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North Wilkesboro Speedway
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North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996.
The track is located on U.S. Route 421 about four miles east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. It measures 5/8ths of a mile . A unique feature was the uphill backstretch and the downhill frontstretch.
Citing North Wilkesboro Speedway's age and lack of modern amenities, Bob Bahre and Bruton Smith purchased the track in 1996, and its two Sprint Cup Series events were transferred to New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, respectively.
Since the sale to Bahre and Smith, there have been attempts and gestures to buy the track and re-open it by, among others, local native Junior Johnson.
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Encyclopedia
North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short track that held races in NASCAR's top three series from NASCAR's inception in 1949 until its closure in 1996.
The track is located on U.S. Route 421 about four miles east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. It measures 5/8ths of a mile . A unique feature was the uphill backstretch and the downhill frontstretch.
Citing North Wilkesboro Speedway's age and lack of modern amenities, Bob Bahre and Bruton Smith purchased the track in 1996, and its two Sprint Cup Series events were transferred to New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, respectively.
Since the sale to Bahre and Smith, there have been attempts and gestures to buy the track and re-open it by, among others, local native Junior Johnson. However, no deals have yet materialized. The last race was held there in September 1996.
On November 8, 2007, Bahre sold his share of North Wilkesboro Speedway to Smith as part of Smith's deal to buy Bahre's New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
History
North Wilkesboro Speedway opened its doors on May 18, 1947 to a crowd in excess of 10,000 people who showed up to see one of the famous Flock brothers win the race.
On October 16, 1949 North Wilkesboro Speedway held the 8th and final race of the 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock Division. At the end of the day Robert "Red" Byron walked away as the first NASCAR champion.
The speedway held races for 50 years until September 29, 1996 when Jeff Gordon won the last race to be held at the speedway. Several attempts to reopen the speedway have been unsuccessful, although there are several groups and individuals who are working to reopen the historic speedway one day.
The Birth of a Speedway
Recent research by Suzanne Wise, director of the Stock Car Racing Collection at Appalachian State University’s Belk Library, has examined the early history of the North Wilkesboro Speedway. She states, “In 1945, Wilkes County resident Enoch Staley attended stock car races presented by William Henry Getty France, Sr. known as Big Bill, one of the top race promoters in the Southeast. Staley was excited by the sport and decided to build a track in his native Wilkes County, North Carolina. France promised to promote the races and help run them for part of the proceeds.” Staley, with partners Lawson Curry and Jack and Charlie Combs, purchased farmland near North Wilkesboro and began excavating and construction an oval racetrack. However, the group’s initial investment of $1,500 ran out, causing the .625-mile (1 kilometer) track to be shorter and more undulating than planned. The track was not a perfect, symmetrical oval and took on a very distinctive shape as the front stretch sloped downhill while the backstretch sloped uphill.
Upon completion of the speedway in 1946, one news reporter suggested, “North Wilkesboro Speedway is the racing Mecca for Northwestern North Carolina. The five-eights-mile oval is nationally recognized as one of the fastest dirt tracks in automobile racing. Robert Glenn “Junior” Johnson, a local racing legend, stated that the first race ran at the speedway was an unscheduled, unofficial race organized by local bootleggers.
Memorable moments
- The Wilkes 400 in 1972 featured Bobby Allison against Richard Petty in a 39 lap slugfest. The lead changed thirteen times. In the final five laps, Petty was held up by a slower car. Both drivers plowed into the fences, guardrails, and each other. Both continued at full speed. Allison led with one lap to go, but Petty passed him for the win.
- Bobby Allison came back for the win in the 1973 Wilkes 400 by passing Richard Petty on the final lap.
- In the late 1970s, Cale Yarborough dominated the track. Cale blew a tire and made up three laps in the fall 1978 race to win easily.
- In 1979 Bobby Allison led most of the race. In the final 150 laps, Darrell Waltrip caught Allison. The two hit together hard and Darrell nailed the front stretch wall. Waltrip began crowding off Allison under the caution and got black flagged for the crowding. Wilkes County native Benny Parsons won the race, it would be Benny Parsons only win at the speedway.
- In the fall 1988 race, Dale Earnhardt led nearly half the race until Ricky Rudd caught him. The drivers banged fenders for the final 41 laps. They were both black flagged to the rear of the field and pounded together again with five to go. Rusty Wallace passed Geoff Bodine with ten laps left. Bodine struck Wallace's car at the start of the final lap. Wallace pushed Bodine sideways, and Wallace crossed the finish line for the win.
