I was at the last two races at this track!! I so miss this little track! It was always sold out, and had that family feel like bein at the drive in..If I ever hit the lotto big time, I will buy it and bring NASCAR back where it belongs
I've never been to NC but does it ever look like Nascar just belongs in those green rolling hills instead of going to places like Kansas twice per year.
Thanks for posting your video. I was by the track the Friday before you and took several pictures from outside the fence. Other than a few buildings, the place looks like it is pretty well kept.
Field getting smaller, stands can't get filled! No better time for NASCAR to come home to its roots and bring back these speedways our heroes drove on. Create some new memories at these historical tracks.
I remember North Wilkesboro Speedway. I remember watching the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro in 1996. They should bring back this old track...at least for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or the NASCAR K&N Series to sanction a race at this legendary track. The legacy of North Wilkesboro should live on.
Just stopped by the old speedway on Jan. 15, 2018. What a great little speedway going to waste. You could feel the history in the air. Buildings falling in, storm damage, old paint, just a few of the things that it so sad. If you get the chance knock on the door of the home close by. Paul Call, the caretaker is an interesting man to talk to, has been there for 50 years. They will never bring tracks like this back but never should have parted ways with them.
Yeah I Know Paul. I use to live next to the track. One of my best friends grandfather was one of the owners and I rented a place to live from him. Great man. Waste that the track has come to this.
NASCAR reminds me now of a toy I used to play with as a kid; this video is like pulling it out of the closet to look at the way we used to be, before change took it away.
Those particular stands weren't that old when Bruton Smith shut the track down and might I add the skybox on the backstretch looks superb compared to the old ones on the frontstretch. If they were to do a relaunch and reopen those stands are easily savable!
@@KK-ex5zu Just looked at this. They seem to be build after 93 compared to the others. But when the track was open in 2010-11 all stands seem to have been open even though some of those are now starting to fall down.
RUSTY m . Bruton bought out one of the North Wilkesboro owners for Texas (my landlord at that time) and Bob Bear bought the other one out for New Hampshire. Bruton later bought all of Bob’s racing empire out and ended up with it all. So now North Wilkesboro sits and ruins and Bruton won’t sell for less than $12 million. The county raised the taxes to try to force Bruton to sell but that didn’t work.
They tried having like late models races there a few years ago but the guy that was leasing it was pocketing the sponsors money and the other backers found out and closed it down. He had taken so much of the money that they couldn't pay the lease.
Bub ba Benny's wife was in the group of people who leased the track from Smith but left the group shorty after the deal was made. There was some lawsuits over the lease but I'm not sure what happened with all of that. There's a lot more to why the track sold than most people think. I'll try and explain it as short as I can. It was all political. The track was owned by two families. I have close ties to one of them and some kin to the other. For most of the life of the track no one made very much money. Then in the mid 80's and 90's NASCAR really started booming. North Wilkesboro was selling out and adding seats this is when the problem started. The track had no city sewer or water. By law they could only build so many seats for so many restrooms. The track ask North Wilkesboro to run sewer lines to the track. North Wilkesboro said no. Now Wilkes county is a tell of two cities. Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro. One has always been controlled by one political party and the other controlled by the other party. At that time North Wilkesboro had lots of major industry along with Lowes head quarters and their main distribution center. ( now most are gone including Lowes). The problem was almost all of the hotels, restaurants and major retailers were in Wilkesboro. Everything the race fans would spend money at. So North Wilkesboro didn't see why they should spend money supplying sewer service to the track. It also didn't help that one of the owners of the track was a county commissioner who belonged to the other political party. With the popularity of NASCAR booming and the fact that the track couldn't add seats the owners knew it was just a matter of time before NASCAR would take away their dates. They simply couldn't put enough people in the stands. Bob Bare and Smith knew this too so they knew the time to buy was right so offers was made. Here's 2 families who came up poor and this was there only chance to make some money or face the real possibility of having nothing. If the town on North Wilkesboro had supplied sewer the history of the track may be a lot different today.
Cooper Oaks NASCAR says they are going to do away with some of the mile and a half track in 2021. Just maybe if that happens they may return to NW. The Smiths still own it so if they lose a race at one of their other tracks hopefully they will come back here. Dale Jr is working to get NW scanned and put in the I- racing video game. A lot of NASCAR people including JR are going to come to NW soon and get all of the weeds and grass out of the cracks in the surface so it can be scanned.
It looks like it did in 1996. They would have to spend so much money to make sure it was safe to use, especially by fans, that the cost would outstrip what they would get out of it. I actually liked the races there better than Martinsville, but it was time to say goodbye. I'm surprised the property hasn't been sold off.
