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Tag: NASCAR K&N Pro Series

  • Current NASCAR Next Class High on Marketability, Short on Results

    Current NASCAR Next Class High on Marketability, Short on Results

    What means more in the long haul when it comes to promoting a new star in NASCAR? Results, or marketability?

    One would think results, but in the case of Danica Patrick, that was not the case. For the sake of the argument, her story must be repeated. Lands a ride with a championship-caliber organization, but in 191 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup starts she earned seven top-10s and a pole. Was she any better in XFINITY competition? How does a top-five, seven top-10s, and a pole in 61 starts sound? Granted, XFINITY equipment isn’t the same as Cup equipment, but the results speak for themselves. Yet somehow, she was chosen to be a leading face of the sport.

    On the opposite end of the spectrum, remember Dylan Kwasniewski? Two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series champion with a total of 11 wins in 45 starts between 2011 and 2013. Where’s that guy? Where’s the effort that was invested into his career? This guy was even named part of the star-studded NASCAR Next class of 2013, a roster that included Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Brett Moffitt. Now, he’s joined the ranks as a real estate agent along with another former NASCAR champion, James Buescher.

    The above may only be a test case, but checking the roster one can’t help but wonder what the agenda is for the 2018 NASCAR Next class. Sure, some of the drivers have had some success in stock cars. Zane Smith seems to be the hottest ARCA ace right now, while Derek Kraus finds himself with a shot at a championship in the K&N Pro Series for Bill McAnally Racing.

    And…that’s pretty much it.

    Among the nine drivers, there are 11 total wins in stock cars. That might sound respectable until the fact emerges that those 11 wins came across 162 starts. Once again, that’s decent for a single driver, but 162 starts across nine drivers is not a promising stat.

    Therefore it begs the question, why these kids? Sure, Smith, Kraus, and Riley Herbst are proven winners, as are Will Rodgers and Anthony Alfredo, but does a win a superstar make? Ask Kwasniewski. Ask Buescher. Then again, Patrick earned a smidgen of top-10s yet look at how she was revered. By that measuring stick, the others in this year’s measuring stick look to be okay.

    Where’s the rush to put Austin Theriault in top-notch equipment; Theriault, the 2017 ARCA Champion for Ken Schrader Racing? His 2017 season was proof that added time climbing up the ladder helps with experience, especially after his debut campaign for Brad Keselowski Racing’s truck camp in 2015. Or Cayden Lapcevich, who happens to have six wins in 31 starts along with the 2016 NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship. Despite those accolades, Lapcevich’s team had to close down after the 2017 season due to lack of funding, not so different from Theriault’s current situation. Two stock car champions, proven to be fast and consistent as well as good learners, yet both are out of a ride for 2018 while a group of green kids takes front and center in NASCAR’s Next program.

    Speaking of, the lack of experience is glaring. Ryan Vargas, the 17-year-old from La Miranda, California,  has only made five K&N Pro Series East starts in 2018 and has scored a solitary top-10 (a ninth at Langley Speedway). Tanner Thorson, despite making a grand total of seven starts in stock cars (including a debut Truck Series run at Dover), has a grand total of two top-fives and three top-10s. Hailie Deegan only has three top-10s in three K&N Pro Series starts.

    Is this what the program emphasizes? Who to look for on a program? Or who to look for in Victory Lane? Granted, these kids could improve greatly if given more time to grow in stock cars, for sure. But despite the few whom NASCAR is currently celebrating that have actually won, the hunt for who to add as a DLC for the next NASCAR Heat game seems a touch more prevalent. Therefore, some of these very green kids are being rushed up the ladder, not because of their accolades, but because they’ll sell a magazine cover. Year after year, that has proved to not be a good thing.

    This isn’t saying that these kids don’t have talent. Talent, like fruit, takes time to ripen. Therefore, don’t put these kids on NASCAR’s forefront yet. Give them time to grow. Give them time to mature. Otherwise, has anyone heard from Ryan Gifford? Where is Cameron Hayley? Luis Martinez, Jr., perchance? Because none of those guys are gracing covers right now. They don’t have Lionel Diecasts out for sale. While James Bickford is on the comeback trail he’s not featured in commercials right now. Nicole Behar doesn’t have a t-shirt for sale at Walmart.

