After a 26 years gap since 1996, the North Wilkesboro Speedway made its historic return to its racing roots in 2023 when it hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race in 2023. This Daytona-rivaling speedway has now become the center of people’s curiosity, due to a special ‘moonshine cave’ being discovered beneath its foundations.
Regarding this ‘hot topic,’ it is only normal that the curious ‘What is this NASCAR moonshine cave?’ question arises.
NASCAR Moonshine Cave: What is it?
The North Wilkesboro Speedway, one of NASCAR’s oldest and legendary tracks, has been the subject of everyone’s curiosity in the world of NASCAR, courtesy of a ‘moonshine cave’ being unearthed under its Grandstand. Now, the curious fans of this sport are terming it as the ‘NASCAR moonshine cave.’
There have been decades-long rumors that the site was hiding a secret moonshine still, and some locals believe this recent discovery only backs up those rumors.
The NASCAR ‘moonshine cave’ was discovered by the track officials at North Wilkesboro Speedway earlier last week. It was found during a routine cleaning and inspection near the ageing-concrete seats in section N toward Turn 1.
Speedway Motorsports, which owns this historic racetrack, revealed its ‘NASCAR moonshine cave’ discovery in an official press release. In the release, it stated that at first ‘operations staff discovered cracks in the original concrete in section N,’ and then ‘began removing seats to inspect the extent of the damage and evaluate needs for repair.’ This led to the uncovering of an open area of ‘approximately 700-square-feet’ underneath the aging concrete.
“When we began renovating and restoring North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2022, we’d often hear stories of how an old moonshine still was operated here on the property under the grandstands,” said Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations and development at Speedway Motorsports.
Swift admitted that the track officials haven’t discover the still yet. He also put forth that the site was even suitable as hideouts for criminals. “We don’t know how people would have gotten in and out, but as we uncover more, there’s no telling what we might find,” he concluded.
This ‘moonshine cave’ unearthing at the Wilkesboro speedway comes just two years after this legendary American racetrack marked its historic comeback to NASCAR in 2022.
NASCAR North Wilkesboro Speedway Circuits History
The North Wilkesboro Speedway has a long and rich history in American racing, dating back to the early 1940s. Local businessmen, led by Enoch Staley, built it in North Carolina’s Wilkes County, which was known as the moonshine capital of America back then.
Built in 1947, the track is termed as a short oval racetrack with a track length of 0.625Â mi (1.006Â km) and carries a unique construction with an uphill backstretch and downhill frontstretch.
The track hosted its first racing event on May 18, 1947, which was won by NASCAR icon Fonty Flock. Since its inception, it held countless Cup Series races, where legendary drivers like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon emerged as the ‘pole-sitters.’ Over the next years, it went on to become one of America’s most iconic and historic racing sites. But it all came to halt in 1996, when the speedway was pulled off from the NASCAR schedules, due to outdated facilities and limited seats.
Despite brief returns in 2010 and 2011, the circuit was left abandoned for a total of 26 years before hitting a comeback in 2022. In 2022, the Wilkesboro Speedway made its re-entry to the world of racing with grassroots racing and got its true shine back as a host of the 2023 NASCAR All-Star race and a Truck Series event.
As for now, the North Wilkesboro Speedway will again return to its racing roots with the NASCAR All-Star Race between May 17-19, 2024.
Do the other historic American tracks also hold such ‘NASCAR moonshine caves’? Should the North Wilkesboro Speedway host more NASCAR races? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
