Since the Racetrack Revival event back in 2022, North Wilkesboro Speedway has become a staple on the CARS Tour schedule, blossoming into one of Late Model Stock Car racing’s crown jewel events.
The build up this year was just like recent years. A large list of cars on the entry list, once again kicking up NASCAR All-Star week. There was a special buzz in the air surrounding the facility.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans.
Intermittent rain throughout the night led to the cancellation of qualifying after just a few Pro Late Models had made time, eventually leading to the postponement of the entire event. A new date for the event is to be determined, presumably sometime later this summer.
With the Pro Late Model show scrapped Tuesday and eventually both series’ called off Wednesday, it has been an unfortunate week of wet weather for the CARS Tour. This marks the second series race this season that has had to be postponed due to rain.
However, the day wasn’t a total loss. A midday press conferences allowed us to catch up with the likes of Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, Carson Kvapil and others about how far short track racing’s come at North Wilkesboro in just a short amount of time.
Anyone who was in attendance of the Racetrack Revival event back in 2022 knows there was a special aura to that time. The feeling inside the facility as the cars were set to roll was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced at a racetrack to this day.
But even in that moment, there were question marks about the future of racing in North Wilkesboro. There were broken, decaying press boxes. Plenty of restoration still needed. In that moment, plans to rip up the surface and run dirt that October 2022 left many pessimistic about the future beyond that point.
Then came the 125-lap feature event. As Kvapil took the checkered flag that evening, many began to feel that there was hope after all.
For Queen, the relationship he has with North Wilkesboro is special. He ran in the top five before a mechanical failure in the 2022 event driving for his family team, which gave him the confidence to run the series full time in 2023. Queen then won the 2023 event in dominant fashion, claiming a race he called “the biggest win of my career”. This week he’s preparing to make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at the track on Saturday, May…
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