Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:
Friday, May 16
NASCAR All-Star & Open Practice (FS2, MRN, SiriusXM at 4:30 p.m. ET)
NASCAR All-Star & Open Busch Light Pole Qualifying & Pit Crew Challenge (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 6 p.m. ET)
Saturday, May 17
NCTS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (FS2 at 9:30 a.m. ET)
NCTS Race: Window World 250 (FS1, NRN, SiriusXM at 1:30 p.m. ET)
NASCAR All-Star Heat Races (FS2, MRN, SiriusXM at 5 p.m. ET)
Sunday, May 18
NASCAR Open Race (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 5 p.m. ET)
NASCAR All-Star Race (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM at 8 p.m. ET)
Historical & Significant Events at North Wilkesboro Speedway:
· North Wilkesboro Speedway opened as a dirt track in 1947 by founders Enoch Staley, Lawson Curry, Jacob Combs, and Charlie Combs, with Bill France assisting with promotion.
· After running low on funds to build the track, their original plans were modified, resulting in an imperfect oval with a downhill front stretch and an uphill back stretch.
· The first event, a modified race promoted by Bill France, was expected to only draw around 3,000 people, but over 10,000 fans showed up to see Fonty Flock win over brother Bob Flock.
· The track hosted the final race of the 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock Series (now the Cup series). The 1949 Wilkes 200, the first NASCAR race with an established name, was won by Bob Flock over Lee Petty, while Red Byron won the 1949 championship. Bill Blair would lead 180 of 200 laps, but an engine issue took him out of the race.
· From 1951 to 1996, the track hosted two races per year (except for 1956, as the track was busy with converting the track to pavement).
· Richard Petty has the most Cup series wins at the track with 15, while Darrell Waltrip is second with 10 (including five in a row between 10/81-10/83). Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough are tied for third with five each.
· In 1990, Days of Thunder, starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Robert Duvall, is about a young and talented stock car driver who gets the opportunity to compete at the highest level. This early ’90s NASCAR film was filmed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway.
· After Enoch Staley passed away in 1995, Bruton Smith purchased the Comb’s family 50% stake in the track, but the Staley family refused to sell their share, as Enoch Staley has warned his family of the risk of the track’s future if the Smith family were to take control.
· However, under a year later, under financial pressure, the Staley family sold their 50% share to Bob Bahre, owner of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Smith and Bahre later announced their intention to replace NWB’s races with events on their own tracks, spelling the end of the speedway’s involvement with the NASCAR Cup Series that had been a part of the show since the very beginning.
· Jeff Gordon won the final Cup race at the track on September 29, 1996, with many spectators staying in the stands long after the race was over. The spring date moved to Texas, while the fall date moved to New Hampshire.
· The NASCAR Truck Series made two appearances at the track between 1995 and 1996. Mike Bliss won the first race at the track in a 94-mile event, while Mark Martin won the second and final race in a 156-mile event. Both winners raced in Ford trucks.
· The Xfinity Series had four events at North Wilkesboro between 1983 and 1985, including two in 1983. Sam Ard won two events, while the other races were won by Tommy Ellis and Jack Ingram.
· Junior Johnson attempted to purchase the track in 2003-2004, but ownership disputes and the cost to bring the track up to modern standards caused the deal to fall through
· Save the Speedway was founded in 2005 to help bring racing back to North Wilkesboro. The group has been instrumental in keeping the track in the public’s interest, including helping dedicate a North Carolina historical plaque in 2008. They have also spearheaded numerous attempts to bring new investors to the track.
· In 2007, SMI bought Bob Bahre’s share of North Wilkesboro Speedway as part of the deal to buy New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
· Racing returned to the track between 2010 and 2011 in a partnership with Save the Speedway and Speedway Associates. Chase Elliott won the inaugural race back, a PASS late model race, on September 4, 2010, and the track would host more races for the next few months.
· Save The Speedway and Speedway Associates parted ways in April 2011, bringing activity at the track back to a halt once again.
· In 2017, North Wilkesboro Speedway was used as the inspiration for the Thomasville Speedway track featured in the animated Pixar film ‘Cars 3’. It was also featured on BBC’s Top Gear and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel.
· In 2019, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spearheaded a cleaning effort at the track, removing weeds and debris, in order to get North Wilkesboro laser-scanned into iRacing. The track was released on iRacing in May 2020 and was used during the COVID-era eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The project, which included a YouTube documentary on cleaning the track that garnered 436k views as of 5/14/23, brought interest in a track revival to an all-time high.
· In 2021, NC Governor Roy Cooper included $40 million in his 2021-2022 state budget to help fund Charlotte Motor Speedway, Rockingham Speedway, and North Wilkesboro Speedway. The new injection of money finally made it possible to re-open the speedway to racing.
· From August to October 2022, the track hosted the Racetrack Revival series of races, inviting multiple series to hold races at the track before it would be repaved in early 2023. Ryan Newman won the first race back, the Uncatchable Moonshine 50 for Tour Type Modifieds.
· The CARS Tour hosted a sold-out event on August 31, 2022, with Dale Jr. in the field. Carson Kvapil won the race.
· On September 8, 2022, NASCAR announced that the 2023 All-Star Race would come to North Wilkesboro in 2023 supported by the Truck Series, ending the 26-year wait for NASCAR at the historical track.
· The track was repaved for the 2024 season.