NASCAR: Time set for ‘major’ 2023 announcement
By Asher Fair
North Wilkesboro Speedway is reportedly set to host the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race, with an announcement scheduled for later this morning.
Motorsport.com reported Wednesday that following a shocking turn of events, North Wilkesboro Speedway is expected to host the NASCAR All-Star Race in 2023, adding to the story of the legendary track’s recent revival.
This report came after it was announced that the track’s dirt events had been canceled for October and that Speedway Motorsports had a “major announcement” scheduled for Thursday with North Carolina governor Roy Cooper.
While there has yet to be official confirmation that this is what the announcement pertains to, that’s not exactly needed now.
The ol announcement before the announcement. Gotta love it.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 7, 2022
The official announcement is scheduled to take place at 11:00 a.m. ET this morning.
The 2023 all-star North Wilkesboro announcement today is 11am ET (not open to public). Speedway Motorsports has not announced any streaming plans. https://t.co/761GYCSkaI
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 8, 2022
The four-turn, 0.625-mile (1.006-kilometer) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina oval, which has closed on three separate occasions, hosted 93 Cup Series races from 1949 to 1996. Jeff Gordon won the most recent race there back in September 1996.
With the track set to host the All-Star Race (date likely to be announced as part of the “major announcement”), it will not yet return to hosting a points-paying event, and there is no word yet on whether it will at some point down the road.
Many have called for the All-Star Race to switch venues each season, and that was never clearer than it was after this past May’s event at Texas Motor Speedway.
From 1985 to 2019, the All-Star Race was contested at Charlotte Motor Speedway every year except for 1986, when it was contested at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
It was scheduled to remain at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in multiple schedule changes. Instead, it was contested at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The race was contested at Texas Motor Speedway in both 2021 and 2022, making the track just the second to ever host it twice in a row.
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The full 2023 Cup Series schedule is set to be revealed in due course, possibly as early as next week.