Last night, my wife and I were out on a rare night on the town. While waiting for a movie, something jumped off the screen at me. Among the promo spots for a Valentine’s Day movie and a movie about a love story involving a soldier in the special forces was a promo spot for a TV show on History, called “Madhouse.”
Maybe you’ve heard of this, and this being news to me qualifies me for the “Cave Dweller” award. I knew nothing about it before last night, you’d better believe I’ll be watching the show set to debut in January.
The show is set at the historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston- Salem, North Carolina. It chronicles the successes and struggles of a short track racer in the modified series.
The “trailer” is pretty captivating- complete with all the elements of racing the fans love. You’ve got footage of bumper-to-bumper racing, fans talking smack about why their driver’s “The Man,” and the arch-rival’s a wuss, and not only is their fighting among the drivers and crews, there’s plenty of action in the stands.
For those of you in racing’s heartland, such as North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama- this may be no big deal- a case of “been there, done that.” For roots racing in places not as well known, this could be huge for raising the profile of Saturday night short track racing. I’ve got a 1/3 mile, short dirt track, the Southern Oregon Speedway, not five miles from where I live.
The truth is, a lot of that same energy you see in this show, can be seen at the track on any given night between April and September. We’ve got everybody from the boys to the men, the girls to the women trading paint. One of the top racers in the “Super 4’s” class is a woman north of 30 in age. Danica who? The attendence at the track is decent, but I know there’s a boatload of potential fans who may not know the place even exists.
If the show lives up to the hype, it could provide a huge lift for grass roots racing at a time when everyone from the dirt track operator to the brass at Daytona could use a lift. I know I’ll be checking it out, because at the end of the day, racing is racing, whether your banging fenders in the heart of Indiana, or whether you’re doing a power slide on an earthen oval in northern California.
I can’t wait. Speaking for myself, I thought History did a good job with the Axe Men series set in Oregon a couple of summers back. It showed well the struggles of one of the northwest’s real endangered species- the timber man (not everybody in Oregon is a Ralph Nader loving, latte sipping, man purse carrying lib).
What’s the word from you folks living closer to the action? What’s your take on it? If the series is as good as the promos, then race tracks dotting the American landscape may find themselves with new fans at a time when they need them.
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I have been to Bowman Gray Stadium many times. The excitment and electricity in the air are fantastic. The track is a paved quarter-mile FLAT (literally) oval and circles a football field that the college in Winston-Salem uses.
The Stadium is NASCAR sanctioned and features the modified division. This track does not provide a good “racing” surface for the mods but the drama and show you see is off the charts. For a $10 admission ticket it is quite an experience.
Grandstand seating is 17,000 and most Saturdays are packed.
I heard of the History channel program being filmed earlier in 2009 and am also looking forward to seeing the show.
Back in the day, when most drivers owned their cars. If you tore up some one’s car for your own gain. They were probably going to come visit when you pulled in. We saw a few fights, but it pretty much policed itself.
In NASCAR, now we have drivers wrecking other cars that neither own. With NASCAR protecting everyone.
I think Mr. Excitement had the right idea.
I’ll also be watching. I hope it’s better than the one from Devils Bowl a couple seasons ago.
P.S. Skip the Valentines Day opening movie.
The only part of this post that i disagree with is “The attendence at the track is decent” the place is packed every saturday night, plus the generation who walk around the upper level and never have a seat. “but I know there’s a boatload of potential fans who may not know the place even exists” you are correct there are a lot of people in Winston Salem who have never been to Bowman Gray Stadium and when they do they will always return.
If you liked the Promo,you might would like to check out this website http://www.itsallamile.com This is a local site that a lot of the madhouse fans and crews ,drivers go to .It also has more video’s and photos of BGS and other local tracks !
I talked with Rex White about Bowman-Gray and he gives it his blessing. He feels that they’ve got a great thing going on there with all the racing and that they’ll keep expanding. Since Rex has been to a lot of local short tracks throughout the south and a former competitor at Bowman-Gray, I’ say he’s a pretty good judge of it.
@Dawg. I will heed your advice on the V-Day movie. None of that “all-star” cast did much for me. Good points.
@SlowBoyCrew. NO- you’re right, B-G is packed. That sentence you were talking about was my observation of my local track and several others I am aware around the country. I’m hoping that this series inspires greater attendence other local tracks- following the example of the loyal fans at Bowman- Gray. Sorry for the confusion. B-G’s is beyond decent.
@MadMan. Yeah. I’d say that’s pretty high praise right there.
@Jim gotcha. I just wanted to make it known that BG does pack the stands, as someone who has grew up going to the track and now part of a mini stock team it is a show thats for sure. Everyone interested should visit http://itsallamile.com/board/index.php and see what the people in the show are talking about. view in car videos and track pics from the saturday night 1/4 mile racing action.
i guess i’m one of the few people who have seen short track racing in both states ( portland speedway in 2001 and various tracks including bowman gray in n.c.) the races are probably better at most other venues, but no place is more interesting than the stadium. i think we still have an article in the race22.com archives about the place written by corey latham. it’s titled something like ” the eighth wonder of the world”.
The show should be a success due to the action packed racing we do every Saturday night all summer long at the famed 1/4 mile. The drama carries over from one week to the next on the track and in the stands. Hopefully it will inspire more to attend our track and other short tracks across the nation since this is where we all start our careers in racing. I happen to be one of the guys wrestling around on the track in the promo. Hope everyone tunes in and checks out the show. If your interested in finding out more about us check us out at itsallamile.com or my website http://www.KtrainGilbert.com.
My Husband is one of the divisions Officials at Bowman Gray. I have grown up in racing and when we got the opportunity to be involved in the “Madhouse”, we jumped at the chance. Although offers have been made to be apart of larger series, we have stayed at the Madhouse. Not just for the excitment, but for the family we have found there. We can sling bottles and harsh words faster than a fat kid eats cake, but we are also the fastest to others up when they fall. Even when it is the infamous rival that falls. BGS is like no other track I know, and there are alot, for rivals and for good ole boys who call you family. We will be tuning in for the show. And to relive some wild nights that, may not have made us smile at the time but, keep us pinned to our stadium seats waiting for what was coming next.
I remember going to Bowman Gray with my Mom and Pops. I remember watching Richard Petty, David person, Bobby Allison and the rest of the Grand National drivers whip around that 1/4 mile mixing bowl. This was in the early 70’s. I remember the vinegar fries.
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