Abandoned - North Wilkesboro Speedway

2023 UPDATE - • North Wilkesboro Speed...
In the mountains of North Carolina, sits one of NASCAR's most legendary tracks. A speedway known for its fan service and amazing races with iconic drivers. This is the North Wilkesboro Speedway.
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BrightSunFilms 2018

[@BrightSunFilms]

2023 UPDATE - kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaS3nnh6hauZbNE

[@extragoogleaccount6061]

You did a great job at understanding why fans have a connection to the track. I'm guessing you might have watched a race or two growing up as many creators would not have been able to understand the significance or nostalgia. I re watched this after your recent update and its pretty amazing to see/imagine the track making it back...as you said, must structures featured in this series will never be resurrected.

[@sespider]

Came here to thank you guys for your video and support of the track. As well to point out it's return. Only to find you've beat me to it!

[@mermaidslam7936]

Update: Dale Jr and a cleanup crew went to north Wilkesboro to clean up the track so that it could be laser scanned to be put into iRacing. The Nascar iRacing pro series just had a race at the virtual track recently. The track may never see any more racing, but it's legacy will live on in sim racing

[@kellylovesduke]

But that's useless unless you're a millenial.

[@KogeyFox]

@@kellylovesduke That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. Don't use age as an excuse for ignorance.

[@kellylovesduke]

@@KogeyFox You're obviously one masquerading as an adult. Most grown ups don't play video games no matter the generation, especially women. People watching other people play video games is pathetic. How about fixing the real tracks instead.

[@slyguythreeonetwonine3172]

Good Guy Dale Jr.!

[@_Maelgon_]

L C not true hundreds of millions of adults play video games. You honestly don’t know crap. Go back to preschool and actually pay attention in class instead of spamming jack sh*t. You really look like an idiot.

[@ryeinc]

Here after the news, holy shit. I NEVER EVER thought we’d see Cup cars back on NW. Now just one year away ☺️

[@markschoenfelder9286]

Came here to say this too 🤘

[@mollycaz1]

Allstar weekend and truck series 2023 ...

[@mollycaz1]

6 months away from the old track hearing cup cars start there engines.

[@RammerSTi]

Now it's not even 2 weeks away.

[@masonadkins7540]

The speedway has been saved and racing has returned with races throughout the month of august and October of 2022

[@RammerSTi]

New Update: The track is expected to be officially open again soon, and having new races start there.

[@TGCwolfie1]

An Abandoned video on a location that became no longer Abandoned 4 years later.

[@ACoolKidsProduction]

It happened! Thank you post-covid stimulus!

[@joshuapittman4663]

Update: NASCAR announced that North Wilkesboro will be on the 2023 Cup series schedule for the 2023 All Star Race.

[@JamaicaZ160R1793010A]

Whoa...good to know.

[@RammerSTi]

​@@joshuapittman4663 Definitely a big turnaround for sure. From NASCAR races to abandoned to eNASCAR and then back to NASCAR.

[@genghiscalm4879]

NASCAR needs more North Wilksboros and fewer Texas Motor Speedways. Tracks with lower speeds and more action driven on by cars that actually look like something you can buy on Monday.

[@tylerdurden8939]

You do realize Trump bought a couple segregated country clubs in florida back in the 80's and opened them to everyone after living in florida for awhile and discovering that they existed. He was praised by black leaders and he did similar things in new york. He wasn't called racist til he ran for president and it became a efficient way to further divide the country. I disagree with a lot of his tyrannical policies like renewing the NDAA but racist, i think its just propaganda to get left leaning Marxist punks all riled up.

[@SaintedPIacebo]

What you are describing is Sports Car GT racing on an Oval. I love short track nascar racing. i also love GT racing. Mid Ohio, ViR, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, and countless others in Europe with leagues spanning from GT5 to GTLE

[@baileyreichert6138]

Mike Collar shut up with politics god damn

[@BigCS784]

@Greg Gregory you do know that their are black people that support Trump right?

[@genghiscalm4879]

@@baileyreichert6138 Where the hell did I bring politics in? My comment was on the cars and the tracks. Where people take it from there is beyond my control.

[@baydenlapiana2297]

I live like 25 minutes away from this and snuck in there one day to explore. I was wondering the history behind it and wondering what happened to it. Thank u so much for making this

[@blistering_alla_marc_gene]

so you can sneak in the facility or is something of illegal? If it stays abandoned would be cool visit it "for free"

[@BlueRidgeKat1]

Cant believe it's been 22 years since the last cup race there. I was fortunate to see Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnet and Bobby Allison win there. Geoff Bodine once to.

[@bspegasus]

And camping out in the infield.

[@FireballTalksNASCAR]

Did you see Geoff Bodine win in the #7?

[@herecomestom2937]

BlueRidgeKat1 it’s been awhile but my first race I remember at North Wilkesboro Harry Gant won I still remember picking his die cast 1/64 at the merch booths dad told me to pick out the winner and I was drawn to the white n green 33 nothing surprises me more when he won.

[@austincooper4508]

You going to the all star race?