    Sure, some great stars have come through the Next program, stars with pedigree and results like Elliott, Blaney, and John Hunter Nemechek. Wallace, Larson, and Moffitt are winners, and Cole Custer is coming along nicely in the XFINITY Series. But Austin Hill isn’t making cameos on hit NBC shows, Gray Gaulding is struggling to survive in NASCAR, and Kenzie Ruston isn’t even racing anymore.

    Get the point?

    Either the NASCAR Next program can be used to solely focus or educate a driver’s appeal and driver growth, or it could altogether go away. Let a driver’s appeal and growth be organic. Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t have the same record as Jimmie Johnson or Richard Petty, but the sport loves him just the same. Kenny Wallace never won a race but he’s one of the most followed NASCAR personalities on social media. Likewise, if there’s a champion on the hunt for a ride like Theriault or Lapcevich, then emphasis should be placed on getting those guys to the top of the list in terms of filling in a quality ride because let’s face it, folks may love all of the drivers, but it’s the winners who usually get more attention.

    Family money and connections shouldn’t have ever had anything to do the climb up the ladder in the first place.

     

  • One-on-One with Bill McAnally

    One-on-One with Bill McAnally

    Known as the namesake for Bill McAnally Racing, Bill McAnally is no stranger to success. Aside from being the owner of a seven-time K&N Pro Series West-championship organization, McAnally also teamed up with two-time Pro Series West champion (both titles were won with McAnally) Brendan Gaughan and his father Michael Gaughan to win two Camping World Truck Series races and the Rookie of the Year honors in 2002.

    Aside from also winning the 1990 NASCAR Whelen All-American Late Model championship at Roseville Speedway as a driver, McAnally has also fielded cars in the K&N Pro Series for several drivers such as Austin Cameron, Clint Bowyer, and Gaughan. McAnally also holds one of the longest sponsorship associations in motorsports, as his teams have been sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts for 27 years.

    What is it regarding the K&N Pro Series that has helped your organization thrive?

    BM: Well, we worked our way up through NASCAR’s weekly series, and actually captured a championship back when I was driving, and it was just the next step in the progression. Back then it was just known as the NASCAR Winston West Series, and I bought a Winston West car and the thing that I found about the NASCAR regional touring series is that it was easier to find support to get into some of the markets, especially on the west coast. I mean, we’d get into very popular markets like Spokane, Washington; Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; that have no NASCAR racing at all, so when we come in we’re a real good sales tool for our partners in having a NASCAR race.

    So I was able to find support; at the regional level it’s much more hands-on if you get your sponsors in and up-close. We were just at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina, and it’s just a lot more that can fill ownership of it, so much better. The customers from NAPA Auto Parts, the shop owners, the store owners, the Toyota dealers and their employees and their key customers; they can just get in and fill ownership and get so much closer to it.

    After several years in the K&N Pro Series that have seen your organization win multiple championships, what is it that keeps you in that division?

    BM: It’s a very rewarding series to help develop the young drivers that are coming up. It’s a lot of fun for me because it’s a great series where you can work weekends, and you aren’t traveling as much as you do with the national touring series.

    I got to build a Camping World Truck Series team back from 2000 to 2002 for Brendan Gaughan, and we ran trucks there for several years. We got Rookie of the Year in 2002 and won both races at Texas our rookie year. But there was just so much traveling and you were gone so long that you couldn’t have the family time and tend to my other business.

    Brendan Gaughan celebrates a Winston West (now K&N Pro Series West) victory at Auto Club with his Bill McAnally Racing crew in 2001.
    Courtesy: Bill McAnally Racing

    So the K&N Pro Series, there are less races, especially here in the west and the traveling is fairly close so you don’t spend so much time on the road. It’s a fun series, helping these young drivers achieve their dreams and moving up the latter. We’ve had amazing drivers over the years, Brendan Gaughan, we’ve worked with Clint Bowyer, Sarah Fisher, Cole Custer, currently Todd Gilliland, just a lot of great, young drivers trying to achieve their dreams and it’s fun to be able to help them do that along with the crew members who have gone through our programs and get jobs at the national touring series level in NASCAR. To walk through the garage area and see all the guys living their dream that actually used our program as one of those steps is very rewarding.

    As a K&N Pro Series owner, do you feel that the lack of a gimmick (Playoffs, stage-racing) in this division helps it maintain a separate identity from the other divisions?

