No other sports community is like this.

they are though... that's why it's going on iracing. and Dale is pretty high up, if you ask me

I'm not even a true fan and I agree

Yes get rid of a Texas, Vegas or one of the other boring tracks and put some money in this track. Get 20,000-25,000 seats you will will sell it out every year for a .26 mile track. This is what nascar needs to do to get more fans back.

@@jasonhipkins lower cost to maintain, higher % of sales to seats and suddenly the track maintains a profit unlike a lot of the tracks out there these days. Theyd be turning people away at the door.

@@jasonhipkins Pocono needs to go. What was somebody thinking to have a doubleheader there?

It would take tons of money to do that. All the renovations and all the safety updates they would have to do would be a fortune. But that would be awesome

short track season was where rivalries started during the season. and ended.

it's not up to nascar. bruton smith bought it to close it down so he could get a race date for one of his other tracks, Loudon NH

@@alvarsdzenis4739 He didn't own Loudon at the time. He only bought it in 2007. He bought his half from one of the local families that went half with Enoch Staley. Mike Staley admitted in an interview that he basically panicked thinking he couldn't compete with Bruton so he sold his half to Bob Bahre who owned New Hampshire. Bahre didn't want racing to ever return to North Wilkesboro and he would only sell the property for 12 million dollars.

@@TravisMSimpson yes smi didn't own nhms until 2007 but, bruton smith and bob bahre were business partner in several tracks they owned. here's what i found on wiki. Before the 2008 racing season, Speedway Motorsports purchased NHIS and other racing-related assets from the Bahre family for $340 million cash. The name of the speedway changed to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. One of the assets included in the sale was a 50% interest in North Wilkesboro Speedway. The other 50% was still owned by Bruton Smith, the CEO of Speedway Motorsports. Enoch Staley died of a stroke on May 22, 1995. Less than one month later, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. CEO Bruton Smith purchased fifty percent of the shares of the speedway from the Combs family. Smith had approached the Staley family prior to and after the death of Enoch in 1995. The family declined to sell to him because Enoch had distrusted Smith and had instructed the family never to sell the track to him. After this, it was decided that Smith and Mike Staley, Enoch's son, would have equal representation on the track. Mike Staley was installed as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Speedway for a one-year term. On January 1, 1996, the fifty-percent interest in North Wilkesboro Speedway owned by the Staley family was sold to racetrack developer and promoter Bob Bahre, owner of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Mike Staley said that selling the track was very painful, but it was the only choice he had. Both Bahre and Bruton Smith already owned several NASCAR circuits. They announced their intent to use the spring and fall race dates for their own tracks, citing North Wilkesboro Speedway's age and lack of modern amenities. They said, "cash rules everything around us."

The Rock is not "back up and running"...Big Wheel were did you get that information?...I live 5 miles north of the track in Hoffman and if it were "back up and running" we would know it...I did talk to a guy that works for The Rock a couple of months ago before the virus shutdown...I asked him what the chances were of either the big track or the smaller one that was built on the Hwy. 177 side (the Hamlet Side) going back to racing...he said the condition of the big track's racing surface, the rest rooms and some of the other amenities were in such a state that it wouldn't be anytime soon...if ever...they were setting it up to hold "events" though and that is what he does for The Rock...it is a shame too...when the trucks came back for that short amount of time there was some hope, but that quickly went away...yeah Bruton Smith screwed this area when he bought it for the race dates...Hillenberg was a racer not a promoter so that didn't work out... I did get to run around the track in the pacecar for a few laps when Chris Browning still ran things there...and a Crown Vic interceptor does pretty good at night with full lights up...

They needed to open more cookie cutter tracks and water down the racing. Money over racing.

There could be a future for those 2 circuts.... Rockingham already has recived government funding to maintain the property, and it is already cup ready for the 2021 schedule As for North Wilkesboro, ita still owned by ISC Which has been bought by nascar, so they can repair the Speedway and race again if they wanted too

@@ernestpaul2484 rockingham was a true test for race drivers with the multiple grooves and different banked corners. great race track.

@@ernestpaul2484 You're right. A buddy and I stopped by the Rock on our way to Myrtle Beach last August. We heard a group had bought the place and wanted to restore, but it is in such disarray that it would take a lot of money to get it going. The back grandstands are gone and just the concrete pillars are there.

