NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — For the first time since 1996, North Wilkesboro Speedway will host a NASCAR race.
The historic track will host the Cup Series All-Star Race on Sunday night and a Craftsman Trucks Series race Saturday. But even before NASCAR takes to the historic speedway, some of the sport's biggest stars are getting acquainted with North Wilkesboro.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and a host of other big-name current and former drivers are taking part in a few late model races Wednesday night.
"It's really cool," Byron said. "This track has a lot of history. This place over the years has been amazing. It's been a lot of fun."
The .625-mile short track has been largely quiet for going on 30 years, but a few years ago, Earnhardt wanted to spruce it up to put it in the iRacing simulator.
The track really received a boost when it was allocated $18 million in federal funds through the post-COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act to revitalize speedways across the state.
Gov. Roy Cooper visited the speedway once again on Wednesday.
"I've had a number of people today tell me that they went to this track when they were a kid with their family," Cooper said. "And sometimes tears will be coming down their face because of what this means."
Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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