As NASCAR fans, we’ll forever hold the candle for abandoned race tracks like Rockingham and Nashville Superspeedway, but we somehow seem to hold a bigger candle for North Wilkesboro Speedway. As race fans, this is the sort of thing that tugs at our heartstrings regarding how the track just sits there sadly, falling into disrepair. It’s a track with many years of history and a long list of winners named Petty, Waltrip, Earnhardt, and Gordon. But despite all of that, there are some truths that even the most die-hard NASCAR fans have trouble accepting.
- There will never be another Sprint Cup race there.
- There will never be a return to the glory days 20, 30 years ago.
- If the track is ever used for competition again, it won’t look anything like it did 20, 30 years ago.
- Despite our highest hopes, the likelihood is that the days of any sort of competition ever returning to North Wilkesboro are long, long gone.
So what can be done? There’s a current initiative going on centered around the speedway called Save The Speedway, which is dedicated to the preservation of the track. However, there is only so much they can do. From 2010 to 2011, racing did resume at North Wilkesboro with divisions such as the USAR ProCup, PASS Late Models, and the ASA Late Models. However, that obviously did not last.
Enter NASCAR. Not exactly the Sprint Cup Series or the XFINITY Series, or even the Camping World Truck Series. Bring the K&N Pro Series to North Wilkesboro and turn them loose. How? Why? Well, look at it this way. If places like Dominion Raceway and Evergreen Speedway can host the K&N Pro Series as bare bones race tracks, then so can North Wilkesboro.
For one, despite the Late Models and the USAR ProCup events, the turnout for both events wasn’t as big as was hoped. But people respond to NASCAR events. NASCAR is a name brand, as recognizable as Coca-Cola or Chevrolet. If NASCAR had been involved with the Late Model/ProCup events, it’s guaranteed that people that are curious about our sport would have turned up. For that matter, fans and competitors across the country would have shown up for the chance to be a part of history and/or be noticed as a competitor.
As for North Wilkesboro operating as a bare bones facility, it would be hard to see, but it could prove to be a benefit for the track. All over the facility, things are collapsing and falling apart. Why save them? What good would come out of rebuilding them at this point? Ten years ago, a case could have been made in saving as much of the facility as possible, but at this point, one of the saving graces would be to just clear up the debris, then repair the racing surface as well as the stands. Granted, North Wilkesboro had a unique and awesome Victory Lane, but at this point that’s irrelevant. Incorporate the usual NASCAR Home Tracks tradition of holding the Victory Lane on the frontstretch.
Trimming down unnecessary buildings and trash at a race track is nothing new. Charlotte tore down some stands, and Atlanta has torn down multiple buildings and bleachers. North Wilkesboro needs to trim down. Get rid of irreparable facilities. Bring in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, which is the last vestige of great, basic racing in NASCAR. Accomplish all of that, and in due time, North Wilkesboro Speedway could be saved.
