WILKES COUNTY, N.C. — The roar of engines is back at the iconic North Wilkesboro Speedway.

What You Need To Know

Racetrack Revival is underway at the North Wilkesboro Speedway 

The event is attracting drivers from all over for the chance to bring grassroots racing back to the historic speedway

Pavement racing will continue through the rest of August and dirt races will begin in early October

Racetrack Revival is underway at the track, attracting drivers from all over for the chance to bring grassroots racing back to the historic speedway. Racing instructor Michael Taschereau said he’s glad to see the North Wilkesboro Speedway full of action again. 

“You know, without this place there wouldn’t be the newer tracks and the bigger tracks and the new Daytona and everything. I think this is important to the sport,” Taschereau said. 

A representative with Speedway Motorsports said the North Wilkesboro Speedway was a fixture on the NASCAR schedule from 1948 to 1996. As NASCAR grew into a more nationwide sport, it outgrew the speedway, one of its original tracks. 

Driver Paulie Hartwig III, 11, traveled nine hours from New Jersey for the opportunity to help bring history back to life. His family lives and breathes racing, and he said he already has seven years of racing experience under his belt. 

“This track is fast. I’ve never raced here before. This is probably the biggest track I’ve raced,” Hartwig III said. 

His father, Paul Hartwig Jr., shares his son’s love of racing. He estimates that he spends more than 70 hours per week in the shop and started driving race cars when he was 11 years old. 

“I wouldn’t change it for the world. As long as the rent and the mortgage is paid and the bills are paid, all the other money goes to racing. That’s how we live and do this,” Hartwig Jr. said.

Father and son are both excited to honor the North Wilkesboro Speedway’s history while playing a part in its future. Pavement racing will continue through the rest of August and dirt races will begin in early October.