Longtime Flagman Jeff Bunton Stepping Down From His Perch At Bowman Gray Stadium |

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Drivers of the weekly series will have another new surface when racing resumes in April

Jeff Bunton swears he’s not going back to his other life as a professional wrestler.

Bunton, who has been a flagman at Bowman Gray Stadium since 2010 but is retired as a pro wrestler, has decided to step down from his perch just above the track. He’ll be focusing on his family and his responsibilities with the SMART Modified Tour, so he won’t be around in mid-April when the 75th racing season at the famed quarter-mile track is scheduled to begin.

“I’ve enjoyed my time in the best seat in the house with Randy (Smith) and I’ll miss the atmosphere and the electricity that’s such a big part of those Saturday nights,” said Bunton, 35, who lives in Walnut Cove and will be the assistant director of the SMART Tour.

Bunton’s role at Bowman Gray Stadium for the past 12 years as a flagman is part traffic cop and part disciplinarian, but mostly he keeps the races humming along going as part of the weekly show.

Jeff Bunton, left, and Randy Smith have been a constant at Bowman Gray Stadium on the start/finish line for several years.

Sometimes his background as a part-time pro wrestler has come in handy.

“It’s funny, but the first time I was asked to help out (at the end of the 2009) season (drivers) Brandon Brendle and Jordan Fleming got into it and they are both outside of their cars and the tower says to me, ‘Go out there and break it up,’” Bunton said. “Well, I’m this young punk who goes out there trying to break it up, and the next thing I know all three of us are on the ground.”

That was his “baptism by fire” of what Bowman Gray Stadium is all about.

Bunton says the best part of the job has been seeing the outstanding drivers through the years make some of the best moves he’s ever seen on a short track. He wouldn’t name his favorite driver. “I like ‘em all,” he said.

Sportsman series driver Tommy Neal jokes around with assistant flagman Jeff Bunton.

Being right in the middle off all the madness has been a lot of fun, especially in Victory Lane when the winning drivers are in great moods.

Bunton makes sure journalists can get interviews with the winners soon after posing for pictures. Jeff Amenrick of WXII TV has been covering the races for nearly 25 years and Bunton said he’ll miss “putting Jeff in a headlock from time to time.”

For somebody who has seen so much racing, Bunton had a great description of what it’s like at Bowman Gray Stadium with its tight confines.

“I call it Dale Earnhardt racing, in that you move or get moved,” Bunton said.

From his perch at the start/finish line, Bunton is responsible for letting drivers know when a caution is about to expire and he makes sure drivers don’t jump the restarts. The restarts aren’t as easy as they look, especially in the fast Modified cars.

One of Jeff Bunton's duties is to add the cone for the single-file restarts that are popular after cautions.

Sitting about 10 feet up in the air from the track there’s also quite a bit of danger, but Bunton said he remembers only one close call.

“A few years ago Kevin Powell’s rear nerf bar nearly hit me,” Bunton said. “And excuse the pun, but that was crazy.”

Bunton said he’s been lucky to see the history of the track up close and personal for all these years.

“I’ve seen a lot from Burt Myers and Tim Brown’s historic wins,” Bunton said. “And the Cliftons have been around for a long time as well, so it’s just been really fun to develop all these relationships and friendships.”

The way Bunton started at Bowman Gray Stadium was all about being in the right place at the right time. He was already working for the Whelen Modified Tour and was at the track as a fan in 2009 when he noticed Smith was the only flagman up on the stand.

Jeff Bunton, assistant flagman, looks on as rain falls before the 100-lap Sportsman race last July.

“Randy’s assistant had left him high and dry, so I go down to the fieldhouse and the head official sees me and says ‘Get up there,’” Bunton said. “Jonathan Hawkins tossed me a (NASCAR) shirt and the rest is history. So I went up there that night and that was it.”

Bunton didn’t rule out coming back at some point to be a flagman again.

“I didn’t leave on bad terms and the door is always open,” he said. “The biggest thing I’ll miss is everything about the place. It’s still the best seat in the house.”

As for maybe coming to watch this season as a fan, Bunton said it’s not likely. “I’ll be fishing or at a ball game,” he said.

Much was said when the city used bond money to repave the asphalt track before last season, but there were plenty of complaints about the track from drivers and crew members. The biggest complaint was a dip in Turn One that was tough to negotiate.

The city heard the complaints and repaved it again this off-season, so there’ll be another new track for the drivers when April rolls around.

