Racing will return to North Wilkesboro Speedway this year.
Called a Racetrack Revival, the effort to bring back racing to North Wilkesboro, will begin with racing in August on the pavement and then on dirt in October before the track is repaved in 2023, Speedway Motorsports announced Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The track will host a month of asphalt racing for multiple classes in August. Practice will be on Monday, followed by racing on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by practice on Thursday and racing Friday and Saturday. The October schedule on dirt for multiple classes will follow a similar schedule as August.
Classes in August will include Hornets, Super Late Models, street stocks, Pro Late Models, Limited Late Models, modifieds and Late Model stocks.
Classes in October will include Hornets, Super Late Models, street stocks, 602 crate Late Models, modifieds, 604 crate Late Models, 410 sprint cars, big block modifieds and Super Late Models.
There are no NASCAR events on the schedule. Marcus Smith, president and chief executive officer of Speedway Motorsports, reiterated Saturday that the Camping World Truck Series would be a good event for the speedway. He said the earliest he envisioned a Truck race at North Wilkesboro would be 2024.
“There’s a lot of to do,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of work that has to be done between now and then.”
A key component to the track’s renovation is money received from the state. As part of the North Carolina state budget, which was passed in November, $18 million was earmarked toward infrastructure improvements at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625-mile track, hosted NASCAR racing from 1949-96. It has sat largely idle since, other than hosting select races in 2010-11.
North Wilkesboro Speedway was a dirt track when it held its first race in 1947. It’s last dirt race was in 1956.
The track’s list of NASCAR winners include Hall of Famers Junior Johnson, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon won the track’s final Cup race in September 1996.
This is part of several moves Speedway Motorsports has made or is seeking to complete.
Speedway Motorsports continues to work with the state of Tennessee and city of Nashville to operate and renovate Fairground Speedway in hopes of bringing NASCAR back to that track.
Speedway Motorsports purchased Nashville Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway in Nov. 2021. Speedway Motorsports agreed to acquire Dover Motorsports, which owned the two tracks for $3.61 per share in cash for an approximate total equity value of $131.5 million.
The company revamped and repaved Atlanta Motor Speedway, turning the 1.5-mile track into a superspeedway race. Speedway Motorsports also has leased Circuit of the Americas for the past two years, creating a weekend for the Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. This weekend marks the second year in a row dirt has been put on Bristol Motor Speedway’s track for the its spring NASCAR weekend.
