Crazy thought guys but do you guys think that you could put a football field at the NWS and have local high school teams play there. Just thinking about how they did that with VA Tech and Tennessee at Bristol. It would put the Speedway into use. Just a thought.
North Wilkesboro Speedway
- Thread starter realjoejr
- Start date
I've heard rumors they are gonna try to reconfigure the speedway to hopefully get NASCAR back. Then again they been saying that since NASCAR quit going so I wouldn't hold my breath. I love your idea though anything to keep it a float
Was at that game was neat to say I went wouldn’t do it again. My brother in law was on the field and said you really couldn’t hear the crowd since the fans were so far away.
There are signs all over Wilkes County that say "Bring back North Wilkesboro Speedway". I was wondering what they were about. I've ridden up to the stadium recently, but none of the structures are really salvageable at this point. I'm sure the concrete portions of the grandstand could be saved.
But the large grandstand in turn 1 and 2 probably can't be saved.
The question would be... Could you get anyone to agree to play there as a neutral site? None of the Wilkes County teams are all that great... plus they are small, so I can't imagine their crowds are big.
Nonetheless, it is fun to think about! I'd love for that track to be saved in some form. It'll never go back to NASCAR's top circuit though.
It's a better stage for Modifieds and Late Models... Even better (track size) than Bowman Gray Stadium.
But the large grandstand in turn 1 and 2 probably can't be saved.
The question would be... Could you get anyone to agree to play there as a neutral site? None of the Wilkes County teams are all that great... plus they are small, so I can't imagine their crowds are big.
Nonetheless, it is fun to think about! I'd love for that track to be saved in some form. It'll never go back to NASCAR's top circuit though.
It's a better stage for Modifieds and Late Models... Even better (track size) than Bowman Gray Stadium.
I am not a NASCAR fan but I hate that they stopped going to N. Wilkesboro years ago and the track at Rockingham. Those places are the cradle of NASCAR and helped it grow to what it has become. Then they abandoned those fans all in the name of $$$. I think it stinks having races in Phoenix, California and Indy but not in N. Wilkesboro and Rockingham. But it is all about the $$$ and not really the fans.
At this point the track needs to just be torn down and reconfigured to the way it was. I do agree I don't ever see the cup series going back at best I could maybe see the truck series returning. Such a shame cup left back in 96.
NASCAR is nothing like it was back then. The sport nowadays is about one thing entertainment. It promotes wrecking over racing, and has a horrible way of crowning a champion. It's nothing like it was when Dale Earnhardt was around.
Yeah, as I said I am not a NASCAR fan but I know they have changed the rules quite a lot. You probably know more about it than I do. I don't understand anymore how they crown a champion. Didn't it used to be how many races you won or finished highly in? Now it sounds like they break each race up into a certain number of laps and if you lead some laps but do not win you still get points? Sounds crazy. Seems like it was a much better sport in the 70s and 80s with Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Cale and Richard Petty. But they got too big for their britches and abandoned their real fans for the big glamor tracks in Phoenix, Vegas, and Homestead. Always about the $$$.
Basically they have a 16 driver playoff for a 10 race battle to the championship At the end of every three races they eliminate four drivers. And then it decides the championship 4 and whoever finishes ahead of the other three drivers wins the championship it doesn't matter how good your season has been how many laps you've LED just because you don't finish ahead of somebody in the last race of the season you don't win the championship that isn't right. And the comparison so many Nascar fans who actually support this format use is the 2007 Patriots going undefeated and then losing the super bowl. When for one thing the New England Patriots didn't play against 31 NFL teams at the same time in NASCAR you race against the same 39 people every week. Sorry for turning this into a NASCAR thread when it was supposed to be a thread about North wilkesboro being a football stadium LOL
That would be amazing no lie..
Believe it or not Bowman Grey hosted HS football games there back in the day. We (North Surry,) played RJR there for the 1982 season opener (in 1981 we played them and Stewart Scott started for them at WR/CB.) Mount Airy and Reidsville played there quite a bit due to them being forced to neutral grounds after a big fight they had one year. It could also fit more people there than either school's stadium. Before they merged and died Gray High School also played their games there. They were the big 3A school of Winston then; BG has a history in high school ball.
I do agree with the modifieds racing there it would do killer business .. that probably would never happen due to BG. Because honestly it would cut into their their business and quite a few of the backmarkers would leave BG for NW and a better shot. BG would then have a hard time finding people and it would be smaller fields. Quite a few guys from Mount Airy for instance would rather do NW and would be more consistent. BG and NW would have a rivalry and hurt each other. They'd have to do it on opposite nights or something or even opposite seasons. Do NW in the fall and BG in the summer. I do like the trucks idea though it would make a good amount of $ at the gate. They would fit in well with a new track redesign.
As for ball it would definitly bring some fans in. They could at least host the old Wilkes County Scrimmage there like they used to do at West Wilkes. Get the 4 schools and 4 opponents for them and it would bring a good crowd. They could also host the big conference games there. Do MA vs East Wilkes one week, then N Surry vs West Wilkes another, and N Wilkes and Surry Central another week. The track and the two schools split the gate money.. it would honestly help away teams bring more people. More fans would love to see the track then the visiting school.
There's a lot of potential there for NW speedway.. I hope they don't waste it.
Believe it or not Bowman Grey hosted HS football games there back in the day. We (North Surry,) played RJR there for the 1982 season opener (in 1981 we played them and Stewart Scott started for them at WR/CB.) Mount Airy and Reidsville played there quite a bit due to them being forced to neutral grounds after a big fight they had one year. It could also fit more people there than either school's stadium. Before they merged and died Gray High School also played their games there. They were the big 3A school of Winston then; BG has a history in high school ball.
