January 21, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Racing at North Wilkesboro could be closer than you think

The motto on the website says it all: WILKESBORO HAD GOOD TIMES, BUT THE BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD…

If Speedway Motorsports president and CEO Marcus Smith has anything to say about the iconic track’s revival, that optimistic statement could become reality--and relatively soon.

When Smith addressed the Wilkes County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, he revealed a course of action for the 0.625-mile oval. Through an $18 million infrastructure fund appropriated through the North Carolina State budget in November, Smith plans to resurrect North Wilkesboro Speedway and expand its entertainment potential.

“The future of North Wilkesboro Speedway is bright,” Smith told the crowd gathered for the Chamber’s 75th Membership Celebration. “There is a great opportunity to revive this fantastic venue to be, not just a race track, but a place that can host lots of events, a place that people will come to from far away and enjoy the community, enjoy the region and enjoy special events.”

In 1947, North Wilkesboro Speedway debuted as a dirt track through a collaborative effort between Enoch Staley, Lawson Curry, Jack Combs and Charlie Combs. Bill France Sr. promoted the first event there —a modified race. 

O. Bruton Smith, Marcus’ father, purchased half of the speedway shares in June of 1995 from the Combs family. Although he attempted to purchase Staley’s shares, the family declined Smith’s offer and later sold their portion to New Hampshire Motor Speedway owner Bob Bahre the following year. North Wilkesboro would host its final Cup races in 1996 prior to Smith and Bahre moving the race dates to their respective tracks--Texas and New Hampshire--in 1997. A decade later, SMI bought out Bahre as part of the company’s purchase of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 

Although multiple attempts had been made to purchase and revitalize the facility, with the exception of a few late model contests between 2010 and 2011, the track has been relatively dormant until local groups began cleaning the grounds several months ago.

But Marcus Smith is looking at a complete overhaul while maintaining the historic integrity of the venue.

“Water, sewer, electricity, roads, connectivity – those are a lot of the building blocks that we need to get done,” he said. “We want to keep the character of the property, celebrate the history, but, of course, make it safe, convenient and enjoyable for everyone who comes to visit.

“In the car world, I would call it a resto-mod. It’s going to look old, but it’s going to work new. When you think about nostalgic opportunities, this is one of those one-in-a-million opportunities.

“Our hope is to celebrate the history and look forward to the future. North Wilkesboro Speedway is an amazing, historic place for NASCAR. It’s almost like Fenway Park is to baseball. I think, with this money from the state and the American Rescue Plan, we can make some dreams a reality at North Wilkesboro Speedway.”

Terri Parsons, the widow of NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Benny Parsons, has been a staunch proponent for reviving the track.

“This means everything to anybody that lives in Wilkes County,” Parsons said. “By the speedway coming back, this has just turned a lightbulb on in this whole community again. You can see by the attendance tonight, everybody in the town, everybody in the county supports it and wants to see something come alive out there.”

From 1949 to 1996, North Wilkesboro hosted 93 Cup, four Xfinity Series and two Camping World Truck contests. Smith believes hosting a truck race at the venue would be a great place to launch a NASCAR return.

“We specifically—and I’ll thank Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Camping World for his voice of support--we specifically think it’s a real possibility to bring back NASCAR and the Camping World Truck Series to North Wilkesboro Speedway,” he said. “Those races are nationally televised events, and it’s a national NASCAR touring series. We have a number of those (races) in our portfolio, and I would love to see one of those here.

“Bringing back races, bringing back special events, bringing back tourism, creating a very special place where the community can gather, it’s exciting,” he said. “When you think about nostalgic opportunities, this is one of those one-in-a-million opportunities.

“I think there’s a bright future ahead for North Wilkesboro Speedway. It wouldn’t happen without the amazing community support that’s in this room as well as the people who have been out at the speedway to help us bring the speedway back. Anybody might have said this place is too far gone, but this community rallied and brought it to a place where we can rebuild it and it can be a fantastic jewel.”