NASCAR announced Thursday it has acquired the Winston-Salem Speedway, INC that leases the historic Bowman Gray Stadium. NASCAR said it will manage racing operations under a lease with the city of Winston-Salem, which runs through December 2050.The racetrack built in 1937 holds a special place in NASCAR history as the longest-running weekly racetrack. It's a track that holds a lot of memories for fans, drivers, and the families who started it in 1949.Longtime fan Harold Day said, "It's been a family-oriented show ever since it began where people come three and four generations and sit in the same places every Saturday night.”What do Bowman Gray Stadium drivers think? There's nothing like a Saturday night at the madhouse. That's what drivers say they don't want to see change under NASCAR ownership.“The fans love to see the bump, the bang and the fights, the arguments. NASCAR loves to fine things like that … drivers aren't going to come back. If I had to pay a fine for every time I bumped somebody and they spun out, I wouldn't come back," driver Amber Lynn said. "The madhouse fills the stands because of how it's ran with all the craziness," driver Casey Kepley Jr. said. "I hope NASCAR only charges minimal things. The use of transponders would be great." As for changes Lynn would like to see, she said, “It can also be a good thing, because Bowman Gray has some things that aren't set in stone that should be set in stone, like tech, on-track calls, the timing of scoring system, stuff like that." Driver Burt Myers, whose family has been racing at Bowman Gray Stadium since the beginning, said he just has thoughts of what may come next. Myers said he thinks things will stay as normal and doesn't have any concern.“A lot of people think it's gonna ruin that atmosphere and everything but I don't think much is going to change. I just think that there's gonna be a lot bigger brand behind it now,” driver Riley Neal said. "We could maybe turn some heads at a higher level this year with this coming in."Lynn said ultimately, “I think NASCAR is going to come in, they're going to try some things. But hopefully, they have an open ear and an open heart towards its racers and its fans, and they don't, they listen to us and the fans and don't change too much.”What should everyone expect? NASCAR says... The Managing Director for NASCAR Regional, Joey Dennewitz, said, “The future plan is to not change hardly anything. There could be some small upgrades here and there maybe to the facility, but for the most part, the directive that we have from the France family is to keep the magic that Bowman Gray is.” WXII asked Dennewitz if a National Series will come to Bowman Gray Stadium."You never really know," Dennewitz said."We've kind of proven that NASCAR can take the NASCAR cup series or any of the top three national series to any event, or any venue," Dennewitz said. "That being said, I'd be lying to say that we haven't talked about Bowman Gray, but we talk about hundreds of racetracks all across the country and internationally. So, that being said, there's nothing to report right now. But anything can happen."The 2024 Bowman Gray Stadium race season begins on Saturday, April 20.