North Wilkesboro Speedway is located in Wilkesboro Township, Wilkes County near North Wilkesboro, NC. The track opened on May 18, 1947, and was one of NASCAR’s original racetracks.
The seating capacity at NWS was 40,000. NASCAR’s first race at North Wilkesboro Speedway was held on October 16, 1949, as the final race of the 1949 season with Bob Flock winning the inaugural event.
North Wilkesboro Speedway soon hosted the second race in 1951 and continued to have 2 races a year until after the 1996 season. After the fall race in 1996, North Wilkesboro Speedway closed and Bruton Smith moved the spring race to Texas Motor Speedway and the fall race to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Richard Petty won the most races as a driver with 15 wins and as an owner with 18 wins.
Richard Petty also holds the record with the most top 5 and 10 finishes at NWS with 33 top 5 finishes and 42 top 10 finishes. Darrell Waltrip also holds the record for the most poles won at NWS with 9 poles. North Wilkesboro Speedway would briefly reopen in 2010 for a USAR ProCup Series race.
Also in 2010, the ASA Late Model Series held its King’s Ransom 300 race. PASS Late Models also ran a race at NWS called the Labor Day Classic 200 with Chase Elliott winning the race. The track would once again close for good in 2011.
Today, the track has been revived and hosted several races during the summer of 2022. Next year, the track will host the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the NASCAR All-Star Race, and local racing in 2023.
What was your favorite North Wilkesboro Speedway race? Leave a comment below.
