCAR, CARS Tour, and SRX events.
A 2023 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is a promotional writer, elementary athletic director, and basketball coach. He is passionate about serving in his church, playing/coaching a wide variety of sports, and researching motorsports history.
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.