WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – NASCAR and Goodyear will host a Next Gen tire test at historic Bowman-Gray Stadium Tuesday with three former NASCAR Cup Series stars set to take turns behind the wheel.
Tony Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, is scheduled to take part in the Goodyear tire test Tuesday morning. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer, both of whom have become broadcasters after retiring as drivers at NASCAR’s top level, will get their turns in the afternoon.
The goal, according to a tweet by NASCAR’s Senior Manager of Innovation Communications Josh Hamilton, would be for Earnhardt and Bowyer to “be more informed on the car and how it drives and can relay that from the booth.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr and Clint Bowyer are scheduled to make some runs in the Next Gen test car at Bowman Gray tomorrow. This will take place following the Goodyear tire test. The hope is they’ll be more informed on the car and how it drives and can relay that from the booth.
— Josh Hamilton (@joshahamilton) October 25, 2021
Hamilton also confirmed the test will not be open to the public, sighting the lack of time to prepare and the complexity of the logistics involved as reasons.
This will not be the first time a NASCAR Cup Series race car has been on track at Bowman-Gray Stadium, a flat, quarter-mile oval located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The track hosted 29 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1958 to 1971, with drivers like Richard Petty, David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Bobby Allison, Rex White, Lee Petty and Glen Wood among the drivers to earn Cup Series victories at the track.
Tuesday’s test is to Goodyear select a tire for NASCAR’s debut at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum next February. The historic Coliseum is set to host The Clash pre-season event for the first time on a quarter-mile oval inside the venue.Â