Winston-Salem officials say NASCAR race put city in the national spotlight

Winston-Salem officials are celebrating the success of last weekend’s NASCAR race at Bowman Gray Stadium. At a meeting on Monday, City Manager Pat Pate said the event went off without a hitch and brought much-needed attention to the area. 

“Winston-Salem was mentioned on national TV so many times," he said. "We can't count how much that would cost if we were trying to put those ads out there ourselves.”

Concessions at the event brought in revenue too, though the final numbers are still being tallied. Assistant City Manager Ben Rowe says NASCAR declined to fund an official economic impact analysis, but that doesn’t mean it’s off the table.

“I may look into it on the city side, but not necessarily looking to pay six figures for an economic impact study," he said. "But if we have local resources or universities that might be able to do something, we might look into that.”

Officials say the city will likely also see increased funds from hotel occupancy taxes.