April 7, 2023 | By Lee Spencer

North Wilkesboro is a labor of love for Marcus Smith and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

CHARLOTTE—Dale Earnhardt Jr., was beaming with anticipation for the upcoming NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

After wishing for a return to the previously kudzu-covered facility, then working and rehabbing to make the vision become a reality, Earnhardt and Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith helped introduce the All-Star format on Thursday.

The two race fans/businessmen insisted on back-to-basics procedures—particularly with the two-stage feature—to embrace the purity of the experience at the resurrected .625-mile track.

‘Wilkesboro should be the focus,” Earnhardt said. “The All-Star Race is the track--obviously, outside of the incredible, elite stars that we have in our sport and the best stock car racers in the World. That’s who these guys really are. 

“Outside of that, you’re going to have an incredible venue that people have been wanting to go back to for decades.”

The 200-lap All-Star Race will be the culmination of a week’s worth of entertainment and five racing series—ASA, CARS (Pro Late Models & Tour LMSC), CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Cup. Earnhardt will compete in the CARS event on Wednesday, May 17.

On May 19, lineups for the Cup heats and Open will be determined based on the Pit Crew Challenge—a popular program that disappeared a decade ago due to a lack of sponsorship. Two 60-lap heat races will follow Saturday’s truck race. 

Sunday will feature the 100-lap Open with a “competition break” around Lap 40. The top two race finishers along with the Fan Vote winner will advance to the feature. Currently, 22 drivers are eligible for the All-Star Race which includes any full-time driver who is a previous winner of the event or a driver who has won in the last two seasons.

Teams will have just four sets of tires for a track that hasn’t been repaved since 1984. The 125-mile All-Star Race will have a competition break around Lap 100. Any additional caution will be organic. Earnhardt believes that’s what fans deserve at the iconic venue.

“When we throw the green flag, we should just give them 100 straight laps of green-flag racing,” Earnhardt said. “If there’s a natural yellow in there, then fine. Let’s take all the gimmicks out. Let’s just see these cars got around the race track. Let’s just watch these drivers struggle with the grip and the challenge of that surface. Let’s watch and see who is trying to save some tire and who is trying to take advantage of getting some track position early. 

“Let the race sort of play out in a traditional short track-style event—a couple hundred laps, a few sets of tires and you just have to do your best. It should be a good car, from a good program that people are happy with when it’s all said and done.”

Smith has invested his time and money into this passion project. While Speedway Motorsports has executed a remarkable cleanup of the property, Smith insisted on maintaining the tradition of North Wilkesboro and the format.

“We wanted it to be simple,” Smith said. “We wanted the Speedway to be the star factor of this event. If you were there this past summer and you saw the way that the fans interacted with the racetrack—from the time they could see the old building and the old signs and just the way everything worked together. 

“The fans are woven into the fabric of this racetrack and the drivers appreciate that. And so that it's all going to work together. We didn't want the format to be the story. We wanted the race to be the story and the race track, and it's going to really provide a great platform for the NASCAR All-Star race.” 

Smith takes tremendous pride in witnessing Earnhardt’s reaction to the transformation of North Wilkesboro.

“Oh, I love it. I love it,” Smith said. “I made him the Chairman of the Board of North Wilkesboro Speedway because he can't do all this work without being an official employee. He's amazing. He's really done a lot to make this project special and make it happen. And I know without him, without his support, I don't think we would be talking about today.”