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,

After three years in L.A., NASCAR brings its preseason race back to North Carolina, where Bowman Gray Stadium's return marks an emotional start to 2025.

The NASCAR Cup Series arrives to Bowman Gray for the first time in more than 50 years. But this race means more than just an exhibition.