Before his passing in 2007, NASCARHall of Famer Benny Parsons left a bucket list... The final unresolved item on that list — until now — was to revive the historic NWBSpeedway and bring NASCAR back. It's been an emotional journey for his wife, Terri:
The No. 3 and NASCAR racing have become synonymous over the years yet in this case it was not about the late Dale Earnhardt.
North Wilkesboro Speedway, opened in 1947, and was one of the eight tracks on the original NASCAR Cup schedule in 1949. The track briefly reopened in 2010 and hosted races from the now-inactive ASA Late Model Series, USARacing Pro Cup Series, and PASS Super Late Models, but closed again in the spring of 2011.
The track hosted a month of asphalt racing last year and catered to large and enthusiastic crowds, which included an appearance by Earnhardt Jr. in a CARS Tour late model race.Parsons, though, knew no one – the community, state and local government officials and perhaps even fans – would take an effort to reopen the speedway seriously without the involvement of the speedway owners.
“It just all came together at the right time,” Terri Parsons explained. “You had Steven Wilson and the Save the Speedway Foundation, you had Dale Jr., you had our efforts at the Chamber of Commerce. You had the money from the state. Now seven months later, Parsons and everyone who has taken a vested interest in a lasting, viable reopening of North Wilkesboro, can enjoy the fruits of their labor.The speedway required technological upgrades but in doing so, Smith and those who supported the speedway’s reopening wanted to try to preserve its place in the sport’s – and state of North Carolina’s – history as much as possible.
“It actually may be better if fans don’t notice what we have done,” explained Smith. “We tried really hard to make this place feel classic and nostalgic but make it work like it was just built.“We’ve got the best audio system of any track. We’ve got a new Wi-Fi system throughout the track. We have brand new LED lights. We have a new digital screen that actually looks like the old one.
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