- In the Fall 1989 race, Dale Earnhardt led 343 laps, but a caution set up a two lap showdown with Ricky Rudd. Rudd went side-by-side with Earnhardt. The two spun, and Geoff Bodine passed the two for the win. After the race Earnhardt was asked about the incident between him and Rudd, to which Earnhardt said "I think they ought to fine that Son Of A Bitch, and make him sit the rest of the season." Many racing experts feel that this may have been what cost Earnhardt the Championship, which he lost to Wallace by 12 points.
- Brett Bodine led most of the spring 1990 race. During a caution the pace car picked up the wrong leader, which gave Bodine a lap lead. Bodine put on a set of tires before the error was corrected. He held off Darrell Waltrip for his only career Winston Cup win.
- As exciting as most races were in North Wilkesboro, the Fall 1994 race was not. Geoff Bodine lapped the field on his way to the checkered flag. The only challenge Bodine received all day was when Rusty Wallace tried to get his lap back on a restart. Wallace pulled a nose out front but after a little bit of beating and banging, Bodine beat Wallace back to the caution after Dale Jarrett spun and hit the wall. Only 3 other drivers even finished within two laps of the leader that day. The race was the last race ever to finish with the leader lapping the field.
- April 14, 1996(Final Spring Race) Terry Labonte added to the luster of his racing longevity winning the First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in which he tied Richard Petty's NASCAR Winston Cup Series record for consecutive starts -- 513.
- In 1991 Harry Gant looked like he was going to win his fifth straight win in the Cup series until his brakes faded late in the race. Dale Earnhardt went on to win.
Since the closure
Car owner Jack Roush of Roush Fenway Racing held round one of "Roush's Race For The Ride" at North Wilkesboro Speedway, a competition to find the next Roush Racing development driver.
After Bob Bahre and Bruton Smith purchased the track and moved its two dates to other locations, the track saw little racing. Both owners showed little interest in selling the track until 2005.
Save The Speedway
STS Motorsports, Inc., a group founded in 2005 by Rob Marsden, has been trying to bring racing back to the track. The group first began a petition and caught the attention of the current owners. Bruton and Bahre eventually agreed to sell the track for $12 million. The track, which has been valued by county tax assessors at $4.83 million, was not sold.
The Save The Speedway group spent fall and winter of 2005 attempting to find a buyer or buyers of the track as well as proof that there was still interest in racing at the facility. Over a dozen touring series had expressed written letters of intent about holding events upon reopening, as well as three driving schools, and several NASCAR teams showed interest in using the facility for testing.
In 2006 the Save The Speedway group worked with a developer from New York in an attempt to get investors but parted ways, when neither party could come to an agreement.
As of 2007, the group had not yet found investors to purchase the track.
The group worked with the state of North Carolina and erected a NC Highway Historical Marker off Highway 421 to recognize the achievements and contributions of the racing there.
Speedway for public sale
In January 2007 during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Media Tour, Bruton Smith announced that he and co-owner Bob Bahre had agreed to let a real estate company attempt to sell the track for the asking price of $12 million. On September 28, 2007 Worth Mitchell, a land developer, announced plans to purchase the speedway. However Worth Mitchell estimates his odds are 50-50 of pulling off the deal and since that time there has been no further information. Speedway Motorsports officials had no comment on the negotiations.
Highway Historical Marker
Save The Speedway applied for a highway historical marker that was approved at the May meeting of the NC Highway Historical Marker Advisory Committee. Placement of the marker occurred May 24, 2008. The plaque reads:
NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY
Pioneer NASCAR dirt track. Built 1946; paved in 1958. Hosted sanctioned events, 1949-96. 5/8 mile oval 3 mi. W.
Statistics
- Richard Petty's fifteen wins were the most in the history of the track.
- The last time a winning driver totally lapped the field on the way to the win was Oct 1994 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, NC when Geoffrey Bodine won, completing 400 laps while 2nd place was Terry Labonte who completed 399.
- The youngest driver to ever start a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at age 17 was Bobby Hillin Jr. who made his start on April 18, 1982 at the Northwestern Bank 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway
- North Wilkesboro Speedway was the only oval track in which during the race the cars both increased and decreased in elevation. Coming from turn four heading into turn one the cars would head downhill, coming out of turn two heading into three the cars would head uphill.
- Cale Yarborough is the only Cup driver to date to ever win a points paying race on his birthday, on March 27, 1977 at North Wilkesboro Speedway
External links
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