[@SnarlyCharly]

I wasn't too surprised to hear that Dale Jr was helping organize some late model races at North Wilkesboro, but holy sh*t did the NASCAR all star race announcement shock me. That's going to be a spectacle for sure!

[@TweezersUnlimited]

Kyle Larson: nah no fun allowed

[@alexlloydmusic5647]

I live near Charlotte NC and whenever my family would take a trip up to the mountains, we’d go by this speedway. I never knew anything about it and it always fascinated me on how such a large place could be abandoned like that. Thanks for making this video, now I know the story of the speedway I go by on the highway.

[@pinheadlarry1019]

Yeah, I pass it to. On US 421 once a month. Because once a month I have to drive from where I live, Lenoir, NC, To Winston Salem, NC. It's really sad to see the speedway go.

[@dingusmann3003]

North wilkesboro is officially back, theyve got the money together and theres race dates scheduled and theres work being done on it to get the track back in racing shape

[@TGCwolfie1]

And now this track has been Awarded the 2023 NASCAR All Star race on May 21st 2023. Truly no longer an Abandoned facility. And as a line I'd recommend in the update video "Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, racing and NASCAR is back in North Wilkesboro"

[@christopherpettit2304]

I was 12 and remember watching the last Cup race there on ESPN. Its blows my mind ill be 39 and the Cup cars will finally be racing there again!

[@TGCwolfie1]

@@christopherpettit2304 Not just cars cause the CARS Tour had one hell of a successful and packed race. But Nascar all star weekend. With the Trucks, The CARS Tour will also be present and the Cup Series All Star race.

[@mollycaz1]

The Truck series is coming 2023 and do not be surprised to see SRX there in 2023.

[@jordantiegs1673]

Wow! Thank you, Jake! I was the person who submitted the video idea for North Wilkesboro Speedway on your website! really cool to see how well you connect with your audience! keep up the good work!

[@sfkeeyan]

Jake, as a NASCAR fan I did not expect this! Awesome job.

[@Godblessamerica2012]

Same

[@noahchappell5781]

Same

[@HyperActive7]

I remember watching races on TV from this track.. Really needs to be turned into a museum of North Carolina's racing past.

[@sofakingonmynuts1438]

not a nascar fan but jake is great with the information and history he brings to his videos, im not a fan but i respect

[@jeremysmith2375]

TheKeetoTheDoor it's sad to see the way it looks now . I live 5 min away from it . You're right about the people not letting it be destroy it's part of history here . There is a few things you lefted out . A person did try to buy it to open it back up but not for racing . But the owner wouldn't sell it cause he knew one day this place will be worth alot more money .

[@BiggHoss]

Pretty cool that Dale Jr is getting Iracing to scan this track

[@bcolerl8915]

I have no clue what you tried to say here.

[@HeathNation2465]

@@bcolerl8915 You must be new here.

[@editsbya6010]

HeathNation2465 yep

[@Phonixrmf]

Braden Jackson Dale Jr, a former NASCAR racer, got people to clean up the track so iRacing, a racing simulator, can scan the track so it can be raced online. In other words, it's good that they brought life back to the track in one form or another

[@Birick]

@@Phonixrmf ur comment is too explanatory for the gen public

[@racerj2.03]

I was moved to Charlotte in 1964 when my father scored a job with Columbia Car Corp. They provided golf carts to the Charlotte Motor speedway at no charge. This was why I was able to see races there in the 1960's for free. Fast forward to the 1990's when I had become a NASCAR JUNKIE, and I discovered it's short tracks. This was now my favorite track in NASCAR for all the reasons you mentioned. What you failed to mention was the fact that the GREED of NASCAR and Speedway motorsports is the only reason that this track died. As it turned out the 1990's was the peak of NASCAR. Speedway and NASCAR decided to expand into major markets outside the south and build massive speedway's to tap into their perceived revenue streams. The only problem was that there were no more race dates avaible. So SMS, and their counterparts bought the short tracks in order to transfer their race dates to these new super speedway's. This is where the France family and the Smith family screwed up. This was the beginning of NASCAR's decline, it's abandonment of it's southern roots and fan base, directly contributed to the sorry state of NASCAR today.

[@bw-leftturnracing7779]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but nascar actually hit its peak around 2005 as far as popularity is concerned

[@BeelzebubBeelzebub]

Jolene Vilis NASCAR is the perfect place to go and talk about the stock market as the cars race around battling for points and glory!

[@gaffneyrailroading1982]

Not to mention the addition of punks like Kyle Busch, Brad Keslowski, and Joey Logano. Can't stand any of those three.

[@bobby-ov9qn]

@Jolene That that spanking new mega-track in Dallas ended up costing those NASCAR whores a lot of money, as they had to re-do portions of the track the first two years, because the surfaces sucked. Wilksboro was such a cool track, and yet I wouldn't be surprised if the same happened to Martinsville, (another of my favorite tracks).

