The one and only Bowman Gray Stadium returns to action this Saturday night with the annual Hayes Jewelers 200. We say it every year, but this place isn’t called “The Madhouse” for no reason. You already know why it’s earned that nickname, but let’s make sure you’re up to date with "Everything You Need To Know" before NASCAR’s longest running weekly track kicks off another action-packed season.

Watch Bowman Gray Stadium Season Opener Live on FloRacing

NASCAR To Lease And Promote Bowman Gray Stadium

Can Brandon Ward Repeat As Champion?

Brandon Ward entered the season finale in August with a chance to win his first Bowman Gray Stadium Modified championship each of the last two years. In 2022 he barely missed the title, allowing Tim Brown to score a 12th championship. But in 2023, Ward became only the second new driver to win a title in the last 23 racing seasons.

“To race for a championship, you have to complete every lap and be consistent,” Ward told NASCAR after winning the championship last summer. “In the past, we could win some races, but we also fell out of some races. In 2019, we won five races but were barely top five in points. We’ve made an honest effort to chase points the past couple of seasons and it’s been a good effort.

“The track is in my hometown, but I spent a lot of years not even racing there because I was traveling with different touring series. To win a championship there is such a big accomplishment for me.”

RELATED: Brandon Ward Emerges As Bowman Gray Champion After Explosive Night

Last year, Ward won the championship carried by consistency. He didn’t visit victory lane on any night last year, but never finished lower than seventh all season long. In fact, that’s two years in a row that the champion failed to win a single race with Tim Brown pulling off the same feat in 2022. It’s almost a guarantee that we won’t see that accomplished for a third year in a row.

Modified Championship Favorites at Bowman Gray Stadium

For much of the last 30 years, Bowman Gray Stadium has been run by Tim Brown and Burt Myers. The two fierce rivals have rewritten the record books at NASCAR’s longest running weekly track since the mid-90s. 

Between them, there’s 22 championships. Brown has 12, the most of any driver in BGS history. Myers has 10, second all-time in the Modified division. 

Between them, there’s 189 race wins in the Modified division. Brown has 98, the most of any driver in BGS history. Myers has 91, second all-time in the Modified division. 

Both drivers have had their fair share of success in the season-opening Hayes Jewelers 200 throughout their years of dominance at The Madhouse as well. Myers is the defending winner of the race, while Brown has won the pole in Friday night qualifying each of the last two years. However, it has now been more than a decade since the last time Brown opened a season in victory lane at this race.

Along with the Ward as the defending champion, it’s hard to point at anybody else besides Brown and Myers as the favorites to claim this year’s championship.

Is NASCAR Now In Charge Of Bowman Gray Stadium?

NASCAR is now the lease-holder and operator of all racing operations at Bowman Gray Stadium and will remain in control through 2050 in a move that was announced in mid-March.

That means that NASCAR, who has sanctioned the weekly racing efforts at Bowman Gray since the track opened in 1949, now has direct control over everything racing related at the Winston-Salem-owned facility.

“As NASCAR’s first weekly race track, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place in the history of our sport. We’re thrilled to oversee racing at one of the crown jewels in NASCAR Regional. We look forward to leading the racing operations of the facility in partnership with the City of Winston-Salem to preserve the history and legacy of the race track for the next generation of fans and racers,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President, at the time.

REACTION: Matthew Dillner reacts to the news of NASCAR taking over operation of Bowman Gray Stadium. 

What Divisions Race At Bowman Gray Stadium?

Bowman Gray Stadium has four main divisions that are in action nearly every Saturday night throughout the season.

The headlining division is the ground-pounding Modified division. The Modifieds are open-wheeled stock cars and are actually NASCAR’s oldest division of race cars. The Modifieds have been the headlining division at Bowman Gray Stadium since the track opened in 1949.

The Sportsman division is a full-fendered stock car division. The cars are most similar to the Late Model Stock Cars of the region.

The Street Stock division at Bowman Gray Stadium features cars that are similar in appearance to the Sportsman division. The cars differ in weight and also in the carburetor package. Bowman Gray’s Street Stocks look very different from Street Stocks at most other tracks around the country.

Finally, there’s the Stadium Stock division. The Stadium Stocks would be known as “Mini Stocks” nearly any place else. They are four-cylinder race cars, and they’re known for putting on some of the craziest action you’ll see on any given Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Sportsman Division Full of Stars

19-year old Chase Robertson was a headline maker in his sophomore campaign at the Stadium in the hotly contested Sportsman division. While veterans Zach Ore and Michael Adams won several races, it was Robertson’s five wins and season long consistency that earned him the Championship making him the youngest in the 76-year history of Bowman Gray Stadium. The Oak Grove High School senior won a race and went to prom on the same night last Spring, showering and changing into a tux post-race in the fieldhouse after the race. With high school in his mirror, Robertson looks to carry on a three-generation racing legacy and hunt down his second title.

How To Watch Bowman Gray Stadium Live

The best way to experience Bowman Gray Stadium is of course in person at The Madhouse. There’s nothing like the atmosphere of 13,000 people screaming in support of their favorite driver, or in disgust at their favorite villain.

But if you can’t make it to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the best way to watch is every Saturday night live on FloRacing. Bowman Gray Stadium is included in a FloRacing subscription. If you are not already a subscriber, click here.

FloRacing’s Matthew Dillner will be back on the microphone calling all of the action throughout the season starting this Saturday, April 20, with the Hayes Jewelers 200. He’ll be joined in the booth throughout the season by James Pike, Jacklyn Drake, and more.

Bowman Gray Stadium Modified Division All-Time Winners

Bowman Gray Stadium Modified Division All-Time Champions

Bowman Gray Stadium’s 2024 Schedule