Story by: Corey Latham ~ corey@RACE22.com

Winston-Salem, NC(April 22, 2010) -- It started the same with a lot of us die-hard race fans in the Piedmont area of NC, every Saturday night our parents would get the family together, go grab a bite to eat, and head over to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC.
 
For me it started 30 years ago, I was four and my dad was an avid race fan, and from that first trip to the stadium I was hooked.  Going there and seeing the likes of Radford, Satch, Brinkley, Miller, Smith and Myers and just the atmosphere of the place, those were the days I'll never forget. We fast forward to 2010, It's a new era with new drivers, but It's still the "same ole' same ole'" if you will, not much has changed. It will still be action packed, the the stands will be full, the fields will be large, and once again I'll be there for opening night for the 30th year in a row, with 17,000 of my closest friends.

Bowman Gray has always just been "Bowman Gray", not much changes from year to year, as the management is a firm believer of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", which makes perfect sense. But this season has a little more flare to it, and we all know why, the TV show. "Madhouse" was seen on the History Channel these past few months, and it became a cult classic among race fans all across the country, with many promising to make the trek to Bowman Gray this summer from all sorts of distant places. Also, it has more racers involved, which means a lot more cars, (and check this out other tracks), it may just become a problem.

One division that usually doesn't grown in leaps and bounds in size is the featured modified division. While always tough in competition, not a lot of new faces show up each year, the division has a great core group that returns each season. It looks as if 2010 is going to be an exception, as many new faces will be trying to find glory at the 1/4 mile bullring. Brian Loftin, the 2008 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Champion, along with the Ace Speedway master and 2010 "Frostbite" winner Brian King, are two of the big dogs that will be going for the season championship. Zack Brewer, fresh off his track record at South Boston a few weeks ago in the NASCAR tour race is another name that will be there as much as his racing schedule allows. Add in another 7-8 cars making their first foray into the mods, along with guest appearances by Super Late Model veteran Jeff Fultz and Todd Bradbury just to name a few, and the list gets rather long.

Of course the defending champion Tim Brown will be there, along with the usual suspects in Burt and Jason Myers, Robert and Lee Jefferies, Randy Butner, Michael Clifton, Gene and Austin Pack, Brad Robbins, Dean Ward, Chris Fleming, and the ageless wonder himself, Alfred Hill. And yes, the all-time winningest driver at Bowman Gray will be back, as Jr. Miller has a new Troyer chassis, some big horsepower, and a new National sponsor in R&L Carriers for this season, and looks to be a viable threat for the championship, something he hasn't been able to do in recent years.

Johnathan Brown, who finished third in the final point standings in 2009, is gunning for the championship in 2010 also, but in usual "Brownstyle" fashion, he is worrying about winning first and the points will come later.

"I haven't changed in the off-season, I'm still going balls to the wall to win races, the points will come after the finishes", said an enthusiastic Brown. "I am one of the few drivers here that will go to the outside, and when the cone races come and we can pick to go to the outside, you know which way I'm going. I told Gray a little while ago (track promoter) that we should do double-file qualifying, I'm all for it. The TV show was nice, but people need to realize, when I put that helmet on I'm all business, and the only thing on my mind is going to the front, and doing whatever it takes to get there. I want to show what I'm worth over here, I'm trying to get in a Camping World truck in the Fall, but like many others, funds are hard to come by. It seems like I'm the only one from the show that hasn't picked anything up yet, I'll drive whatever I can, anybody that has a seat open I'm game."

One thing that I find really interesting with JonBoy, is something he told me last year he was doing and he has the project done, something not heard of in racing in many years. He has built his own car, not a Troyer chassis, not a Chassis Dynamics, but his own creation from the ground up.

"I've got it sitting in a buddies shop, and yes, it's a JonBoy special," laughed Brown. "We laid it out on a piece of I-beam and bent and bent and made the whole thing from scratch, It's a lot different from anything over here or anything I've ever seen. It may be the best car ever or it may be the biggest piece of junk I've ever sat in, but we are going to roll it out mid-season and see what it will do."

Going to the other end of the spectrum, we have a driver that has no experience at all running the stadium in the mods this year in Gary Young Jr. While Gary has been racing a mod for quite some time now, this will be his first adventure at Bowman Gray after being a Ace Speedway regular for the last few years.

"This place is tight man, but we seem to be running competitive times, we are right there with everybody else", said Young after a recent practice session. "It looks like It's going to be fun, I can see why they have to beat and bang here, as there definitely Isn't two grooves. It is what it is though, I'm not scared of the outside, in these cone races, I'm going to the outside first thing. I just want to run the whole season, everybody keeps telling me I can get a sponsor over here, where as back home, I can't beg for one."