[@foxbodyblues6709]

@@bw-leftturnracing7779 2005 was the peak of the housing bubble so that’s not so surprising, also attendance/viewership doesn’t necessarily reflect true popularity if the difference between the 90’s and 2005 is a temporary sugar high sitting on top of its actual peak in sustainable popularity. But NASCAR based their future on that 2005 sugar high, and the results were easy to predict. The bottom fell out without a strong foundation.

[@GermanPerfectionist]

Freakin love the "abandoned" series! The quality of these videos is just insane!

[@ferniegarrote1838]

The Stig's German Cousin hey I've seen you on car throttle!

[@GermanPerfectionist]

Fernie2002 Am I so famous yet? I get recognized A LOT on KZbin... xD

[@human_bing]

Stig

[@itsabraham6625]

The Stig's German Cousin ayye CT peep

[@petrolweeb]

The Stig's German Cousin Well hello there

[@chloesanders8338]

I can rewatch all your videos and not get bored

[@BenTheMiner]

Same

[@TechnologySpotlight]

I can agree with that

[@akaghosty5969]

Same

[@broken_bones_acres]

Nascar is no longer a mega sport and this track would easly hold current crowds.

[@eastsidebadger8416]

E Wookiee No doubt..older fans who remember N Wilkesboro would definitely attend.

[@michaelpass1831]

Chris Stitt it absolutely would

[@russianbubbawallace8681]

The only tracks that fill up anymore are Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, Charlotte the west coast tracks, and the road courses

[@timburnette5914]

I heard dale jr was trying to buy it

[@arbysandtehchief5494]

@@russianbubbawallace8681 They killed Charlotte they turned it into a Roval road course.

[@adamcichon6957]

Why not to start a Historic NASCAR series, using replicas of historic cars, using those old, historic tracks?????

[@jakebraun6376]

S1apSh0es already does that

[@sangmii5793]

I don't think there would be a lot of interest in that, sadly.

[@adamcichon6957]

@@sangmii5793 Some people would be interest. In 1996 they should turn North Wilksboro into landmarked building/structure. And look around for founds to keep it in healty condition. Still is not too late.

[@the_rustydoornob1164]

Honestly every motor sport should do that I would love to see someone racing on Daytona beach in an old Hudson hornet or someone driving one of Colin Chapman’s old lotuses at Monaco

[@chasedl3560]

Lucas Oil Great American Stock series and any Stocker or Bomber races.

[@Louis-ux1yb]

Never stop doing what you're doing, Jake! Such a fun and informative series with a nostalgic atmosphere.

[@kevinsmusic]

Been with BSF since the start. The growth of this channel and how far it's come is incredible and well deserved!

[@superblindeye1]

As a Nascar fan, I'm proud to say, it's coming back!

[@ErikZarins]

You're gonna need to update this video because North Wilkesboro Speedway is making a comeback!!!!

[@greg33770]

....was a big fan for a long time.....now I don't even watch anymore.....I miss the good ole' days, when drivers drove, they bumped each other and that was part of good ole' boy racing, each car was different, and the crews did their best and were allowed to use ingenuity.

[@kearahmonae7074]

I'm so happy to have found this channel, I been binge watching and I can't get enough!

[@JerseyDevils21]

Kearah Monae' you will be entertained

[@benn3742]

Kearah Monae' same

[@kearahmonae7074]

Social degenerate nerd with stage 4 piccolo 😂😂😂

[@donaldbartram6315]

When NASCAR was for the true fans,, not for corporate greed.

[@donaldbartram6315]

Like I said,, it's not the working mans race anymore..It's all corporate greed the races are boring ,all the cars are the same. I remember back when it was the driver that raced,, cars had different size engines , They raced Galaxies & Impalas alongside Malibus & Fairlanes,,

[@chuckythedoll4815]

Exactly what wrecked it.

[@donaldbartram6315]

I miss the older smaller tracks,, Individualism in building cars,, & just the look of the cars. I mean you can't tell a FORD from a CHEVY & un-American entry the TOYOTA,,Which I notice there are less of these days racing.

[@jefferyfinguy1957]

@@donaldbartram6315 So literally they turned into sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, ect? Yeah color me shocked.

[@donaldbartram6315]

HHMMMMM..never thought of it like that, NASCAR was basically the only sport I liked to watch, never really cared about the others, especially the NBA.

[@HistoryBuff1999]

And today is the day. Nascar is officially back at this track. Dale Jr did a great job in rebuilding this track and put in a lot of money and work to do it. God bless him.

[@BuschWhackerReviews]

As a NASCAR fan I’m glad you made an episode about this

[@ryry47ftw]

BuschWhacker Reviews amen

[@The98Man098]

RYRY47 FTW 24 mins ago

[@futuremiIf]

Can this be a real tv show immediately? I mean it has better production quality than half the stuff on tv and it just keeps getting better

[@SirBlackReeds]

The production quality isn't that great. It's as good as you can get for the type of series this is, but it's mostly images and graphics with pre-recorded video feed and narration. You could make this sort of thing in Windows Movie Maker. Granted I wouldn't recommend that program for making this sort of thing, but you get my point: the production quality isn't the truly impressive part. It's the amount of research that goes into this.

