Posted on 05/17/2023 4:34:11 PM PDT by mabarker1
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Among the list of things former NASCAR driver and television broadcaster Benny Parsons asked his wife to do prior to his death in January 2007 was to try to get North Wilkesboro Speedway to reopen for NASCAR racing.
It took more than 16 years to get it done, but Terri Parsons — along with many others — can celebrate that achievement this week.
The NASCAR All-Star Race this weekend will be the first NASCAR race at the historic 0.625-mile oval since 1996.
The track was the place that nurtured the love of racing for the Parsons family, just like hundreds of families in the area.
Speedway Motorsports, sparked by interest from its CEO Marcus Smith and famed NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and with the help of an American Rescue Plan grant that contributed $14 million of the $18 million renovation project, decided last year to bring the all-star race to the track as part of NASCAR's 75th anniversary celebration.
Terri Parsons, following the dedication of a grandstand that honors Benny Parsons, said she never lost faith.
"There was never a day I didn't think this would happen," Parsons said. "I didn't think it would happen this soon. But I've got 17 years into this — do you think I would have waited that long to decide nothing was going to happen?"
(Excerpt) Read more at foxsports.com ...
Resurrection (((PING)))
https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/nascar-all-star-race-nascar-cup-series-may-21-2023-racetrax-5406
There’s also a Truck Race on Saturday at 1pm on Fox.
North Wilkesboro front straightaway is downhill and the back is uphill...
They were making a big deal about it on Sunday’s race coverage. Will have to watch.
I worked for Elmo Langley back in the early ‘70’s...I was his Jack Man...
A NASCAR fan wrote on another site that there are too many races in southwestern Virgina/NC/SC and that the fanbase cannot support going to all of these races with the high cost of attendance.
Spreading the races around means more sellouts and higher revenue.
Personally, the best track in NASCAR was the Fontana, CA “Auto Club Speedway” track built by Roger Penske in 1997.
It is 1.5 miles long in a “D” shaped oval and is very wide and not steeply banked. Passing can occur almost anywhere and there are many “lanes” to run, depending on track conditions.
They are talking about ripping it up and putting a small track in its place and selling off the excess land.
Yuk.
As I recall, Benny Parsons was a cab driver who got his racing start down the road from where I grew up, the Mt Clemens Speedway in Michigan.
I quit nascar when they went all woke.
People still support this woke crap?
I'm kind of surprised they're going back to race there. It was an iconic track, but it had all kinds of operational and financial constraints that made it ill-suited to modern racing.
If it is on Fox then it is not really happening for me.
$14 million of the $18 million renovation cost paid by a government over $30 trillion in debt. Meanwhile North Carolina roads an highways are filled with potholes and cracks.
Biden and the Dems scream nothing can be cut from the budget. Insanity rules.
Yeah, I was watching the 1st half of a show earlier and they were saying that the guys that built it were Farmers and didn’t change the terrain with banking or leveling resulting in the configuration the track has. It was part of the plan to save money in construction.
BTW- the pic in Post 1 is a LINK to the Bob Pockrass Twitter video.
Yeah, tickets are going to be free I hope....since taxpayers are paying 83% of the renovation cost. At the very least an 85% discount off regular NASCAR ticket prices!
I’m only watching because the F1 Race got flooded out in Imola, Italy and they resurrected North Wilksboro.
Indy 500 coming up soon...
I’m going to watch Ross Chastain piss everyone off lol
My kind of guy
Aaahhh, back in the Days before brainless france took over to start forking NUTSCAR UP !!!
Thanks for doing Your part back then, I wish that I was a few years older so that I could have been watching it back then.
That sure sucks !!! I remember seeing that a while back. It’s all about the $$$$ anymore.
I looked at prices for Nwb and they are OUTRAGEOUS !!!
HA !!! nutscar hasn’t sold out a race FOR REAL in years if not a decade.
IMO no need for anymore short tracks.
Some are.
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