North Wilkesboro Speedway is back.
The historic NASCAR race track that many called to be renovated and restored will once again host racing events starting in just months at the track later in 2022.
North Wilkesboro is set to host both asphalt racing in August and then dirt racing in October, in partnership with Race XR.
Following a month of asphalt racing in August – which will consist of multiple races each week – the current asphalt will be removed from the race track.
The group will then construct a dirt track partially using the original dirt that is underneath the surface. They will then host a month of dirt racing for the month of October, before a fresh re-pave of the pavement surface to be used in 2023 and beyond.
North Wilkesboro Speedway hosted 93 NASCAR Cup Series races with the first being in 1949. It had not hosted a Cup Series race since Jeff Gordon captured a win there in 1996.
There has not yet been a solidified confirmation on what series will be racing on the track, however the schedule is set out in terms of what cars are running.
“We are going to have a lot of discussions with sanctioning bodies and of course local tracks,” SMI’s Marcus Smith said.
Although, the website advertised for competitors (NorthWilkesboro.com) lists super late models racing on the dirt twice in the month on Oct. 7-8 and Oct. 27-29. It also lists 410 sprint cars on the site on a weekend where the World of Outlaws have not announced where the series would be racing.
According to the competitor registration page at https://t.co/57tyOjEO0w, "410 Sprint Cars" are listed to be running Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 20-22.
The @WorldofOutlaws posted a schedule graphic that lists the weekend as TBD for the series. pic.twitter.com/giUPvBBFEt
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) April 16, 2022
SMI is focused on preserving the track and holding on to the history of the venue that sits at North Wilkesboro and said part of their focus includes a potential NASCAR Truck Series race at the track.
“I think it would be a great place for the NASCAR Truck Series to go,” Smith said.
ARD will have more updates on this story as they become available.
