Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the reasons North Wilkesboro Speedway is back on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar. Ahead of this weekend’s Cup race at the historic short track, Earnhardt sat down for an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi to reflect on the speedway’s return and the role he played in making it happen.
During the interview, Earnhardt Jr. explained that he first wanted to scan the abandoned speedway for iRacing in 2019. He pitched the idea to Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith during a flight and that started the chain of events that brought the NASCAR Cup Series back to Wilkesboro.
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Earnhardt also reacted to Bianchi’s post on X, writing:
“I really enjoyed this conversation Jordan.”
Earnhardt Jr. also said that he had given up hope of NASCAR returning to race there. Then, discussions about holding dirt races at the short track opened uo and he suggested bringing the CARS Tour to the track. He worked with promoter Jack McNelly and Speedway Motorsports to make it happen.
That race took place in 2022 and the track welcomed close to 30,000 fans even though many facilities were still unfinished. Earnhardt Jr. finished third in the race and North Wilkesboro hosted the NASCAR Cup Series’ All-Star Race in 2023, 2024 and 2025 before receiving a full Cup Series points race this season, the first championship event since 1996.
“This weekend at Wilkesboro just feels unique” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. looking forward to celebrating racing at North Wilkesboro
The ZMax CARS Tour will start off the weekend at North Wilkesboro with NASCAR Cup winners Chase Elliott and Corey Heim competing in Late Models on Friday. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also shared his excitement about the weekend’s stacked lineup. He wrote:
“When you look at the entries for the ZMax Cars Tour events, the Craftsman Truck Series event, and obviously the Cup race…. this weekend at Wilkesboro just feels unique. Lots of racing to celebrate.”
The Cup Series will return to the 0.625-mile oval for the Window World 450, scheduled on Sunday, July 19, with the green flag expected shortly after 7 p.m. ET.
The weekend also features the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ FaithFest 250 on Saturday, continuing another busy race weekend at the revived venue. Several Cup Series regulars are set to compete, including Elliott in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Christopher Bell in the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota, Shane van Gisbergen in the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, and Carson Hocevar in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
Edited by Palak Gupta
