NEWTON, N.C. — When the North Wilkesboro Speedway shutdown in 1996, it left a void in the community, once filled with generational tradition and family fun.
Ned Combs is the son of the late Charlie Combs, who built North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1946. Combs says his father left his shares of the speedway to his three children, when he passed in 1980.
“We sold first,” Combs said.
He describes the emotional history when the track shutdown in 1996.
“You know, a lot of times when you have something ... you don’t know how valuable it is, until it’s gone,” Combs said.
Without the pull of the track, Combs says people moved on to other jobs.
“They went back to farming and other things,” Combs said.
Wilkes County as a whole felt the impact of the closure of the North Wilkesboro Speedway.
“They lost Lowes, that was in Wilkes County, it moved to Charlotte. It was also Holly Farms Chicken back then, and they were bought out by Tyson, so the big corporations in the county were gone, and of course the speedway had already left,” Combs said.
Above all, he remembers people feeling angry, upset and disappointed, some even placing blame on the Combs family.
“We knew we were going to lose a race, regardless. NASCAR was growing. They were going to bigger markets. We knew we’d be lucky to keep one,” Combs said.
He said he couldn’t bring himself to attend the last race at the North Wilkesboro Speedway.
“I just couldn’t bring myself to go over there. I don’t know, firsthand, but I do know there’s a lot of unhappy people, and there’s still today, still blaming the Combs, for selling the speedway,” he said.
He stayed away, even after it was all over.
“Storm had come through and tore a bunch up, and it was really pitiful. That’s why we didn’t go by and look at it very often,” Combs said.
Twenty-seven years later, Combs says he’s excited to return with a crowd of NASCAR fans.
“It’s exciting. I’m glad to see it happen. And I think this time, it’ll be around for a while,” Combs said.
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