Smith now 100% owner of North Wilkesboro
Quote selected text Published November 8th, 2007 in NASCAR News
As part of his purchase of New Hampshire International Speedway from Bob Bahre, Bruton Smith also became “100 percent owner” of defunct North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
Bahre and Smith had been reluctant co-owners of the track for 10 years.
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It’s like being the King of Nothing. They ruined it and shuttered it and it’s a damn shame.
I don’t see the point of owning it. Smith won’t have a Sprint Cup date there, he will just keep adding dates to the mediocre tracks he owns
He didnt buy it to have a race, he bought it because the Bahre wanted to get out of the track ownership side of racing. He could take the track, transform it and have Legends, LMSC, Modifieds, USAC, USAR, IRL, ARCA, NNS, NCS race there and have it be used as a test track for Cup.
When N. Wilksboro went up on the block a few years back, I believe that the two owners wanted to get $12 million for it. Considering that Rockingham(a much better venue) went for $3 million and change, it could prove to be more difficult for Bruton to unload it. According to Bruton’s quotes, N. Wilksboro was in shambles(major sewerage problems) even when it hosted a Cup race years ago. And is one of the tracks that should have been closed. So it must be in worse shape now with more decay due to the lack of any maintenance. The problem right now is that it may be too far gone to bring back from the grave? Also, land values right now have dropped all over the country due to the swelling mortgage defaults. Unless someone comes a along and negotiates a fair price. But, it may cost too much to upgrade the venue to host races. Maybe a test track if the surface is still suitable? Considering all that, N. Wilksboro my just sit and suffer more decay.
I feel she shall sit in the Winds of time as a testment to her Racing Days which were some of the best in the History of Stock Car Racing.