When asked about what his expectations are in the first few weeks, Gary wasn't shy. "On the first week, I don't want to see anybody cheering or flipping me off, but when I come back the second week, I want 50% of them either booing, flipping me off, or wearing my T-shirt, as long as they are talking about me I'm doing my job. If I hear crickets in the stands I'm not doing what I'm supposed to. I have a temper and have been run off from everywhere I've been, let's just hope here we leave things on the track and not let things carry over like other tracks I've been at. I don't want to create any enemies, but at the same time nobody is going to run over me, use your bumper on me and I'll use it right back. When I put my helmet on I don't have any friends anyway, I don't even like myself." Yep, Gary is going to fit right in, that last line could be a "Quote of the Year" candidate.

The Sportsman division looks to be the largest growing class this year, as over 40 cars have practiced so far with nearly 55 expected for opening night. The Sportsman cars are nothing more than your average Late Model with slight modifications, and have some of the best racing of the evening usually occurs with them. They also have a driver that has done something that is absolutely amazing, and to me, doesn't get the credit he deserves. Ronnie Clifton is the
 

defending champion of the division, not just defending "a" championship, but 8 OF THEM IN A ROW. And to top it all off, they don't even qualify, they draw numbers, so It's not like he starts on the pole and wins every race from the front, what he has accomplished is unheard of. But, I along with many others including Ronnie, don't think he gets the accolades he should for his feat.

"I had thought about retiring last year, and here I am again, I guess I just don't know when to quit", said a frustrated Clifton after practice recently . "I had wanted to run a modified the whole season possibly, but the money wasn't right so we are going to run the Sportsman car some, not sure about a whole season and try on the mod a few times. I'm the only car over here running a 6-cylinder, and it is hurting me, we just aren't very good right now, even with the 200lb weight break."

When asked about why he wanted to run the mod this late in his career, Clifton didn't mince words. "I have an awesome crew, that's why I have been successful here. I've been over here 20+ years, and had sucess in the Street Stocks and the Sportsman, won a bunch of races and a lot of championships. But when I leave here, 5 years from that time nobody will know I even raced here, but if I win just one modified race, my name will be in the books forever. We are the "support" division to the mods, and it doesn't mater how much you win, nobody keeps track of it. The people that come here know it and always will, but new people years from now will say "Ronnie who?". I just want to leave my mark here you know, I may never win a modified race, but I'd like to at least know that I tried. Right now it looks like I won't get the chance, I just don't have the money to run my brothers other car, I can run on tires for my car for three weeks, where as with the mod you have to buy new tires each week. I'm going try to get something going though." Seeing Ronnie pick up a Modified victory would be something special.

Along with Ronnie in the Sportsman class, he has some tough company with Tommy Neal, Gary Ledbetter, Kenny Bost, Bryant Robertson, Kevin Neal, Kyle and Barry Edwards, Robbie Brewer, and newcomer "BoBo" Brown. The younger brother to Jonathan in the mods, BoBo has been a terror in the Street Stock division, and coming off a runner-up spot in Street Stock points last year, decided the time was right to move up. And he isn't just coming for seat time, his car is very good and looks to challenge for the championship.

The sportsman class Isn't without their own "guest" appearances, as the Robertson Motorsports entries will have LMSC driver and former Bowman Gray winner Ryan Robertson behind the wheel some, along with his father, the "King of the Twin 20's" Mike Robertson. Mix in some well known names to be announced later, along with USAR veteran and part-time modified driver Mike Herman Jr., and you never know what star from other series of racing will be showing up to the Madhouse.

The Street Stock and Stadium Stock divisions usually produce the best racing of the night, and with all the cars they have in 2010, it looks to stay the same. Actually, the Street Stock cars have gone down a tad, but any track would love to have the problem of a class dropping from 28 to 23 cars. Look for defending champion David Sumner to be the man to beat again, with Jerry Helms, Johnny Ardner, and the popular Matt Cotner in his Ford Falcon to be right on his heels.

In Stadium Stock, to be honest, it's a mess. Most tracks have 15-18 cars if they are extremely lucky for their Mini Stock division. Bowman Gray is pushing 100, yes that's right, 100 cars for 2010 in one division. The class usually runs two races anyway, an A and B race, but that catered to the already ridiculous amount of 50 cars they have had in recent years. I never thought that it would be a problem at a racetrack to have too many cars, but that is what It's looking like at Bowman Gray this year, just glad I'm not the one figuring this thing out. Barneycastle, Sanders, Keaton, Young, Chilton, Burke, Hamilton, Absher and a host of MANY others are going to put on a show for sure with this many cars.

Well, the wait is over, and the stage is set. This Saturday night the Modifieds will go for 200 laps, the Sportsman for 40, the Street Stocks for 20, and two 15 lap Stadium Stock events. For years other tracks have claimed that Bowman Gray is a novelty, that it Isn't real racing, or that It's too rough. Fact is, Bowman Gray is as grassroots as you can get, a throwback of days gone by when racers didn't mind to rub fenders, weren't scared to let tempers flare, and at the same time helped out anybody they could.

Instead of places and people making excuses, maybe they can take note of some of the things that Bowman Gray puts out each week. After all, it's "Still The Most Exciting Of Them All" and 61 years of racing and thousands each week in the grandstands proves it.