Tracks

North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina


North Wilkesboro Speedway held its final race on September 29, 1996. The track was purchased by track owners Bruton Smith and Bob Bahre a few months earlier. Smith took one of the track's race dates to bring Winston Cup racing to Texas Motor Speedway while Bahre took the other date to secure a second race at New Hampshire International Speedway. Since September 1996 the track has been silent. Though Texas opened a new market for Winston Cup, it was yet another 1.5-mile D-shaped oval. And the September 2000 race at New Hampshire took the award for most boring race in years as Jeff Burton led all 300 laps.

North Wilkesboro was NASCAR racing. The day the series left the track in the North Carolina hills was the day a piece of NASCAR's heart was ripped out. The downhill-uphill design of the straightaways was truly unique. While some point to the closing of North Wilkesboro as "progress," I don't view it as such. It is an example of two individuals who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

North Wilkesboro Speedway - Track Information

Length .625 mile; oval
Banking
Turns- 14 degrees
Location
I-77 (north of Charlotte about 70 miles) to Route 421.

Jeff's History At North Wilkesboro

Race Date Start Finish Notebook
September 29, 1996 2 1 Jeff wins the last race at the track. Posts wins at all four short tracks he competed on in his career-- Bristol, Martinsville, Richmond, and North Wilkesboro.
April 14, 1996 17 2 Terry Labonte's silver Ironman car holds off his teammate.
October 1, 1995 14 3  
April 9, 1995 1 2 Ran second to Dale Earnhardt. Though Jeff was more than half a lap behind at the finish.
October 2, 1994 12 8  
April 17, 1994 12 15 Terry Labonte's first win since 1989.
October 3, 1993 16 34 A year to forget at North Wilkesboro.
April 18, 1993 7 34 Fire.


Career Stats At North Wilkesboro
Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles
8 1 4 5 1


North Wilkesboro Breakdown
Average Start 10.1
Average Finish 12.3
Victories - 1 September 1996

Tracks Index

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