The All-Star Race being held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2023 and 2024 has allowed people to think outside the box in terms of who could host the race. Maybe there are some classic NASCAR venues out there that could host the All-Star Race should North Wilkesboro Speedway earn a points date in 2025. Which ones are the best?
While at the Fairgrounds last weekend, “The King”, Richard Petty, mentioned that he would love to see an All-Star Race at the Nashville Fairgrounds. It is a race track that many NASCAR fans are looking to see make a return, and it fits the bill of being a classic NASCAR venue. The issue with this track is its’ location in Nashville, Tennessee with Nashville Superspeedway nearby. Putting two races in the same market around a month or so apart may not be something NASCAR is keen on, but the All-Star Race was at Charlotte for many years the week before the Coca-Cola 600.
With North Wilkesboro Speedway hosting the All-Star Race, many people are looking to another old, nearby North Carolina race track, Rockingham. Rockingham Speedway is not in as good of shape as North Wilkesboro currently is, but it was recently resurfaced. It would likely fit the Next-Gen cars well too given its’ multi-groove racing surface. However, the market is an issue being so close to tracks like North Wilkesboro and Charlotte, and, it might be hard to justify running an extra race in North Carolina.
If NASCAR wants to go to an entirely new venue for the All-Star Race, then the Milwaukee Mile could fit. While NASCAR’s history there is not as deep, the Milwaukee Mile is the oldest operating race track in the world. It fits as a classic venue in motorsports, and it would be an untapped market for the Cup Series. However, Milwaukee is just a couple of hours north of Chicago, and those two markets do not tend to get along well as evidenced by the Chicago-Wisconsin sports rivalries such as Cubs vs Brewers and Packers vs Bears.
Hickory Motor Speedway is the definition of a classic NASCAR venue. It hosted 35 Cup Series races between 1953 and 1971 and 42 Xfinity Series races between 1982 and 1998. Racing at the LA Coliseum showed that NASCAR is willing to race on shorter tracks, and Hickory is 0.363 miles long. However, oversaturating the North Carolina market is an issue again with this track. On top of that, the facilities may need some upgrades to host NASCAR’s top division.
If NASCAR wants a chaotic race for their All-Star event, then Bowman Gray Stadium is just what they are looking for. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the track hosted 29 Cup Series races between 1958 and 1971, and it is essentially North Carolina’s version of the LA Coliseum bullring. It’s 0.25 miles long around a football field with no banking. Again, being in North Carolina, oversaturating the market is an issue, and facilities may be an issue as well. However, the LA Coliseum opened up NASCAR’s potential for racing at venues like Bowman Gray.
Where else could NASCAR host an All-Star Race? Let us know in this post on Twitter where your ideal next All-Star Race would be!