[@Mr.Everything]

It’s not a cancerous reality show, low brow hipster comedy, or fake news so I don’t see it succeeding on television.

[@DougLAnderson]

I half agree. The production quality isn't up to par with something that would actually air on TV. On the other hand, I think that the only significant thing preventing that is the intro and outro. "Hey, what's up guys" makes it feel cheaper and KZbin-y, as does "follow on [social media]" at the end. I'd even go a step further and say that the ending could probably be the same, but the intro feels like a vlog. I don't think the pre-recorded video, images, or narration hold back the quality of it at all. I think with a bigger budget and access to more archival footage it would feel more like a Ken Burns doc than a video essay. The research and writing is definitely already up to TV quality. Of all the "shows" on KZbin, ABANDONED is one of the very few that I feel would actually make an excellent TV show. I imagine it feeling like HOW IT'S MADE but with a modern history spin. These videos are already so close to being that.

[@deevad1212]

Doug Layne Anderson But maybe it could work as a documentary on one of those subscription channels

[@tomtalk24]

Whats TV?

[@michaelseay9783]

This was an awesome short track. I was at the 1989 Holly Farms 400 where Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt got together and spun out on the last lap with Geoff Bodine winning. Good racing and good times for sure!

[@omarzowila]

This Speedway was featured in Cars 3 as one of the tracks that Doc Hudson used to race on before he crashed and didn't get the chance to race again and also, Lightning McQueen raced on that track with Cruz Ramirez to make himself faster than Jackson Storm by using Cruz Ramirez as an example to try and beat Jackson Storm by making her as fast as Jackson Storm

[@justinkrizenesky]

As a huge Nascar fan, i love this

[@Racindale72]

Yes! Being a NASCAR fan, I always wanted to see races in action here, but never got to. I would love to explore this facility sometime.

[@BHV0810]

IT'S BACK!!!!!!

[@ShakeItLittleTina]

Watching this shortly before the first ever iRacing event at North Wilkesboro, Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself offered to scan the race track into the game if local fans were willing to clean up the vegetation. Fans did their part and so did Jr. Now the track has been virtually immortalized

[@MrBWhite88]

Great video as always man. I’ve been a NASCAR fan my entire life, but I never got a chance to see a race at North Wilkesboro in person. It’s nice to see a major KZbinr give the track some much needed attention.If you ever decide to do another NASCAR-themed video of Abandoned, I would highly recommend Rockingham Speedway and Texas World Speedway. Both would make for great videos.

[@Mantrion24-57IsMyNumber]

I'm only 20 minutes from Rockingham

[@OjamaLemon]

AnonymousUser123 I dont really consider the Rock abandoned tho. Its still used by teams for testing.

[@jmissle]

They should have never stopped racing at Rockingham....Meanwhile NASCAR goes to New Hampshire and Pocono twice a year blows my mind

[@OjamaLemon]

jmissle Well they gave one of NHMS's dates to Vegas, and hopefully we lose a Pocono date for the rebel 400!

[@bradk12fan]

The Tippyshortmouth actually, NASCAR has outlawed private testing for teams in an effort to keep costs down. Rockingham is currently used by the local community college science classes.

[@sxnses]

This is one of the most amazing channels on KZbin, you really put care into these videos, I'm rushing to your channel the second I see a video uploaded Never stop doing what you're doing man ! 💪🏽👍🏽

[@user-hb8be5wb4q]

This was one of Bruton Smith purchase when he decided to take over NotAnyStockCarsAnywhereRacing(nascar). And he is doing a great job of destroying and dismantling it.

[@Riley0798]

This place went from abandoned to getting the all star race for 2023 just wow that’s wild

[@IronSights24]

Great job! I have lived about 5 miles from the speedway for 30 years and it has been a change since it closed. Loved the video!

[@astratv4314]

The growth this Chanel received is well deserved and I know that you’ll hit 1m subscribers one day, keep up the great work Jake!

[@WormSIW]

@5:05 you can see a four wheeler trail running parallel to interstate 421 and it led almost directly to my house! Such cool memories tied to this place! Me and my mom snuck her thunderbird in there and done some time trials around that track many times! I hate to see it deteriorating the way it is, but I love the fact that I live so close to such an iconic landmark!

[@KyuuTomoyaki]

You're Abandoned series is awesome! But I still feel like crying sometimes at the end of these videos. It's so sad that these places will never be used again, but they will live on in our hearts.

[@leerjet31]

NASCAR just announced they are coming back to the track

[@SASORII8D]

The race here is happening now :)

[@sltoole3]

I have enjoyed all of the topics covered in Abandoned. Sears and Target Canada, the McBarge. All. As a southerner and South Carolina native who grew up with NASCAR, , I am very familiar with the North Wilkesboro Motor Speedway. Thanks for covering it.

[@845835]

Enormous crowds no longer belongs in the same sentence as NASCAR.

[@Nightwaterproject]

Which is why this track would have had a shot in this day and age again.