Where's the sign-ups sheet? I'm in.

B2 B You could be the one to lead that movement

I would come from Virginia to pitch in and plenty more up here too. Pulled up to the gates a few years back but it was locked, wished i could have went in

If everyone wanted it it would be open.

@@johnglynn9354 it's not about what fans or drivers want. It's about having a super track in Texas that nobody wants to go to/watch

Nope...Cleetus is actually buying and putting his money where his mouth is...All this is is chopping some weeds to take pictures and do scans for a video game while the track itself continues to self destruct. With all the other newer motorsports events like drifting, burnout contest, and even the old style weekend oval events you would think you could put together a track that will attract events and make money. Maybe this place it too far gone, or maybe not.

@@larcon78 At least what Dale Jr is doing is a start. Getting the track scanned so that it can live on forever is one part of that. Maybe in time if the popularity of the track in iRacing demands it there may be attempts to revive North Wilkesboro and restore it fully.

Nowhere in the video do they say anything about an actual restoration...they are very careful to say that it's for a "virtual" restoration. Dale Jr. plus a couple of the other people who showed up to cut weeds probably have the resources to buy, restore, and operate the track so why aren't they? Just hope the place doesn't end up a subdivision or another industrial park.

This track is wayyyy too far gone to resurrect. Only chance is to tear down and rebuild. Surface would never last. Buildings are condemned, im sure plumbing electrical an sewage are out of code.

@@anthonyrosenbaum2640 Yeah, they might be able to save parts of the surface with repaving or just tear it down to the dirt/concrete and repave, but most all the buildings and probably the bleachers would have to be completely torn out and rebuilt. It's a damn shame.

Those races would be much better if there weren't eight nearly identical tracks on the schedule lol, the 1.5 mile quad oval and D oval are so overused. In my opinion, North Wilkesboro and The Rock should come back, and NASCAR should add a new track like Myrtle Beach.

@@djm.6322 nah Nashville

They did the same thing to Atlanta....It was a unique racetrack with the short straightaways and long corners, then went and put in the trioval. Maybe they were thinking in terms of fan viewing and line of sight but ruined it really.

@@djm.6322Ahhh...myrtle beach too, had forgotten about that one, the Busch series used to race there.

The issue is vision. NASCAR isn’t selling racing, they’re promoters. “You can have whatever color you want as long as it’s black” “You can have whatever kind of track you like, as long we can sell it to sponsors”

Wally Morgan some field of dreams vibes there

Problem is it’s owned by a group that owns Charlotte and a bunch of other tracks

Just like cleetus has done

umm no they wont. Nascar is dying

@@drewschmidt6314 Because they left their roots. I think if NASCAR *really* shakes things up and goes back to their roots, they will make a comeback. But it won't be overnight.

Unfortunately people done have a few million to gamble like that especially now.

Dale needs to it for Dale.....

He'd probably need around 20-30 million dollars

@@StaySqueezy12 his networth is 500 million

John Haas you should know the old saying, Never say Never

@@MegaMr46 If you drove past it on 421, you'd see it's never coming back. Not without MAJOR repair. The stands are NOT safe.

@@TheVinylBroadcaster Considering it is a very barebones facility as it was back then it shouldn't take much in the way of material to build something identical. Unless the cost of fabricating concrete and steel structures has somehow risen ten-fold over the past 20 years.

@@sulphurous2656 Last time I went past it, maybe 6 month or so ago, the entire grandstand structure next to the highway was nothing but rust. Which means the entire seating area that's propped up by metal structure would have to be replaced. It's not safe. And to do so would be very expensive.

@@TheVinylBroadcaster I didn't see the trusses under the seating platforms worn out that much, but It makes sense considering the general rule of rust in one place meaning there's a whole lot more elsewhere. Still, how expensive could it possibly be to erect a new structure with similar specifications? It just doesn't add up for me unless it's something to do with the teardown/demolition and or groundwork.

