NORTH WILKESBORO, NC – APRIL 14, 1996: Terry Labonte (No 5) and Elton Sawyer (No 27) bring the … [+]
North Wilkesboro Speedway will host the 2023 edition of NASC
The 5/8-mile short track, located in Wilkes County in Western North Carolina, opened as a dirt track in 1947 and was one of the tracks on the first schedule in NASCAR staging its first event in 1949, the same year the sport was founded. It held races including 93 Cup series races, until 1996 when it fell victim to a schedule “realignment.”
After a majority interest in North Wilkesboro was purchased in part by Speedway Motorsports, led then by Bruton Smith, the dates awarded by NASCAR were moved to other tracks owned by Speedway Motorsports such as Texas Motor Speedway.
The track briefly reopened in 2010 and hosted races from the now-inactive ASA Late Model Series, USARacing Pro Cup Series, and PASS Super Late Models, but closed again in the spring of 2011 and has remained shuttered since then.
NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 09: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was … [+]
Interest in the track picked up in 2020 when Earnhardt, Jr., scanned the track for use in the iRacing Series. During the Covid shutdown, as part of its eNSACAR Pro Invitational Series the Cup series held a virtual event that was wildly popular. Not long after Marcus Smith of Speedway Motorsports agreed to reopen the track for competition.
Last year the North Carolina state budget earmarked $18 million to improve water, sewer, and other infrastructure for the track; shortly thereafter the track announced it would be reopening, though at that time it wasn’t clear which series would be racing there.
In April, Marcus Smith, son of Bruton, who now runs Speedway Motorsports said that while a return by NASCAR is possible, it would most likely be the NASCAR truck series by 2024 at the earliest. He added that even with the infrastructure upgrades and improvements to the track, the facility will still be too small to host a Cup or Xfinity series event.
“As we begin the process of bringing North Wilkesboro Speedway back to life, this is a great opportunity for the historic short track to host grassroots racing and allow our team to learn more about what needs be done before a grand re-opening in the future,” Smith said. “Our vision is to revive this venue into a multi-use entertainment facility, but racing will always be the core product. We know fans and competitors will enjoy ‘kicking the tires’ alongside us with some live competition this year as we begin renovations.”
NORTH WILKESBORO, NC – AUGUST 31: Cars line up on the starting grid ready to pull off just before … [+]
It was at that same press event that officials announced that grassroots races will be held at North Wilkesboro Speedway starting in August. Those races were a huge success and included several different classes and culminated with Earnhardt, Jr., racing in front of a packed house in a late model stock car event.
“Some of my best memories as a little boy were going to North Wilkesboro,” said Earnhardt. “And it got even better when I raced there as a teenager. I never thought I’d see that place full again, and then I got to race there this summer in a late model before a full house. There’s just something special about it. I know the track, the fans, and the community will put on a show when we’re back with the Cup cars for the All-Star race.”
The April announcement also said the tracks pavement will be torn up and the original dirt surface the track first used for racing, will be prepared for racing in October. However, officials said this week that the plan to do that will be put on hold.
With Thursday’s announcement, the reason became clearer.
“The NASCAR All-Star Race has always been the fans’ race and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the fans during NASCAR’s 75th anniversary than returning to North Wilkesboro Speedway,” Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith said in a statement. “We couldn’t have made this happen without tremendous support from so many people including Gov. [Roy] Cooper, our state legislature, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and of course the people of Wilkes County. We’ve got a lot of work to do but we’ve got the will to create something special alongside a community and hard-working staff that will get it done.”
NASCAR’s All-Star Race is a non-points exhibition event that was first held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1985. The race was held there every year from 1987 through 2019. Covid forced the race to be moved to Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020, and it has been held at Texas Motor Speedway in 2021 and 2022. All of those are Speedway Motorsports properties. Next year’s All-Star Race is scheduled for May 23.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregengle/2022/09/08/north-wilkesboro-speedway-comes-full-circle-with-nascar-all-star-race/