NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper visited historic North Wilkesboro Speedway on Tuesday, where he promoted the track's revival and got to ride along in a sports car with NASCAR legend Richard Childress.
The track hasn't hosted racing events for more than a decade, but racing will return to the speedway in the summer of 2022.
Earlier this year, the state budget allocated money from the American Rescue Plan to fix up the historic speedway.
Gov. Cooper said when the state received federal funds for pandemic relief efforts, it was a bipartisan effort to bring racing back to the old track.
"When it came time for recovery, we thought about one of the best ways to invest in our people, use American Rescue Fund investments to invest in our economy and jobs and tourism, coming to a place like North Wilkesboro Speedway and making a significant investment...and bringing it back, because we know it can bring joy to people," Cooper said.
Speedway Motorsports, the company that owns the track, is working with Wilkes County and state officials to use $18 million earmarked for the 75-year-old facility.
XR Events is producing the events for racing's return over the summer. More information on events and tickets can be found on North Wilkesboro Speedway's website.