NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Racing is coming back to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. Today Speedway Motorsports announced that in August and October the historic venue will host racing on the .625-mile paved track.
XR Events will hold a multi-week grassroots racing event on the current asphalt track at the Speedway in August.
After that event, the repaving process will begin as the existing asphalt will be removed from the Speedway.
That time will not be idly used as another multi-week grassroots racing event will take place in October, except this time drivers will be racing their cars on the dirt track.
The dirt is still the original dirt that racers first used from 1947-to-1956 until the track was paved for the first time.
The facility will be much the same as it is today, cleaned up but not refurbished; safe and ready to host a crowd, but old in spirit and character. It will look like the old North Wilkesboro Speedway that people remember from years ago, hosting two months of racing before being rebuilt into a modern, but classical, 21st-century facility.
"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 to be done before a grand re-opening in the future," said Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith.
North Wilkesboro Speedway hosted NASCAR races and events with regularity for nearly 50 years before closing down originally in 1996.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon won the last NASCAR event held at the Speedway, the 1996 Tyson Holly Farms 400.
The track would briefly reopen in 2010 to host a series of stock car races before shutting down again in 2011
“What we're trying to capture as Steve said is some of the essence of the Speedway. The DNA of the Speedway that's there now is what's been there for 75 years and I think this is a great opportunity for race fans to be able to experience that again, coming up in August and October,” said Smith.
The August racing will be on the asphalt with events scheduled almost every day of the week with classes listed as Hornets, Super Late Models, Late Models and Open Wheel Modifieds.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for competitors and short track race fans to experience North Wilkesboro Speedway one more time on the old asphalt and then on dirt as it first began,” said XR Events CEO Barry Braun.
“We have a lot of work to do with sanctioning bodies and competitors to get ready for August, but we’re committed to producing an event that both fans and racers will remember for a lifetime,” Braun added.
In October the racing will be on dirt, as the pavement will be taken up and the track will be dirt again for the first time in 66 years. Classes for the dirt racing will include late models, dirt modifieds and sprint cars.
“When you look at August and October and you've got a full month of racing, there are lots of dates in the calendar. We anticipate that there'll be some professional drivers that will come in from the bigger series, like Cup, Xfinity and truck. And like I said, I wouldn't be surprised to see them come in from around the world,” Smith said.
After this fall’s racing events Speedway Motorsports will embark on a plan to rebuild the 75-year-old facility using the $18 million American Rescue Plan money that was announced last year. It is anticipated that racing would then resume at North Wilkesboro in 2024.
"You know, for me, I just thought what an awesome opportunity this is to revive this historical landmark and such a jewel in Western North Carolina,” Smith said.
Smith says North Wilkesboro will be the perfect track to bring the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to but at this point that is only hopeful thinking. NASCAR hasn’t announced any scheduling far enough out that could include North Wilkesboro on a 2024 schedule.
“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,” Smith concluded.
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