This was always one of my favorite short tracks.
Even though it's not a cup race, I still can't wait to see someone race there again.

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/opinion/11/14/inside.line.dcaraviello.north.wilkesboro/story_single.html#page2

Rich :thumbsup:

Here's some history...

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/features/04/01/enterprise.north.wilkesboro.economic.impact/index.html?imw=Y

and an update on another missed track....

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/features/02/25/enterprise.jmenzer.ahillenburg.rockingham/index.html

I went to my first Cup race at North Wilkesboro in 1992 (the King's final short track race). :thumbsup:

Speaking of the King, look at him trading paint for the lead about 5 minutes in with Geoff Bodine at N. Wilkes back in 1986 -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2T4RodH2tY

Cup racing was so much more fun and more entertaining back then . . .

The second story is a nice read. The resurrection of Rockingham is a great thing. Certainly describes the resentment and outright hatred Nascar created from diehard fans when Bruton Smith bought tracks to shut them down and take the dates elsewhere. You trade loyal knowledgeable fans for people who show up for flash and noise, as long as that's what's popular.

Haven't been one to go to short tracks in years, my loss really. Remember getting p/o'ed years ago in Mississippi when a few locals used B/S reasons to close Jackson International Speedway, 1/2 mile paved and way cool, after they built houses and moved next door to it, only to complain about the noise and "pollution". The track and that neighborhood fronted the interstate. Noisy trucks filled with every known "toxin" under the sun sharing road space 24/7 with them, and the track was the problem LOL. Ain't easy owning a racetrack and keeping it open!!!!!!!

But those tracks used to be much more of a link between small time and top tier. Dozens, maybe hundreds of racers with families and teams and sponsors and fans run various series at each venue every year, maybe a few get a shot to move up bigtime. Lots of them start out on a shoestring, and their original fanbase grows and follows them. Now the road to success and longevity obviously comes more from people who buy their way up - not that it didn't happen before too - drivers who jump from series to series, or who hang on and on because they are a familiar name. F1 or Indycar washup? Come to Nascar LOL.

Cut the roots and put the flowers and leaves in water, sooner or later what shows wilts!

Man, that sure is a great race Doba. That's the kind of stuff I miss seeing.

Ohh, come on, this is just your selective imagination that the racing was better.
There are all these numbers that say the racing is better today, you are suffering from old age :)
It's the work of the Devil, he's trying to confuse you.

Later,
Keith

Ohh, come on, this is just your selective imagination that the racing was better.
There are all these numbers that say the racing is better today, you are suffering from old age :)
It's the work of the Devil, he's trying to confuse you.

Later,
Keith


Oh yeah, that's right. I keep forgetting :p

Watch or don't for your own reasons.... I will watch or not watch for my own.

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com

Watch or don't for your own reasons.... I will watch or not watch for my own.

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com

My memory may be bad, but it's not gone.

The thing I do remember about racing "back in the day" is that you couldn't watch it on T.V. I sat in front of the TV every saturday to see if "Wide world of sports" was going to show the Champ cars from the indy mile, or the USAC cars at Terre Haute. There was vurtually NO TV coverage back then, so the calls of "it was better back then" could be true or not. I don't know, I didn't see it.

Darn, EVERYTHING is on TV today, and if you can't find what you want look on YOUTUBE LOL. Watch what you want, it's a free country.

Fledgling ESPN covered all the Nascar races in the early 80's, except the big ones the networks picked up. It was a milestone for network and series, and was especially good for all the lesser tracks that never had much chance of "big 3" TV coverage. ESPN was heavy into racing then - sprint cars on Thursday Night Thunder was the best! And no matter what series, they were all rebroadcast several times during the week.....

If you didn't read the articles Rich linked to, you should.

Smalltime, I think the comment was the quality of the racing might have been better, not necessarily the coverage. The very first stock car race I ever saw was in person, not on TV, same with the first Indy race I saw. Think of all the great racing that was never broadcast, never really documented and preserved, like NASCAR's Grand National dirt races. You won't see Gordon take the same pavement car he runs at Darlington and race it on dirt, I don't know if a Daytona or Superbird ever raced offroad but I can only imagine they could have. And we're not talking ancient history here, we're talking the late 1960's to early 1970's. So while the TV coverage is much better now, the maturing of the sport as well as broadcast science having matured making it so, the raw excitment of those older days were just better for some of us.

I don't know if a Daytona or Superbird ever raced offroad but I can only imagine they could have.

USAC ran the Superbirds and Daytonas on dirt in the early 70s along with the Talladega.

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=hinton_ed&id=4647144&campaign=link&source=JAYSKI

Good article and I actually agree with Darby on the front spoiler/splitter being the same.
With the bump stop thing, if Na$car would issue standard shocks with enough stiffness to them, it may preclude the crew chiefs from getting them down on the bump stops.
Thing is, other forms of racing get their cars to handle without being on the stops so there is a way to do it.
Anyway, they made their bed so they will get what ever comes to them.

Later,
Keith