[@rammerjammer523]

Noticed that too, maybe15 yrs ago...those days are over.

[@robertpolkamp]

NASCAR doesn't belong in the same sentence as auto racing.

[@heroicsultan7311]

Robert Polkamp wait, hang on, one sec... NASCAR: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing? So, NASC? Never heard of it.

[@blugods2655]

@Greg Gregory what does that have to do with anything?

[@astromotive6047]

Darlington Raceway would've followed suit had it not been for it being the sight of the closest finish in Nascar history at the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. S1apSh0es uploaded a great video explaining this.

[@bw-leftturnracing7779]

@C J Bowen Well now they have the throwback race so it's not going anywhere

[@bw-leftturnracing7779]

@C J Bowen Yeah. I'm sure Darlington is staying on the schedule for a while. The Southern 500 is one of the most popular races especially since most of the cars run throwback paint schemes there.

[@bw-leftturnracing7779]

@C J Bowen Those Darlington walls are unforgiving

[@TheNylter]

IIRC, NASCAR almost dropped Darlington from the schedule completely, but the drivers, owners, and fans howled very loudly, and Darlington went through some changes, schedule and physical, on the way to being the throwback track event it is now. IIRC, North Wilkesboro was collateral damage because NASCAR would only run at one track that was losing money, and the general consensus was Darlington was easier to upgrade. Emphasis on the IIRC part. It's been a decade or so, and my memory is fuzzier than I like. Feel free to confirm or correct me.

[@usmc-veteran7316]

A great track, I'm proud to say I attended a NASCAR race there back in the late 80s. There's a lot of NASCAR history at this track.

[@bryansprong9212]

They should open it up for some good ol' amateur races, maybe put a little dirtbike track in the middle or something. You should look into the old speedway in West Columbia SC. I lived there for two years and drove by it all the time, it looked pretty overgrown.

[@brettshelton9654]

Honestly France should bring back this track. With NASCAR dropping in viewership and popularity maybe returning back to the roots of the sport would be a decent idea. It will never happen but I would love if it did

[@DERAOFFICIAL]

good luck bringing it back the way it is now

[@slomter1493]

Well now (today aug2 2022) was the first race since 2011 as a native from north wilkesboro it makes me very happy that it's back😃😃🥲🙂🙂😊😊

[@SomethingRad]

I was at the first race back, so it's cool to look at this and see that at one time, this track was forgotten. Super excited to see the future of this place. Already planning on attending more races there over the next couple months.

[@ashleig309]

Killing the editing game lately! 👍

[@mmscupseries393]

I feel like NASCAR just got some recognition today. Great video you summed it up perfectly

[@TGCwolfie1]

Just a bit of an update. The state of North Carolina had a recent bill to allocate $20 million to help reopen the track. A group of Wilkes County volunteer first responders and a few members of Speedway Motorsports helped clean the track up. And reopening g have internet from SRX, a racing series of former racing stars and Camping World’s Marcus Lemonis. So there is a good chance it could reopen.

[@Earth_26_Bryce]

Looking back at this in 2023 and now North Wilkesboro is BACK!!!! LET'S GO!

[@CrudeBrothers]

Congrats on 400,000 subs ... you will certainly be getting a Gold Play button in the near future

[@technugget873]

3 years better than none

[@RammerSTi]

This aged well.

[@Vermonter1245]

Thank you for this video! as a long time NASCAR fan its good to see it talked about from a different perspective and you knocked it out of the park.

[@mmscupseries393]

Steve Goodwin hope he does Rockingham next

[@SamanthaEatsCookies]

M&M's Cup Series ooohhh good choice.

[@panadatm]

NASCAR is dying.

[@royb5014]

PanadaTM NASCAR killed itself when they abandoned short tracks. World of Outlaws were a better substitute, but now your local track it by far the best.

[@maddsheep]

Hopefully Jake makes an update video as North wilkesboro is now a functional race track again

[@petemcgaha1133]

Damn good video. Being from the mountains of WNC you made us proud of our racing heritage and history. Damn good research on the subject and track. In awe of the fact he knew about Bill France coming to Wilkesboro,Weaverville. and Hickory and said "I want to have a part in this racing thing". So began NASCAR in the hills of N.C. Nascar was put together in Daytona but inspired by our tracks. Nice job young man!!!

[@absolutemadlad]

This is my favourite series and favourite commentator on KZbin. Fantastic production!

[@BrightSunFilms]

Thank you!!!

[@bergjung]

You should do a video about the cancelled Disney project "Port Disney"! I hear it was supposed to feature the original Queen Mary and Howard Hughes Spruce Goose but then everything fell through!

