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After North Wilkesboro’s Revival, Chase Elliott Demands the Return of Historic NASCAR Track

Published 05/20/2023, 1:23 PM EDT

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With the NASCAR Cup Series returning to the iconic North Wilkesboro track, the fans are certainly ecstatic for this week’s All-Star Race. The stage is set for an iconic race at the track after a long interval. The iconic short track is seeing a revival this week as NASCAR races are coming back to the track.

Recently, NASCAR’s golden boy, Chase Elliott reacted to the news of the track’s revival. Elliott mentioned his previous races at the track and briefed about another such iconic track that the driver would like to see returning to its former glory.

Chase Elliott would love to see another NC track getting revived

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Popularly known as “the Rock,” Rockingham Speedway is another track in North Carolina that has crumbled owing to a fall in popularity. While the organization is making a move to newer venues like the latest Chicago Street Course, it’s these traditional short tracks that have gone out of commission.

After the dedicated efforts of several individuals, including Dale Earnhardt Jr, the much-needed revamp was done at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. The addition of the iconic track to the Cup Series calender has certainly excited the fans.

Chase Elliott recently shared his thoughts on the matter in a press conference ahead of the All-Star Race at the track when the reporter asked the 30-year-old about his thoughts on “the rock” getting back on the Cup Series calendar. The Hendrick Motorsports speedster said, I’d be up for it. I thought Rockingham was a great racetrack and I had a chance to race there too a few times, I ran a truck there I think once and had a couple K&N races up there and ran late model race there once as well. So yeah, I thought Rockingham was a great race track.”

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He further added, I loved racing there. Especially at the time I was just getting going, it was the biggest place I had been to, so I thought that was really cool then but it was a great track and really wide.”  

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Even as he admitted his excitement about the track, Elliott also pointed out that it was because of the lack of support by racing enthusiasts that lead to the track getting out of contention.

Elliott mentions the NC State funding that proved to be the game-changer as he points out the fans’ role

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North Wilkesboro Speedway was removed from the Cup Series calendar in 1997. This week’s All-Star brings NASCAR fans back to the iconic short track. The state of North Carolina certainly has a history of exceptional oval racing and race tracks. As the HMS speedster mentioned, it was the state’s funding and Dale Jr’s timely intervention that saved the track from destruction.

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Elliot also reflected on the funding aspect while he answered his thoughts about “the Rock” being revived to former glory. I’d love to see it revived as well. There’s been a lot of state funding and things that North Carolina has allocated to the racetracks and things, and I certainly think Rockingham could be a good place to get in the works too but that’s way above me.”

Also, Elliott made an interesting point, one that ardent fans need to listen to. “I think we all have to ask ourselves that and the people that support racing need to ask themselves that too because if we don’t support this stuff, it’s going to go away, it’s just how it works.”

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With the Cup Series returning to the track, fans are excited like never before. And the upcoming All-Star race certainly brings the charm with such a great event back on an iconic race track.

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Written by:

Kishore R

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Kishore is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. With a degree in engineering, Kishore's love for automobiles, particularly the roaring naturally-aspirated V8s, naturally led him to NASCAR. Kishore's writing is characterized by his intense passion for the sport, as well as his ability to conduct in-depth research and analysis.
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Edited by:

Nischal Kandpal