In the context of the video, he's an enthusiast. :)

Crazy thing is He’s been sim racing since early 2000’s

or was a busch series champion

Ikr he’s a professional driver

You guys do realize that this video was posted by Dirty Mo Media. Jr's company. Probably made and posted by Matthew Dillner. JR himself will say over and over again he is a huge iRacing enthusiast. You guys are reading way to much between the lines.

@stranger kids Marcus Smith owns the track. He was in the video with Dale. I think resurfacing the track would be way to expensive but my thought is that maybe a few of the drivers could become stockholders, turn it into a dirt track and run WOO's, Modifieds & Sprints on it. Most of the buildings look repairable,-except for the one with the caved in roof, and they wouldnt necessarily need " state of the art" scoring technology but could use what the other local dirt tracks use. Just a thought.

@@myawsum14 Afraid to say that the tack would need to be completely torn down and rebuilt. A LOT of the buildings are on the verge of collapse anyway from rot and much of the steel holding up the stands are irreparably rusted through. Much of the concrete is also all badly compromised and would need repouring. The asphalt itself is also not salvageable. And there's a small young forest now growing where the parking lot use to be. Dale Jr. had the right idea to scan is all in for iRacing and historical purposes while they still could, but in order to bring the tack itself back to life, the entire complex would need to come down and be rebuilt from scratch.

Look no further.

I come back to say it's a beautiful day boys

Timothy King I would run it

I'm totally with you on that!!!

This track would be perfect for weekly modified and late model racing

They did that in 2010, it was the final wish of Benny Parsons to reopen the place. It still didn't work.

It would probably be cheaper to build a new track and facilities than it would be to rebuild that. Those building are condemned condition.

@Jason Heavner... roflmao! perfectly played my friend...🥳

I read this in mikes voice lmao

And the track sweepers, lol.

Jason Heavner i can hear the echo....

That I would like to hear from Jackie Stewart !

Like one of the pocono races

@@SM_RN Get rid of the Indy race. Very few people in the stands for that bore fest.

jeepman41 I agree but we get rid off pocono and the Indy race we could bring back rockingham to

Playstation cup series..I dissagree.. look up the history of the pocono race track. That track almost never happened. Plus I live near it and like going to it.

jeepman41 I think they need to stay in Indy. I will say I'm biased because its the track closest to me, but I think they need to try the GP circuit or something because I think NASCAR needs more road courses. There are multiple ovals that are very similar to each other that can get canned for all I care. Indy and Pocono are unique tracks in their shape.

U nailed it Gavin

Nascar has always been about profit

It’s always been about profit. It’s just not about racing so much anymore. It’s great there’s safer cars, but these days they (NASCAR) confuses safe racing with driver safety. Safe racing is what is boring.

@themetal umm, they didn't kill Dale, Sr. He added to own problems by how he strapped himself into the car.

It's always been about profit, its a business lmfao

S1apsh0es: let’s do this

The all star there would be cool. Many of the names ran a K&N race there some years ago. Bubba Wallace almost got arrested in that, that should say something

France

Roger Dodger Not really. NASCAR was getting corporate sponsorship in the 1980-90s and did fine with tracks it was running back then. They got greedy and let money overrun good racing and tracks that fans really loved.

I was living in Wilkes Co when the track closed. I didn't have a chance to catch a race unfortunately. My nephew and I did catch qualifying one Friday afternoon. That weekend we went to the track after the race to try and get some autographs. I met Robert Yates. He was playing with his grandkids and when they wore him out he came to the fence and spent some time talking to us and signing autographs. Good day for sure. I hadn't thought about that in awhile.....Thank you

Yep Cleetus did

Fast forward 2 years and NW reopened. 2022

Street Stocks are gonna be a blast here aswell. Hell everything

dont forget daytona and talladega

@@luvcache1 . I'm sorry but Holding the car wide open and running side by side isn't racing. Both of those race tracks can go. Or make them run like they did in the 80's at those tracks. That means they drafted single file and used the slingshot to pass. It was Awesome.

@@MTCKIE68 Cookie cutter cars has taken the sport to new lows! The sport has lost it's way!

@@armyretired28 . I totally agree with you. It's just about the money now. They don't give a Damn about the fans anymore. The drivers definitely don't want anything to do with the fans.

