From Kid Racer to Cup Champion: Blaney’s Full Circle Moment at Bowman Gray

(Photo: Greg Engle CupScene.com)
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Ryan Blaney’s memory isn’t crystal clear when it comes to his exploits at the historic venue that will host Sunday’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Blaney was “9 or 10 years old” when he won at the quarter-mile Bowman Gray track in a Bandolero. As a small child in a small race car, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion was impressed by the magnitude of the experience.

“I ran here 20 years ago or so in a Bandolero, so it’s nice to be back,” Blaney said Saturday before practice and heat races at the quarter-mile. “Obviously, the reputation of this place, a lot of passionate people around the area love Bowman Gray, and the track is really historic.

“I think it’s a good (place) for this Clash, to have the ability to move this race around to different parts of the country, so that’s nice.”

To Blaney’s point, last year’s Clash completed a three-year tenure at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on a temporary quarter-mile track. At Bowman Gray, the Clash comes to NASCAR’s oldest weekly racing facility, one that is steeped in the history and lore of stock car racing.

Blaney grew up in nearby High Point, N.C., and had a ready-made fan base of sorts when he raced at Bowman Gray.

“I had a lot of friends and family that came here a lot on the weekends,” he said. “I had some buddies that were at that race, and they it was pretty cool that, ‘Hey, you ran Bowman Gray… I watched you At Bowman Gray.’

“Back then, in a Bandolero, this place was massive, right? It’s just funny putting it into perspective of what you don’t know. (Now) it’s the smallest place we go to with what we do.”