History to be made as NASCAR returns to North Wilkesboro

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — History is being made in North Wilkesboro as NASCAR returns to its speedway.

Channel 9′s Jonathan Lowe continued coverage of the massive effort it took to make this All-Star Race happen.

A sold-out crowd walked into the North Wilkesboro Speedway Sunday night. The track had been closed for 27 years before being newly restored.

“There’s never been a professional sports venue that completely closed, was left for dead and was resurrected for the same major league sport. And that’s exactly what happened here,” Scott Cooper with Speedway Motorsports Inc. said.

“That was one of the reasons we wanted to come down. we heard about them restoring this historic race track,” John Kory, who traveled from Michigan, said.

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People from all over the country and the world have been drawn to this story of rebirth.

“We haven’t been here before. They opened it back up. We wanted to come down and see it. We brought a motorhome down. The 11-hour drive wasn’t bad. We’re camped way out in the middle of nowhere,” Canadian Mark Wilkinson told Channel 9.

“We have sold tickets to fans in all 50 us states, the US territory of the virgin islands, and seven foreign countries. Even as far away as Switzerland, Israel, and Australia,” Cooper said.

Speedway Officals said the investments have been massive and they are confident there will be a return. Not just for the local area but for the state as a whole.

“Something that western and northwestern North Carolina could be proud of that could host car shows or car festivals. And certainly signature race events with late models on the weekends,” Cooper explained.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Renovations ahead of schedule at North Wilkesboro Speedway for NASCAR All-Star Race

There’s also the potential of getting back on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

“Those schedules are put together on a year-to-year basis and we’ll evaluate a lot of things after this weekend. And those discussions will start and who knows, the future could continue to be bright for North Wilkesboro Speedway,” Cooper said.

NASCAR officials are predicting All-Star Week, not just Sunday’s race, will have a dramatic economic impact. But those final numbers won’t be available for several weeks.

VIDEO: North Wilkesboro locals ready for NASCAR’s long-awaited return