I do agree with the modifieds racing there it would do killer business .. that probably would never happen due to BG. Because honestly it would cut into their their business and quite a few of the backmarkers would leave BG for NW and a better shot. BG would then have a hard time finding people and it would be smaller fields. Quite a few guys from Mount Airy for instance would rather do NW and would be more consistent. BG and NW would have a rivalry and hurt each other. They'd have to do it on opposite nights or something or even opposite seasons. Do NW in the fall and BG in the summer. I do like the trucks idea though it would make a good amount of $ at the gate. They would fit in well with a new track redesign.
As for ball it would definitly bring some fans in. They could at least host the old Wilkes County Scrimmage there like they used to do at West Wilkes. Get the 4 schools and 4 opponents for them and it would bring a good crowd. They could also host the big conference games there. Do MA vs East Wilkes one week, then N Surry vs West Wilkes another, and N Wilkes and Surry Central another week. The track and the two schools split the gate money.. it would honestly help away teams bring more people. More fans would love to see the track then the visiting school.
There's a lot of potential there for NW speedway.. I hope they don't waste it.
Worst thing for Nascar was honestly Bruton Smith. He got too greedy and big headed and lusted for the big markets. He threw too much at them and never really offered anything different with track design. He loved and stood by those big and awful tracks that are very cliched in design that no one liked. Michigan's always been fun as well as Pocono but California and Texas always bored me to sleep. There's a reason both especially the latter are failing. Chicago already has died off.
I dig the new road courses now but there needs to be more pure short tracks. That's where the circuit started literally on day 1 in 1949 in Charlotte on that dirt track when it was the Strickly Stock series.
I'm honestly surprised no one started a new racing circuit for pure stock cars with some minor modifications for fast speeds.. they would be a good rival. They can run mostly stock cars (minus some engine work for higher speeds,) and the Nascar style safety package for less deaths and let them run wild. It would be fun and it wouldn't take them long to be a solid rival.
Yeah bruton Smith was the worst thing to happen to NASCAR maybe ever. Instead of trying to renovate North wilkesboro he tried to explore different markets which given the way the sport was growing at the time was probably a smart move but at the same time it wound up killing the tracks that made it what it is. I like road courses too but NASCAR doesn't need to oversaturate its schedule with road courses. The sport was built on short tracks like you said. Also NASCAR does have the next generation car coming out next season which in my opinion is going to be very critical for them because if it flops the NASCAR is in trouble.
I recommend you check out the SRX series they made their series debut this past summer and I thoroughly enjoyed all six races. It was six races four at short tracks and two at dirt tracks and dare I say if they continue to grow the way they did this past year then they will rival NASCAR. Heck if they ever get North wilkesboro running again I would love to see that series go to that track
If you are interested go look in the NC House's budget proposal for the upcoming biennium. There is funding for the NW Speedway to improve the utilities and facilities.
Yeah, but if I understand this, guys that have no chance at the championship are still racing in those races towards the end of the season? It is not just the last few guys that can win the championship only in the races? So that means a guy that has been terrible all season can crash a guy that can win the championship and pretty much eliminate him? I guess under the old format that could also happen, though.
I wonder what the attendance is like at those races in Phoenix, Vegas and Homestead and if it is enough to justify keeping those races? I am sure the races at the tracks still in NASCAR territory like Bristol and Martinsville continue to get good attendance. Anyway, thanks for education on this!
Attendance has been low even at Bristol. NASCAR doesn't make their money off spectators anymore. TV and sponsors cut the checks. It's pretty much like that in every sport now.
Figured I'd revisit this thread after the successful reopening of north wilkesboro speedway. So so happy to see this track hosting racing again. Dale Earnhardt Jr is also going to race at the track in late August driving the number 3 Sundrop car in a sprint car race.
Gonna try my hardest to go during the season if I can ever get an off day on a Saturday. Packed house last night; woulda went then or tonight if I knew they were doing it. Not much promotion on social media.
I'm hoping to go in the fall when it cools off. The track will be turned into dirt temporarily around then.
It will do better as a dirt track. Like everything new it was packed last night but when people see it is not like the old days it will fade. I do like the idea of playing some football games there but will take some serious reconstruction with the way it is layer out. Would love to see it or Bowman Gray used during playoffs.
Last edited:
The only problem with trying to play football games is they just don’t have the space in the infield. The garage and victory lane which is on top of a building is there. It will go to a dirt track next month, but is supposed to become a multi use facility going forward. Hopefully it will do well, the county needs it.
I was surprised to see they raced there this week. I drove by it last weekend and told my daughter about the history of the track. It looked like it wasn't going to be used anytime soon. Still had tall grass growing around the vendor areas at the track. They need to at least bring the NASCAR sub division, whatever it's called now, back to NW and Rockingham.
I never pulled for Dale Earnhardt, but the day he died, so did nascar.
NASCAR ain't been the same since. Think the sport would look much different if he was still alive
Dei would still be around lol. Plus i feel like Dale would hate this playoff system NASCAR has. However with all that being said, I do believe if it was not for Dale's tragic death we probably would have had more fatal accidents. Because it took losing arguably the greatest driver Nascar ever had to implementing tons of safety changes.
Beginning in 2023 the Nascar cup series All-Star race will be at North wilkesboro speedway. So good to see this track back