After another mediocre season in 2024. Chase Elliott and his crew chief Alan Gustafson are getting ready to set things straight in 2025. The first of their many challenges will be in the clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium. Many questions still arise about the nature of this short track in Winston-Salem, but the superintendent has some clear expectations.
He told HendrickMotorsports.com that the Bowman Gray will require a different setup than what the teams put together at La Coliseum. This is because the two tracks differ in certain aspects, such as surface type and containment, despite their identical length and bank grade. That said, Gustafsson understands he’ll have to take a leap of faith eventually.
His explanation went, “I think the settings are going to be very similar, just because we don’t have any other knowledge of Bowman Gray… The Coliseum was almost a little bit more peaky in the corners. The binding and the paint and all those little nuances too, but for us we just have to come out of our experiences on songs like that. “
Essentially every driver and crew leader will be blindfolded to some degree for the first few laps of the clash. This should make for an interesting atmosphere and serve the track’s reputation as a “madhouse”. Elliott, for one, has already expressed his excitement to get to Winston-Salem and try his hand at taming Bowman Gray.
Why Elliott prefers to face off in Bowman Gray over LA
While the Bowman Gray may be a little too short for Elliott’s taste, he still prefers it over La Coliseum for a very selfless reason. He told the press last year, “If we’re going to have an event like this, if we’re going to fulfill our television partner obligations, I’d rather it be in Winston-Salem than Los Angeles just from a logistical standpoint.”
He also added that he expects the competition and entertainment value to be largely similar between La Coliseum and Bowman Gray. The difference in the format of the songs is something that could add to the challenge. The Bowman Gray is much tighter in the corners than its counterpart and will therefore be a bit more difficult to navigate.
The biggest difference will be in the track atmosphere. The Bowman Gray can only hold 17,000 fans against the Coliseum’s 77,500 capacity. However, the smaller number of fans should be able to quickly fill the air with energy. The race will go down on February 2 and kick off another year of exciting racing.