[@brianglade848]

In the 70s, this is where we think dad got his bad breath, he ate alot of hot dogs,and after 37 cans of Busch he thinks he might have ate someone's cyst

[@Mistapetey67]

North Wilkesboro is no longer abandoned. NASCAR is making its return for their All Star race in 2023. You never see this happen, but thanks to the support of fans, and money from the American relief fund, and SMI it’s coming back to life. 🏁

[@Chuby123]

Truly stunning KZbinr. You sir are a credit it KZbin. Thank you Jake

[@HarrisonHuntley]

Awesome video! I’m from North Carolina, so this was so great to see this speedway highlighted. You should check out North Carolina speedway in Rockingham NC (which was abandon shortly after this one)

[@StickPeopleAndPuff]

The Rock was actually active till 2004 - Fellow North Carolinian

[@HarrisonHuntley]

Yeah I guess "shortly" is relative...but it's a shame we lost both of those. Charlotte is a great track, but I do miss the other two

[@StickPeopleAndPuff]

Oh there dotted all over NC, Metrolina (in Charlotte), Occoneechee, Dog Track/Moyock, Jet Motor, Raleigh Speedway. I wanna visit the remains of them all

[@callofdutymason100]

Me too! And I live in Wilkes

[@lilsisasu]

I was thinking the same thing! I live in Salisbury, by the way. Love me some Cheerwine!

[@scottjarnagin348]

NASCAR All-Star Race is going to be here in 2023!! The first NASCAR sanctioned race in over 25 years

[@Panda5ace]

1:16, that’s Air Base Speedway Edit: Actually those 3 pictures lined up there all look like Air base, the wooden guard wall and pine trees kinda give off that vibe

[@themaddekuboi430]

You Only Mention That Because Of S1apSh0es Video About The Air Base Speedway

[@Panda5ace]

The MadBaconboi yeah you right

[@TerriZandecki]

@@Panda5ace that is the picture I have so cool that I am surprised that your have lived there!!!!!!!

[@94SexyStang]

Nascar is something you gotta experience IN person.... on TV it's boring.....but in person, Entirely different experience....the rumble of the cars is INSANE......it's mind boggling how cars can shake the Crap out of a Multi-million dollar stadium, and you can hear it for Miles around. Been to a lot of races, but you FEEL the race at Nascar, people connect and you instantly "get it".....

[@delaunfifield3490]

Agreed on what you say Mike-However, without being "emotionally invested" as a fan rooting for a particular driver, its hard for me to continue to spend the $400 I spent a year on a pair of seats for the Firecracker/Pepsi/Coke Zero 400 summer race at Daytona. I have had Tower seats in the Winston/Sprint/Section 450 tower since 1992 and this is the first time since that first race in 1992 that I did not renew my summer race seats. I was/am a Dale Earnhardt Sr & Jr fan-and now without either of them in the field racing anymore there just is NOT anyone I could spend that kind of $$ to watch race. They have become so desperate to sell tickets that they now have telemarketers calling and trying to sell ME tickets. It used to be that you had to call THEM at least a year a head of time to even be able to successfully BUY tickets as this race would ALWAYS sell-out. The 3 sales people I have spoken to have told me that I am not the only one who feels as I do. That MANY race fans have dropped their tickets for the same reason.....I will continue to state: NASCAR R.I.P. 1948-2017....

[@robminmonaca]

DeLaun Fifield Thank you Brian France not the first one but the current one. He is getting as bad as Tony George was for Indycar.

[@sleepdeep305]

And this is why good-ol’ homegrown dirt-racing will always be my favorite form of motorsport.

[@sean14sc]

It can be fun to watch on television again with the new rules there are a lot of different strategies being used and drivers racing hard for stage points. I can understand old fans finding it difficult to get emotionally invested post Dale Jr but I would say that new fans are being brought in at the moment. Its becoming a young man's sport and therefore you need to follow it on social media and the website/youtube channels in order get all of the drama and action. The fox radioactive race recap series has made it easier to digest all of the races drama and communications/interactions that happen during the race. With all of this transparency it is easy to pick new drivers to support. In my opinion if you were a Junior fan I would recommend you just root for all of his associated drivers from Hendricks and Junior Motorsports. They are dominating Xfinity series at the moment and are now getting drivers up on the monster energy series who will compete Chase Elliot, Alex Bowman, and William Byron. Also if you liked Dale Sr then Austin Dillon is his grandson and just won the 500, and he races for Richard Childress just like Dale Sr. Just my opinion. All sports evolve, and I enjoy the races now more than in the late 00's/early 10's. The online presence also helps keep me engaged.

[@sean14sc]

Edit: Sorry I meant to say that Austin Dillon was Richard Childress's grandson. Although Dale Sr's grandson Jeffrey Earnhardt is also racing up on monster series too.

[@QuartzHusky]

Abandoned - Jake Paul

[@JaxieDoggo]

Fjord Frost oi, i know you mate

[@CaptainTyler-xi9zs]

Aka trash

[@joypooh1707]

Lol

[@supersoakercupseries7709]

Lel

[@rmannayr2129]

LOL MORE LIKE RIGEGUM AND LOGAN PAUL!

[@guido0582]

My heart sinks seeing such an amazing historic raceway gone to the weeds. Maybe host a classic race car day not to race but rather drive the track and get some young blood in to experience a real race track.

