Steve Waid: Tradition-rich North Wilkesboro will come alive again
This is a 2006 photo of North Wilkesboro Speedway. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
Fans who fondly remember NASCAR racing at North Wilkesboro Speedway got some welcome news recently.
On Oct. 3, 2010, the cars of the USA Racing Pro Cup Championship Series will race on the 0.625-mile track in North Carolina. It will be the first event at North Wilkesboro since its last NASCAR Cup race in the fall of 1996.
“We’re very excited racing is returning to North Wilkesboro. We’ll definitely be there at the race,” said Steven Wilson, public relations
director for Save The Speedway Motorsports Inc., a grassroots movement formed in 2005 and dedicated to reopening the track.
Speedway Associates, which is leasing the speedway from owner Speedway Motorsports Inc., landed the USAR Pro Cup race, fulfilling the dreams of many longtime fans who remember the speedway’s NASCAR pedigree.
In the 13 years since North Wilkesboro hosted its last Cup race, there have been numerous pleas for some type of competition – Camping World Trucks, Nationwide Series, anything – to return.
One reason is simple: The loss of NASCAR was a big blow to the Wilkes County economy.
Another was that even though the track was unsuitable for Cup competition, it was still ideal for other series that could survive nicely
with lower attendance. Many of them, including Trucks, Nationwide and Modifieds, had indeed raced there.
But nothing happened.
Slowly, but surely, North Wilkesboro began to show all the signs of neglect.
Some of today’s fans who have never seen a race at North Wilkesboro may well wonder why the old track commands such passionate loyalty.
The answer is simple: North Wilkesboro is rich in racing tradition.
The track came into existence at about the same time NASCAR did. It was built in the heart of North Carolina’s moonshine country. Wilkes County was littered with stills. And there were plenty of leadfooted daredevils in souped-up cars to haul the goods.
Many moonshine haulers used to race among themselves in open fields or down country roads. When they learned a track was being built nearby, they couldn’t wait to get there.
North Wilkesboro held its first NASCAR Cup race in 1949. It was won by Bob Flock, one of the Flock brothers who delivered plenty of illegal whiskey along Georgia’s “Thunder Road” that ran from Dawsonville to Atlanta. Another hauler, a young Junior Johnson, was called away from plowing to compete in his first career race at North Wilkesboro.
For years the only real change at the track was its conversion from dirt to asphalt. The wooden fences, concrete seats, dirt-floor restrooms and grassy hills that served as parking areas remained constant.
The track didn’t have to spend much on publicity and marketing because it wasn’t needed. Folks knew when the races would be held. They would go to church, then head for the speedway, where they could walk up and buy a ticket.
They would show up with their lunches – fried chicken was a favorite, judging by the mounds of bones left in the grandstands after a
race – and they were fiercely loyal to their favorite drivers and cars.
Sometimes loyalties would clash and a few “good ol’ boys” would get into a scrap.
Richard Petty recalled seeing one fight break out during a race, just past the start/finish line.
Two guys got another on the ground, Petty recalled, and the one fan shoved the other fan’s body under the chicken-wire fence. His head dangled over the track.
As Petty roared down the front straightaway, the guy’s head was pulled back at the last moment. This went on for several laps.
Johnson remembered the time a couple of fans got into a tussle on the dirt floor in the infield men’s room.
They rolled around in the dirt. You can imagine the odor.
A deputy arrested them and put them in the back seat of his squad car. For obvious reasons, he drove away with the windows rolled down.
Despite its tradition, North Wilkesboro began to lose touch with the times. As NASCAR’s popularity soared, speedways began to add seats and amenities in an effort to keep up with the demand. Some of them had complete makeovers.
North Wilkesboro tried to keep up by building towering new grandstands and handsome VIP suites. But in the end, it was an outdated,
small track in a small market.
As far as NASCAR is concerned, it still is.
But we now know racing at North Wilkesboro will return.
That will restore some welcome life to the old place.
