After 27 years, NASCAR returns to once-abandoned North Wilkesboro Speedway for All-Star race
FILE - Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, laughs with Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith as they record a video after a press conference, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Raleigh, N.C., announcing that the a NASCAR All-Star Race will be held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May 2023. (Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ethan Hyman]
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (AP) — After 27 years, NASCAR is returning to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the All-Star race on Sunday night. It follows a dramatic transformation of a forgotten venue. The track was abandoned after NASCAR moved on to larger, more populated cities across the country. Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s decision to map the course for iRacing in 2019 changed things. Fans helped spur racing’s return to the track. Government funds helped, too. Now, NASCAR is back for the weekend and maybe beyond.
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A fan leaves the North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sept. 29, 1996, in North Wilkesboro, N.C., with a souvenir tire after Jeff Gordon won the last NASCAR cup race run at the track before it closed. The track has reopened and will host the NASCAR All-Star auto race this weekend. (AP Photo/Bob Jordan, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bob Jordan