[@bobross4449]

well, it is now

[@TGCwolfie1]

New Update: North Carolina has approved funds for NWS in its 2022 budget. Marcus Smith of SMI has said the goal is to “Modernize the property to host racing and special events again in the future” so this video deserves an update

[@HHPYEPIC42]

This news really made a bad day so much brighter

[@TGCwolfie1]

@@HHPYEPIC42 Agreed! I’ve been following this since the April Dale Jr Download episode that I thought was an April Fools joke initially. I just drove past the track a little over a month ago on my way to Tennessee. So happy to see progress

[@BoggsTheDog]

I love your videos! I live on the Isle of Man which is a small island in between England and Ireland. On the promenade here, there is an abandoned building called summer land. Summer land was a leisure complex which was destroyed by a fire in 1972, killing around 50 people I believe. Summer land was rebuilt but had little success. It was partially demolished in 2003 but due to its position on the cliff side,no more of the structure can be demolished. I think this would be a great topic for you to do a video on! Please like so that he can see :)

[@dacooldragonakadanny7833]

LollipopUnicorn I don't intend to sound rude (being that this is one of the things the Isle of Man is known for), but have you spectated any of the motorcycle races held there? Also I found this comment interesting. I think I'm going to look up Summer Land after I post this comment

[@BoggsTheDog]

Dacooldragon aka Danny Yes, many times. I watch them every year. I am glad you are interested in summerland. It was such a tragedy and not many people know about it.

[@dacooldragonakadanny7833]

LollipopUnicorn I read about the subject. This might be insensitive to say in regard to the lives that were lost that day, but thank you for telling me about this piece of history. It must have been a significant event in the history of architecture, given that the original building had innovative but ultimately dangerous features in its design. I hope you don’t mind if I ask another question: Do you hear Manx being spoken in your daily life? I know the last native speaker passed away in 1974, but I’ve read that use of the language is encouraged by the island’s government and/or other groups/associations.

[@BoggsTheDog]

Dacooldragon aka Danny Thank you. I never hear Manx in public, but I was taught it briefly in school. There is a Manx school on the island, however it is small. English is definitely the main language here, I would say about 5% of the islands population is fluent in manx. But they still speak English.

[@dacooldragonakadanny7833]

LollipopUnicorn gotcha... thanks for chatting with me, I like to socialize with other people when learning rather than only staring at text. Have a good night.

[@yellowroseproductions363]

What a weird coincidence. I just watched that Top Gear episode and I had no idea it was filmed at that race track. I hope they keep the track just for all the history its been through.

[@ErikZarins]

You *DEFINITELY* need to update this video.... the track is *BACK IN BUSINESS*

[@princepatrick3613]

I am from nc and i remember when they started abandoning some of the older nascar tracks.they started abandonding around the mid 90's and early 2000. To bad i am sure there are a lot of memories for a lot of people.

[@Brainulator9]

Huh, I never knew Cars 3 had referenced an abandoned racetrack. I did see the film, and liked it, but this was definitely interesting. Nice work.

[@5roundsrapid263]

Brainulator9 I got the reference. Im not a huge NASCAR fan, but I know it’s history.

[@copperheadcupseries1606]

The Thomasville Speedway in Cars 3 had inspiration from at least two old race tracks. The North Wilkesboro Speedway and the Occoneechee Speedway. The Occoneechee Speedway is the only surviving dirt track from NASCAR's inaugural season and it can be visited for free. Look it up if you want to because it's pretty cool.

[@Brainulator9]

Neat.

[@Vega0820]

Yea, the people behind Cars 3 really did thier NASCAR homework. There were refrences and easter eggs everywhere for true fans.

[@Brainulator9]

I love Pixar so much.

[@junzueta91]

Jake, do us all a favor and yourself. Go talk to Netflix and get a abandoned documentary series where you and your team do exactly what you do here. It’d be cool to see a show like there, longer episodes and feedback from the locals also. Like if you agree!

[@DjJokerr]

Josue Unzueta No! Then I gotta sign up on Netflix, I like my content free.

[@danielolaru1419]

Gabriel Hill whats a Blu-ray

[@m0m02k]

Daniel Olaru Lmfao you’re an Idiot

[@conversationtosaurusrex]

No, Fuck off with that idea. I like watching the content for free, I don't want to have to get a Netflix because some hipster douche ended up getting jake to put it on Netflix.

[@m0m02k]

A Pikachu Wow look Somebody who’s angry all because somebody wants to Support Jake by Wanting this on Netflix What if KZbin becomes Crap for a Job? What if Jake *_DOES_* Get a Netflix Series? It might not even be Abandoned. It may just be something like Explore but just extended Also, Because you can’t afford Netflix doesn’t mean you can ruin something someone else wants ;)

[@sequentialed]

Tracks that require lower speeds and more careful driving tbh is more interesting and tests the drivers’ capabilities, just like Bristol.

[@bw-leftturnracing7779]

I agree, we need more short tracks

[@jarrodbushyhead6928]

@@bw-leftturnracing7779 we need more road courses. Short tracks are boring. Get rid of short tracks

[@zackdia]

And here i am today doing speedway Rescue training at NWS to help reopen it and begin its revitalization.

