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In a bid to return to the heights it reached in the early 2000s, NASCAR and Senior Vice President Ben Kennedy have gotten creative when it comes to shaping the series’ calendar.
The NASCAR Cup Series has held its season-opening exhibition race inside the historic LA Memorial Coliseum each of the last two seasons. And the series is set to race through the streets of Chicago for the first time over July 4th weekend.
But it’s not just new venues that are being added to the calendar. NASCAR is also doing everything it can to revive some of the most historic venues in the sport’s history.
The 2023 NASCAR All-Star race will be held at legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina. The track hosted races every year from 1949-1996 and saw legends such as Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt take the checkered flag as winners.
Now it appears that the series could return to yet another historic track in the coming years.
NASCAR Takes Another Step Forward Toward Return To Another Historic Track
Like North Wilkesboro, the Nashville Fairground Speedway is embedded in the fabric of NASCAR history. The track hosted Cup Series races from 1958-1984.
Petty, Earnhardt and more have all won at the track.
But size concerns and lack of upkeep led to the track falling off the calendar. Now it could be on the way back.
Dustin Long of Yahoo Sports reports that a vote on Tuesday night could help make a return happen..
“The Nashville Fair Board Commissioners approved an agreement with Bristol Motor Speedway to operate Fairgrounds Speedway by a 3-2 vote, moving the prospect of NASCAR racing at the historic track closer to reality.
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The deal called for Bristol Motor Speedway to lease, manage and operate Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway for a 30-year term. Bristol would be responsible for installing state-of-the-art sound mitigation to help reduce the noise in the surrounding neighborhoods. The track’s grandstand would be rebuilt to seat approximately 30,000 fans. – via Yahoo Sports
As part of the deal, Bristol plans to bring NASCAR’s premier series back to the track.
The summary of the deal terms states: “Bristol will hold a NASCAR Cup Race at least every other year throughout the lease agreement and has agreed to make up any deficits in pledged revenues in order to ensure the bond payments are met in the event a race is not held as anticipated.”
No timetable has been given on how long it will take to compete the renovation projects and have the track ready to host NASCAR racing.
NASCAR fans have asked for a return to historic venues for years. Now it appears they may be about get exactly what they wanted.