Last week’s Street Stock race at Bowman Gray Stadium made for viral moments on social media but has also resulted in the suspensions of three racers. Bowman Gray Stadium officials ruled on Tuesday that Zack Staley will be suspended from competition at the Winston-Salem track for the remainder of the 2025 season due to actions detrimental to stock car racing. Kyler Staley, his son, who finished second in the wild and controversial photo finish, has been suspended from competition for three weeks. Emilee Lewis has been suspended for one week for her involvement in the post-race melee.

40-year-old Zack Staley was involved in a last-lap incident that turned into a post-race fight in victory lane that saw the two-time winner run across the football field, jump onto the windshield of Emilee Lewis’ No. 4 car and attempt to rip the hood off her machine. Her father, Brad Lewis, won the race. Confused yet? That’s okay! To understand the incident, it’s important to lay out everything and break down exactly what happened. 

The fuse was lit two weeks ago when contact between Brad Lewis’ No. 16 and the Bullies Bar and Grill No. 8 of Kyler Staley, Zack’s son, caused Kyler to spin. The incident drew the ire of the Staley team, who then took to social media to express their displeasure. 

Fast-forward to last week’s race. In the closing laps, Lewis, running second, was clearly faster than Kyler Staley’s leading car. Staley protected the bottom, giving Brad’s US Unlimited Services No. 16 the top lane. The two drivers thrilled the fans by racing side-by-side around the tight quarter-mile oval. Lewis admitted after the race that he didn’t complete the pass, thinking that if he had, Kyler may retaliate from the previous week’s incident. So, as the two cars raced in a deadlock on the final lap, the fans rose to their feet knowing it would be a dramatic finish. It was then that Zack Staley’s car, which he later admitted was having major brake issues, was running slow on the track. As the two leaders approached the start-finish line to finish the race, Zack’s car slowed in an attempt to impede the progress of Lewis’ No. 16 on the outside groove. When Lewis turned left to avoid striking Staley’s Privacy Fence Solutions No. 7, it put his car a few inches ahead of Kyler Staley’s car across the line for a photo-finish win. 

But the drama was far from over. To add fuel to the fire, seeing what happened, Emilee Lewis, the daughter of Brad Lewis, struck Zack Staley’s car after the finish, sending it spinning in the south turn. 

What happened next is why they call it the Madhouse. Both cars pulled to the start-finish line to see which one had won the 20-lap feature event. Brad Lewis was handed the checkered flag, while Kyler Staley exited his car in anger. Staley then had words with Emilee Lewis as she climbed from her car in victory lane to greet her father after his first win of the season. That’s when Zack Staley melted down.

Staley started running across the football field towards victory lane, with his open-faced helmet on and a cigarette puffing smoke from his lips. Staley seemed to pick up speed during the approximately 80-yard sprint, and jumped in the air with a karate-style kick onto the front windshield of Emilee Lewis’ Just Chillin’ Lawn Care No. 4 car. The window bracing did its job, deflecting Staley backwards onto the hood. In a rage, he then attempted to rip the hood off her car. While track officials tried to wrestle the bearded driver away, a Lewis team member got involved in the fracas. This triggered Kyler Staley to jump in. The younger Staley was quickly brought to the ground and police and track officials were then able to get the entire situation under control. Brad Lewis climbed out of his racecar to celebrate, while Kyler Staley stood on his car motioning in protest. Zack Staley was led off by police as he flashed his middle-finger.  

Zack Staley has a history of disqualifications, probations and suspensions that have made headlines throughout his career. It has also made him a cult-favorite among the fans at the famed quarter-mile. Two seasons ago, he took the checkered flag for two races in a row but bypassed post-race technical inspections after each of the wins. Witnesses said that he simply drove by tech flipping a bird out of his window. Last season, Staley was suspended early in the season and returned on probation. He had a serious on-track incident with Nick Wall, which resulted in a ban from the track for the remainder of the 2024 season. On opening night of the 2025 season, Staley was involved in a post race “dog-pile of emotion” after a run-in with fellow Street Stock competitor Justin Alverson. The fight on the infield grass resulted in a one-week suspension for Alverson. 

Zack Staley is a two-time winner at Bowman Gray Stadium. He issued a statement on his popular Facebook page apologizing for his most recent suspension. 

“I want to apologize to all my fans, sponsors, and everyone at Bowman Gray for what went down this past Saturday night. I lost my cool, and I take full responsibility for my actions that led to getting suspended for the rest of the season,” said Staley. “But I’ll be real with you — I can only take so much of people intentionally tearing up my racecar before I snap. I put a ton of time, money, and hard work into those cars. That’s not just equipment — that’s my life, and to see someone destroy it on purpose is hard to swallow. I know emotions run high in racing, but I should’ve handled things better. I hate that this affects my team, my fans, and especially my sponsors who’ve backed me no matter what. You all deserve better, and I’m sorry for letting you down. Even though I’m out for the rest of the season, my team isn’t done. Kyler (depending on his results from Saturday night), Chrissy, and Willie will still be out there racing and holding it down for us. They’ve all worked just as hard, and I hope you’ll keep showing them the same support you’ve given me. I appreciate everyone who’s still standing by me. I’ll take this time to cool off, refocus, and come back stronger when the time comes. And don’t worry — the shirts are still available! Even if you gotta walk across the street to get one, we’ll make sure you can still rep ZSR.”

Brad Lewis did not face any disciplinary action from the Stadium as he was not involved in the post-race victory lane commotion. The veteran racer was upset about what went down on Saturday night, but put it all into perspective in a conversation with FloRacing on Tuesday. 

“In all fairness I’m not worried about suspensions,” said Lewis. “What I’m worried about is the safety of drivers, crew members, family, track officials and fans. It takes one second to change someone’s life. 

“A mistake is something you learn from,” added the seven-time Bowman Gray Stadium winner. “Making the same-said mistakes is a choice. Grown men and women fix their mistakes, they don’t just continue to apologize for repeating them. This won’t be a popular opinion but it’s the truth.”

Bowman Gray Stadium will have its annual Independence Day weekend break from racing this week but will return to action on Saturday, July 12th for the Traffic Control Safety Services 100 for the NASCAR Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Division. The extra-distance affair will also include the Fans Challenge where the top-four qualifiers for the Mod race will have the chance to elect to start in the rear of the field, and if they finish in the top-four they can earn a $9,000 bonus. Making the night even bigger, it’s a double-points show for all divisions at the Madhouse. Gates will open at 6 p.m. ET for next Saturday’s race with the first race slated for an 8 p.m. green-flag. Tickets are only $12 with child’s tickets (6-11 years old) only costing $2, and children under 5-years of age are free. Tickets can be purchased at the Stadium gates or in-advance using the TicketHoss app. 

All NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series races from historic Bowman Gray Stadium are broadcast live on Saturday nights at 7:45 p.m. ET on FloRacing.