[@bmorc]

You get better with every video im legit so happy about it this content is 11/10

[@maddybutyoutube]

I never expected this. As a big NASCAR fan im very glad to see someone talk about this iconic track. Wish NASCAR never left.

[@bradbeining3341]

This was one of my favorite tracks. When they stopped racing there NASCAR was never the same.

[@mobius1487]

I found your channel after seeing the Costa Concordia video on Reddit and now I've been binging your content. Great stuff!

[@BrightSunFilms]

Thanks!

[@Themightymoze]

Absolutely sensational video. Exceptional narrating and superior camera work. Thank you for sharing!

[@danielfoster3642]

Time for an update. The North Wilkesboro Speedway is officially back!

[@user-cs9of2xd2d]

I passed the racetrack recently when I visited my sister's new home. I thought Wilkesboro, isn't that where a NASCAR track is, and then I see it. That also happened to me in Daytona probably 20 years ago. I was at a gas station in Daytona and was wondering where the track was, and it was across the street. LOL.

[@rodhigh7]

The decline of NASCAR began when they replaced North Wilksboro and Martinsville with cookie cutter 1 1/2 tracks

[@pbrtaskforce116]

so so true

[@tylerpuszczewicz2535]

rodhigh7 Martinsville is still on the schedule. They recently got lights there.

[@strtngfrsh]

What decline?

[@michaelhall736]

Martinsville is still being used. It's the only track that's been used in every single NASCAR season.

[@VampireYoshi]

I prefer to place the decline at the point when they put the damn restrictor plates on the cars in 1987 (lower the engine size if you want them safer as well as slower, giant roving superpacks are just a damn circus method). The moment they did that, they chose artificial excitement over fair play, and when you do that, you're inviting the mindset that asks what's so bad about ditching the old traditional grassroots fanbase.

[@cameronsipka3352]

i wish there were more stories like this of the bygone days of nascar. i love the sport and there's no good youtube channels for it.

[@RomeJordon919entertainment]

Hmmm...

[@nascarfrankie7584]

North Wilkesboro is back!

[@dirtyface3398]

Got my tickets last night to attend the all-star race weekend in 2023. I still can’t believe it’s revived!!!

[@jeromeroubideaux5548]

I wish NASCAR would go back to the old stock car days let the teams build a car during the week race it on Sunday I'm tired of the cookie cutter cars I'm tired of the chase

[@catjudo1]

When I started paying attention to NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt was only a one time Winston Cup Champion and was sponsored by Wrangler Jeans. Those were good days to grow up in.

[@steeldriver5338]

@howard weitzell Actually, NASCAR is getting frantic with the attention that they're losing. Fans are leaving, which in turn is causing brands to leave, and, hell, even Jimmy Johnson can't keep sponsors. How bad could it be for the drivers in the "lesser" teams? NASCAR is dying. And after the choices that they've made, and the direction they've gone, I'm not surprised. If it completely dies out, maybe someone will revamp it into what it used to be. Yeah, probably not. But, hey, one can hope.

[@user-nc7od1rl2y]

Same but went Bankruptcy

[@EDMLyfe]

Well people got tired of people being killed

[@yoopernow]

And "competition" cautions, and stage cautions, and "debris" cautions, and cautions lasting 10 minutes - and lucky dogs at each one, for crissake...

[@nathanl7018]

Love your work Jake. Your videos are so well put together and entertaining, I could watch them many times over. I'm sure that you are swamped with ideas for new episodes, but if you find the time could you do a video on the Mid Cities Mall in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. It was one of the first malls in the area and even though it has been torn down, it had a unique history. Especially the seagull infestation. I used to shop at this mall as a kid and I would be interested in seeing your take on it's history. Also, if you want to do another ghost track video, there is the Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, GA. It opened in the Sixties and had some interesting events, a record breaking run by Richard Petty, a moonshine still under turn three and hosted the 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival. Again, thanks for all your hard work and I look forward to the next video.

[@anticlan972]

I have been there my self it’s crazy how it’s all just rotting away

[@bradh6185]

They could make it a museum of sorts with tours, while renting the track itself to a company that sells people laps in race cars. They could hold concerts, festivals, fairs, car shows, and all kinds of stuff there.

[@EvaristeWK]

Do toysrus next, since all 800 stores are closing

[@carlwitt7950]

3:59 Growing up in the 80's was so much fun. How close do you think a fan is allowed to get to the fence in a modern nascar race? Now, look at the kid holding the fence in turn 1.

[@marcconte3275]

So glad to have racing back at north wilkesboro

[@pepsifan8504]

REQUEST: do abandoned rocking ham speedway

[@skandarc2810]

Wonderful episode Jake! I’ve never once been interested in car racing but your research and video production make it so good and worthwhile. Plus we gotta love your cheeky comments like “They renamed it to the very catchy ‘The Historic North Wilkesboro Speeway Presented By Goodyear” 😂😂. Love ya. Keep it up.

[@The98Man098]

Skandar C too late for nascar, go watch f1 or imss