North Wilkesboro Speedway will hold a NASCAR-sanctioned race for the first time in over 25 years when the All-Star Race comes to town next season.
Speedway Motorsports, including President and CEO Marcus Smith, made the move official Thursday morning at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. Smith, alongside NASCAR chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, announced the $1 million race weekend would be May 19-21.
“The NASCAR All-Star Race has always been the fans’ race, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the fans during NASCAR’s 75th anniversary than returning to North Wilkesboro Speedway,” said Smith. “We couldn’t have made this happen without tremendous support from so many people, including Governor Cooper, our state legislature, NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and of course, the people of Wilkes County.
The original plans were for the track to host asphalt races in August and then the surface to be torn up for dirt races in October before undergoing a repaving in 2023. A repave has now been pushed off.
“Some of my best memories as a little boy were going to North Wilkesboro,” said Earnhardt, who ran a late model at the track last week. “And it got even better when I raced there as a teenager. I never thought I’d see that place full again, and then I got to race there this summer in a late model before a full house. There’s just something special about it. I know the track, the fans, and the community will put on a show when we’re back with the Cup cars for the All-Star Race.”