“It will bring a new dynamic to the season for sure,” said Gray Garrison, the promoter of the weekly NASCAR series. “The city worked hard in getting it repaved, so the notes the drivers had from last season will go out the window. Everybody will be starting from scratch.”

Modified Series champion Tim Brown congratulates Tommy Neal after Neal won the Sportsman Series last August. Neal is moving to the Modified Division for this coming season.

There should be some movement among drivers in the four divisions this season, but one of the most noteworthy is “Tiger” Tommy Neal moving from the Sportsman Division to the Modified Division.

Neal, who has driven in the Modified before, is the two-time defending champion in the Sportsman Division. He’s also a three-time Sportsman Division champion, having also won the title in 2016.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Neal said. “The biggest thing is the tire game out there in that division, so we’ll try and figure it out and see what we can do.”

Neal, 52, has been racing all over the east coast for nearly 35 years and has close to 250 victories.

“I can tell you that if I win that opening Hayes Jeweler 200, I might retire right there in Victory Lane,” Neal joked. “But on the serious side, it will be a different in the Modified but I know all of those guys pretty well and they know how I race.”

Nate Gregg (left) and his dad, Billy Gregg celebrate after the final Street Stock Series race of the season last August. Nate will be racing in the Sportsman Division this season while Billy will attempt to win his fourth straight championship in Street Stock.

Nate Gregg, 19, who is a son of Billy, the three-time defending Street Stock Division champion, is moving to the Sportsman Division for this season.

Billy will be trying to win his fourth straight division title while Nate will be in another division.

“Nate wanted to move, so we are able to make it work,” Billy said. “We had a lot of fun racing against each other last season so we’ll try this. I’ve made that move before earlier in my career and it’s expensive. We thought about both moving to Sportsman but this will work better.”

Billy will also be chasing the all-time wins leader in the Street Stock in Steven Berrier.

“I think I’m five away from that mark,” Billy said.

On the last weekend of racing this past summer Derek Stoltz was in the pits helping with Riley Neal’s car. He was asked about possibly coming back to drive again this season but was non-committal.

Jeff Bunton, who has been a flagman at Bowman Gray Stadium since 2010 but is retired as a pro wrestler, has decided to step down.

Garrison said he’s heard that Stoltz might be back in a car this season.

“We haven’t heard anything official,” Garrison said about Stoltz, who is a former champion in the Sportsman Division.

Bowman Gray Stadium’s 75th season will begin on April 22 at the famed quarter-mile track.

Garrison says that NASCAR will be doing some promoting with this being the 75th season of Bowman Gray Stadium racing. Even though the season was cancelled in 2020 with COVID-19, this will still be considered the 75th year.

“We were still in business, but just didn’t race that summer,” Garrison said of the cancellation of the 2020 season.

Garrison said the full schedule of 17 weeks of racing will be released later this week. He did say the opener will be April 22.

“We’ll have a logo signifying the 75th year so we think it’s a big deal and we’ll be promoting that aspect of it,” Garrison said.

Here's a look at what stood out from the year 2022

WSSU women's basketball player is deaf but that doesn't slow her down from doing anything she wants

Will Crowley, a walk-on tight end for the Tar Heels, following in his father's footsteps and is playing for Mack Brown

Eric Moore was a big help to anybody who asked him for advice

Wake Forest wide receiver had his best season and is getting better

Irwin Smallwood, a legendary sportswriter, says it's a big loss for civic pride

Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series Points Standings

RANK CAR DRIVER HOMETOWN POINTS

3 16 Chris Fleming Mount Airy, NC 738

4 4 Jason Myers Walnut Cove, NC 738

8 55 Jeremy Gerstner Wesley Chapel, FL 616

14 99 William Smith Mount Airy, NC 331

McDowell Heating & Air Sportsman Series

1 21 Tommy Neal Rural Hall, NC 770

10 92 Kyle Southern Rural Hall, NC 527

Law Offices of John Barrow Street Stock Series

6 97 Zack Staley Reedy Creek, NC 594

8 02 David Creed Mount Airy, NC 560

9 8 Bryan Sykes Jr Winston-Salem, NC 556

15 68 Gerald Robinson Jr Winston-Salem, NC 358

1 24 A.J. Sanders Mocksville, NC 850

5 54 Justin Owens Walnut Cove, NC 662

13 74 Matt Alley Walnut Cove, NC 438

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