Ryan Blaney was a little kid the first time he raced at Bowman Gray Stadium and remembers it being the coolest thing he’d ever done in motorsports.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Bumping, beating and banging were the headliners Saturday night, along with Chase Elliott, in the return of the NASCAR Cup Series to Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time since 1971. Elliott won the first of four heat races on the quarter-mile track and will start Sunday night’s Cook Out Clash from the pole.

Bowman Gray hero Burt Myers dominated the venue in the early 2000s and spoke glowingly of NASCAR's decision to return to the famous track.