No track beside Daytona (Oval and Roval) and Charlotte (Oval and Roval) should have more than 1 race per season in Cup. There are tons of famous other tracks available like Nashville Fairgrounds, Memphis Raceway, Iowa Speedway, Gateway, Rockingham, Milwaukee Mile, Pikes Peak Raceway CotA, Road America or Mosport.

Bruton Smith has yet to build anything other than a 1.5 mile track from scratch

Blame new fans who don't understand racing.

@@alwaysopen7970 "Blame the new fans".......that's total nonsense. None of this is "their fault". NASCAR ITSELF, ALONG WITH THE HUGE, GREEDY, CORPORATE SPONSORS ARE WHO TO BLAME. If they hadn't made all those ridiculous changes from every aspect imaginable, the lifelong hardcore fans would've never left to begin with. And the lifelong hardcore fans bring in their kids & grand kids, just like many of our parents did. NASCAR & it's big-wig cronies took our once beloved motor sport & tried to turn it into "the NFL/NBA on wheels". Stupid points system changes, race schedule changes including getting rid of these historic tracks in exchange for those boring ass cookie cutter 1.5 miler's...... "racing periods".....I guess so all the drivers & teams can take breaks for ice cream & snow cones. I quit watching in total disgust years ago. It's all so "ALIEN" now, compared to what it used to be. The ONLY thing I watch anymore, is Junior's podcast here.......and ONLY because he has legendary, veteran drivers, crew chiefs, car owners, etc as guests, who tell the funniest and most amazing stories that took place both on and off the track. Things we'll NEVER see in racing again.

They also have it on iRacing now! Great track.

And Nazereth

@christopher weise Bristol is suffering from the city more than anything

I was hoping Dale Jr would use some his influence to bring the track back even if it takes 5-10 years. Would be cool. I might be to optimistic though lol

How was getting in and out of Rockingham? I'd assume there are more nearby highways and space for access roads there.

@@jimmyj4uk US 1 and highway 177 are the only access roads to the "Rock". Both are two lane roads also except heading north on US 1 out of the track is four lane highway which helped traffic headed north but did little for traffic headed south, east and west. It was still a two lane parking lot headed south into the town of Rockingham and Hamlet. As i stated before, there were several more factor as to why these and many other tracks were shut down. The NHRA has even left the drag strip across the street out of their regular schedule although they return every now and then for an invitational race. Both tracks are still operational for regional events though.

The owner should really be so ashamed of himself, he should not have let it get like that, if he couldn’t take care of it he needed to sell it to someone else when it was in good shape

@@thebreatheezkeselowskifan6687 the track has changed hands several times over the years. It is a 7 figure number to upkeep a facility of this size. Short of Nascar coming back there isn't enough income to break even on what would be purely a labor of love.

It is condemned. No bringing it back. It would take a complete teardown and rebuild.

@Mackster Hell Yeah Brother!!

Neal M ...a few of the buildings have been condemned. Those could easily be torn down. The track, however is completely salvageable and repaveable. The real problem is the value of the property. Encroaching nearby housing developments and shopping plazas drive up property values, making the real estate more pricey to developers than a track rebuilding could financially sustain. The only way it could be feasible is if it was deemed a historical site and a multi-billionaire donor came along and restored it for the community, as opposed to selling off the property to put something redundant in it’s place, like a Walmart or a couple of hundred condos...

@@twoblacklabs904 That is all true, but Nascar would never put a race there unless the entire place was modernized. You can't just reseal the track and fix up those cinder block building and repair those old grandstands. It is just a no go all the way around.

@@twoblacklabs904 Nobody in Wilkes County would allow those types of things to show up. It's the back woods, everything that was there is gone. Furniture, textile, Lowe's even moved their offices elsewhere and closed down their original store in town and the Alcohol Law Enforcement office has also closed

that would be fun to see happen,. when the cars still resembled what was in the showroom at the time. the monte carlo ss, ford thunderbird, buick regal, oldsmobile cutlass (?) pontiac gran prix. dodge K cars............(j/k).

@christopher weise nothing will ever top Harry running 500 miles on sunday then going out monday morning to build houses. i'll always wonder how many more races Gant would have won had he started driving at an earlier age than he did.

87 Monte Carlo and Thunderbird confirmation by iRacing just now

Auto club? I love that speedway tho