Eric Duncan i have seen one video where someone went to infield he had to crawl under a fence which is obvioysly trespassing but their arent any signs saying not to ;)
I don't really understand why we aren't allowed to go onto the track when it's abandoned. It's not like they need it for anything why can't we drive on it.. That's what I want to do.
inthere2it Liability reasons. Plus if people started a trend of trespassing some city/county/state official feeling their oats may try to condemn it just take it over and completely demolish it "for the good of progress"🙄
Those stands don't look half bad why hasn't the state bought the track and then gift it to nascar to do what ever they want with it would bring more money to NC anyway
The state doesn't want to make this owner mad. He has a lot of pull in NC. They have battled before and they always give in to him. He owns a lot of business in NC
CoolTechStuff. Yes. He owns those plus Charlotte, Atlanta, Dallas, Bristol and the Road course in CA. He also has a drag strip and a dirt track in NC. Has a crap load of car dealerships too. NC mad him mad a few years and he threaten to move Charlotte track to S.C. and NC gave in too him.
Actually the track is probably coming back. The state is giving $20 million to help get it back in shape and for infrastructure like sewer and and exit off of 421 right to the track and Marcus Smith has said he has a plan. Just waiting on final approval on the state money and then I think an announcement will be made. I live close to the track and local fire departments have been working their on weekends cleaning up the trees and brush around and inside the track. Companies have donated equipment to the track and lots of activity is going on. The rumors is it will be restored back the way it was. All the buildings will be rebuilt to look as it was when it closed. Camping world will donate $1 million for repairs and build a store next to the track so I’d say at least it will host a truck series race.
I was at the last two races at this track!! I so miss this little track! It was always sold out, and had that family feel like bein at the drive in..If I ever hit the lotto big time, I will buy it and bring NASCAR back where it belongs
They need to bring Nascar back where it belongs in wilkes by God county
I've never been to NC but does it ever look like Nascar just belongs in those green rolling hills instead of going to places like Kansas twice per year.
went to North Wilkesboro for 2 races awesome weekend. miss those days
Thanks for posting your video. I was by the track the Friday before you and took several pictures from outside the fence. Other than a few buildings, the place looks like it is pretty well kept.
ARCA needs to run here K & N as well
Field getting smaller, stands can't get filled! No better time for NASCAR to come home to its roots and bring back these speedways our heroes drove on. Create some new memories at these historical tracks.
Thankx for sharing! Cup should be racing here, but they're blowing it. Surprised NOBODY is racing here in some capacity.
Thanks for sending me the link! I was the one that stopped for photographs when you made this video.
Any time. Hope you fine it interesting
Thanks for sharing,first race I evere saw there in early 90,s.
I remember North Wilkesboro Speedway. I remember watching the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro in 1996. They should bring back this old track...at least for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or the NASCAR K&N Series to sanction a race at this legendary track. The legacy of North Wilkesboro should live on.
Just stopped by the old speedway on Jan. 15, 2018. What a great little speedway going to waste. You could feel the history in the air. Buildings falling in, storm damage, old paint, just a few of the things that it so sad. If you get the chance knock on the door of the home close by. Paul Call, the caretaker is an interesting man to talk to, has been there for 50 years. They will never bring tracks like this back but never should have parted ways with them.
Yeah I Know Paul. I use to live next to the track. One of my best friends grandfather was one of the owners and I rented a place to live from him. Great man. Waste that the track has come to this.
Sorry Paul didn't come through for you. He was great to us. He even told us where to score some moon shine. Got to love him just for that, lol.
NASCAR reminds me now of a toy I used to play with as a kid; this video is like pulling it out of the closet to look at the way we used to be, before change took it away.
sometimes tracks/races like these are more fun then the big dogs,more of a personal level,true!!! hometown racing
So who's keeping the grass cut and why?
Smith has a retired guy keeping the grass mowed. Not sure why other than keeping neighbors happy
those backstrech stands look pristene
Those particular stands weren't that old when Bruton Smith shut the track down and might I add the skybox on the backstretch looks superb compared to the old ones on the frontstretch. If they were to do a relaunch and reopen those stands are easily savable!
@@KK-ex5zu Just looked at this. They seem to be build after 93 compared to the others. But when the track was open in 2010-11 all stands seem to have been open even though some of those are now starting to fall down.
It's a crying shame that they let this track get this bad. They need to restore it and bring it back. Nice video footage
Can you actually go in there??? Like with a car without getting in trouble?
Tucker Morrow
You can ride up to the gate and walk up to the track. Only a couple hundred feet at the back gate. Front gate you can't see anything
Eric Duncan theirs got to be a way in. Can you hope a fence or something?
Didn’t Bruton Smith buy the track for the sole purpose of shutting it down so that he could get a second race date at Loudon?
RUSTY m . Bruton bought out one of the North Wilkesboro owners for Texas (my landlord at that time) and Bob Bear bought the other one out for New Hampshire. Bruton later bought all of Bob’s racing empire out and ended up with it all. So now North Wilkesboro sits and ruins and Bruton won’t sell for less than $12 million. The county raised the taxes to try to force Bruton to sell but that didn’t work.
I'm only 16 so I've never actually watched a live wilkesborough race but it's heartbreaking to see this track diminish.
It is so sad, it could be an awesome short track. I wish they could renovate it and bring it back to cup of at least Xfinity.
I thought they revamped it and they have like a arca race then or like a usar race
They tried having like late models races there a few years ago but the guy that was leasing it was pocketing the sponsors money and the other backers found out and closed it down. He had taken so much of the money that they couldn't pay the lease.
