This weekend in Winston-Salem -- a little ways off from the tobacco farms and not far from the greater Charlotte area -- the Carolina winter will heat up and the earth will roar back to life with the beginning of a new year for NASCAR with its annual preseason exhibition race,

NASCAR is back, old-school style, as 2025 opens with a return to the “Mecca of Madhouse” for Sunday night’s preseason Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The Winston-Salem quarter-mile notorious for its rough-and-tumble racing style and numerous fights will host its first Cup Series event since 1971 with the non-points exhibition race.

NASCAR's preseason Clash moves to the sport's roots this year. Bowman Gray Stadium will serve as host. Two weeks later brings the Daytona 500.