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North Wilkesboro Speedway 2005 December 11

I’m not sure how much chance there is that this will happen, but it looks like the best chance in a long time that North Wilkesboro Speedway will re-open in 2006. What that chance is, I don’t know. These people seem to have a pretty concrete plan on what they want to do. I’m not sure whether they can pull it off though. I’d really like to see it happen, and if it did I’d be sure to make a trip down over the summer. However, I’m not going to hold my breath. anyway, good luck to the people who are trying to make this happen. Here is the press release…

North Wilkesboro, NC — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:December 9, 2005

The racing worlds’ ears have been perked up with the thoughts of a once great racing facility coming back to life.

In the past few days, newspapers, websites and the word around North Wilkesboro seems to be, “Is the track really going to reopen?”

Organizers of the savethespeedway.net, a website dedicated to reopening North Wilkesboro Speedway have been busy showing area officials from neighboring governments their well thought out and executed PowerPoint presentation. The 75-minute presentation has been given by area resident and STS Retail Manger for the site, Jerry Sink.

At each of the three major presentations, area officials were left speechless, realizing that the group, “have really done their homework.”

The overall presentation describes the current state of the track, the costs involved in bringing it to a state-of-the-art short track facility, income potentials, projected crowd counts, potential sponsors, letters of intent from various racing series and driving schools along with professional NASCAR Busch, Truck and Cup teams giving letters on intent to practice and test at the facility, if open.

The list of major sponsors is growing each week. They have expressed strong interests to back the big project if STS can indeed put the whole package together.

Many of the same artists renderings included in the presentation can be found on the group’s website at savethespeedway.net under Concept Art.

STS Competition Director Kirk Wilson has been busy visiting various race series presidents and directors from around the country in an effort to seek out those interested in competing in what could be the country’s PREMIER short track facility. After all, what other short track can accommodate 40,000 race fans?

So far, Wilson has recruited a number of impressive racing series that are literally chomping at the bit to compete at what could be a newly repaved progressive banking 5/8ths-mile track.

A weekly racing series of Friday night NASCAR Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Street Stocks, U-Cars and Mini-Stocks have tentatively been arranged. In addition, the creme-de-la-creme of short track series such as ASA Late Models have been penciled in for their North-South series championship on Oct. 21. Throw in the Rolling Thunder Modifieds, ground pounding IMSA Super Modifieds, Extreme Midgets on June 14 and Oct 21 along with the North-South Tour Modifieds on Oct. 28 and wrap up the first season with a Late Model $10,000 to win on December 9 and you’ve got an exciting lineup of competition.

Other dates may include USAC divisions such as the Ford Focus Midgets, the new Silver Crown Cars and pavement sprint cars. Still more racers interested are the ARCA Trucks, Hoosier Outlaw 410 Winged Sprint Cars, INEX Thunder Roadsters, Allison Legacy Cars, USCS Sprint Cars, Hooters Pro Cup and USRA Street Stocks.

There are also 21 tentative WKA go-kart dates on the schedule to run on Sunday afternoons on a specially built 1/5th- mile oval and possibly one road course event race for karts on a 7/10ths- mile road course. The INEX Legend cars and Bandoleros could compete in several races on the smaller oval.

Owners of the speedway, Bruton Smith and Bob Bahre, have been in close communication with the county and STS officials and appear more than prepared to sit down at the bargaining table to secure the future of NWS.

STS officials will continue to discuss funding with various potential investors during the coming weeks.

If all of the “t’s” can be crossed and “i’s” dotted by the middle of January 2006, a viable game plan of improvements is ready to be put into action. From repaving to new water and sewer hookups to roof repairs to major painting and clean-up projects could all add up to the first green flag dropped by mid-April, 2006.