Bub ba
Benny's wife was in the group of people who leased the track from Smith but left the group shorty after the deal was made. There was some lawsuits over the lease but I'm not sure what happened with all of that.
There's a lot more to why the track sold than most people think. I'll try and explain it as short as I can.
It was all political. The track was owned by two families. I have close ties to one of them and some kin to the other.
For most of the life of the track no one made very much money. Then in the mid 80's and 90's NASCAR really started booming. North Wilkesboro was selling out and adding seats this is when the problem started. The track had no city sewer or water. By law they could only build so many seats for so many restrooms.
The track ask North Wilkesboro to run sewer lines to the track. North Wilkesboro said no.
Now Wilkes county is a tell of two cities. Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro. One has always been controlled by one political party and the other controlled by the other party.
At that time North Wilkesboro had lots of major industry along with Lowes head quarters and their main distribution center. ( now most are gone including Lowes). The problem was almost all of the hotels, restaurants and major retailers were in Wilkesboro. Everything the race fans would spend money at. So North Wilkesboro didn't see why they should spend money supplying sewer service to the track. It also didn't help that one of the owners of the track was a county commissioner who belonged to the other political party.
With the popularity of NASCAR booming and the fact that the track couldn't add seats the owners knew it was just a matter of time before NASCAR would take away their dates. They simply couldn't put enough people in the stands. Bob Bare and Smith knew this too so they knew the time to buy was right so offers was made. Here's 2 families who came up poor and this was there only chance to make some money or face the real possibility of having nothing.
If the town on North Wilkesboro had supplied sewer the history of the track may be a lot different today.
bullshit burton just wanted more dates at his new tracks so he bought speedways just so he could take dates away
tjw3999 smith didn't but the first date. Bob Bear did.
Eric Duncan fascinating account, thanks for sharing
The track still looks in pretty good shape... just a repave a little renovation
Cooper Oaks NASCAR says they are going to do away with some of the mile and a half track in 2021. Just maybe if that happens they may return to NW. The Smiths still own it so if they lose a race at one of their other tracks hopefully they will come back here.
Dale Jr is working to get NW scanned and put in the I- racing video game. A lot of NASCAR people including JR are going to come to NW soon and get all of the weeds and grass out of the cracks in the surface so it can be scanned.
It looks like it did in 1996. They would have to spend so much money to make sure it was safe to use, especially by fans, that the cost would outstrip what they would get out of it. I actually liked the races there better than Martinsville, but it was time to say goodbye. I'm surprised the property hasn't been sold off.
is it possible to get to the infield? or is this place locked down pretty good?
EM2 YK1 No it's locked up.
Eric Duncan i have seen one video where someone went to infield he had to crawl under a fence which is obvioysly trespassing but their arent any signs saying not to ;)
Eric Duncan at least not from the video i saw
I don't really understand why we aren't allowed to go onto the track when it's abandoned. It's not like they need it for anything why can't we drive on it.. That's what I want to do.
inthere2it Liability reasons. Plus if people started a trend of trespassing some city/county/state official feeling their oats may try to condemn it just take it over and completely demolish it "for the good of progress"🙄
This would be a really good dirt track I think. Going back to NASCAR's orginal roots.
Josh Eckard it started out as a dirt track in the 50s an 60s
Looks like little work to put cars back on there not bad for 21 years
such a bummer.
My god...this music!🙉
Very sad 😔 The Sleeping Beauty 🏁‼️
This video brought to you by TYSON CHICKEN
Those stands don't look half bad why hasn't the state bought the track and then gift it to nascar to do what ever they want with it would bring more money to NC anyway
Owners won't sell it
Eric Duncan But the state has rights over the land so they could legally take it as long as it is used for public use
The state doesn't want to make this owner mad. He has a lot of pull in NC. They have battled before and they always give in to him. He owns a lot of business in NC
Eric Duncan Isn't it the same owner of New Hampsire that's why one race went to New Hampshire and one went to Las Vegas
CoolTechStuff. Yes. He owns those plus Charlotte, Atlanta, Dallas, Bristol and the Road course in CA. He also has a drag strip and a dirt track in NC. Has a crap load of car dealerships too. NC mad him mad a few years and he threaten to move Charlotte track to S.C. and NC gave in too him.
the tracked been repaved since the closing
nvm mind but some one cut the grass on the track
nascar86 yes they have a part time employee who mowed the grass.
Somebody with a fat wallet needs to show some fortitude, to purchase, and save this treasure.
if nascar cared about its fans ,they would pay to get track in shape to race on
Actually the track is probably coming back. The state is giving $20 million to help get it back in shape and for infrastructure like sewer and and exit off of 421 right to the track and Marcus Smith has said he has a plan. Just waiting on final approval on the state money and then I think an announcement will be made. I live close to the track and local fire departments have been working their on weekends cleaning up the trees and brush around and inside the track. Companies have donated equipment to the track and lots of activity is going on. The rumors is it will be restored back the way it was. All the buildings will be rebuilt to look as it was when it closed. Camping world will donate $1 million for repairs and build a store next to the track so I’d say at least it will host a truck series race.
NASCAR itself is fixing to go bye bye no more has been the way of Kmart Sears and Toys R Us