    BM: Yeah, I mean it definitely has it’s own identity. It’s gotten to the point now that drivers are stepping through it so quick. In years past, you’d have drivers that would run the series such as Andy Santerre, Doug Fadden, Matt Kobyluck, and out here in the west you had guys like Austin Cameron and Eric Holmes who were just staples in the series. Back in the day you had Ron Hornaday and Rick Carelli; they were here and that’s what they did.

    Now, today where they’ve changed their rules and allowed 15-year-old drivers to get into the series, they’re here and gone before anybody could learn who Daniel Suarez was or Kyle Larson was, or the people who used the series recently as a stepping stone, they’re now out of the series before they could really get a fan following. So it’s definitely changed a lot.

    How do you feel about the competition product that the K&N Pro Series puts out at each event?

    BM: It’s amazing. Every year it’s a challenge to be competitive and to contend for the championship. About the time I think it’s going to be easy because somebody’s moved on or moved up there’s always somebody else that steps up and makes it a challenge that you’re battling to win races and championships.

    With the current state of change in NASCAR, do you feel that the K&N Pro Series could use similar changes?

    BM: Yeah, I mean, they’re continually changing things; we’re making changes, not at the level of the national touring series, but we are making changes such as spec engines and a new body. These changes help strengthen the series and make it better all the time.

    Considering that the K&N Pro Series visits the smaller, older home tracks that were popular during NASCAR’s Golden Age in the 60s’ and 70s’, are there any tracks you feel the division could benefit from visiting? 

    BM: It’s funny you ask that because it is a double edged sword. It’s amazing that we get into markets like Spokane, Washington, Seattle, Washington, and Denver, Colorado because no other NASCAR touring series goes through those markets, even though they’re very strong markets. It’s great that we get into those markets as well as for the sponsors that we have (NAPA Auto Parts, Toyota, etc.), corporations that support our racing efforts, love that we get into those markets that have no other form of NASCAR touring racing.

    But when you’re developing drivers you like to develop them on the national touring tracks. So like I said it’s a double-edged sword. Developing a driver, I would love to be taking them to [Auto Club] Speedway, get them out here on the west coast; Chicagoland, you know, take them to Kansas City, run the tracks they’re going to run as they move up the ladder and gain some more experience on the national touring tracks.

    But then again, like I said it’s a double-edged sword. It’s just so great that we get into these markets and we have such a hands-on, up-close series that our sponsors can utilize and use us as a marketing tool in areas that have no other form of NASCAR racing.

    What is it about Bill McAnally Racing that has kept it as the premiere organization in this series?

    BM: It’s the people. We’ve got a great bunch of people and we’ve been very fortunate through the years to keep a great group of people and they care, and they do what it takes to be the best. They’re willing to work hard and put in what it takes to be competitive week in and week out, and that’s what it takes. It takes great people and we’re fortunate to have them.

    There’s also the great sponsors that give us what we need to go promote them and be able to race, to live the dream. If we didn’t have the great people and we didn’t have the sponsorship support, it wouldn’t be happening.

    Todd Gilliland wins his third K&N Pro Series West race of 2017 at Irwindale Speedway.
    Photo Courtesy: Bill McAnally Racing

    With the success you’ve had this season and last with Todd Gilliland, is there any other driver that you’ve worked with that you can compare him to, or is he in a league all his own?

    BM: We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of great drivers, and Todd is just, for his age, I’ve never had a driver with the experience, the knowledge, the know of what he wants out of a race car. Not just to qualify, but what he needs in the race car 100 laps into the race to have the car good. Todd’s just got an amazing knowledge of that at his young age.

    At his age, I had Cameron Hayley for awhile at the age of 15, but Todd is one of the youngest drivers that I’ve ever had, and his knowledge compares to drivers who have been driving race cars at this level for many years. He’s very special, unique, and he’s got a very bright future in front of him.

    Speaking of, how would you describe the chemistry between the three of your drivers (Gilliland, Chris Eggleston, Derek Kraus)?

    BM: We’re one corporation, one company, and we all work together. The drivers, the crew chiefs, every team member, we work together to be the very best that we can be. That goes for the drivers too. Anything they can do help each other, they’re more than willing to work together.

    You’ve brought in a lot of young, great talent, some of which have gone on to accomplish a lot in the sport. How do you feel about BMR’s position as a stepping stone for some of those up-and-coming drivers?

    BM: Personally, I feel we’re one of the best in the business, and it’s because of the people we have. Not only do we help you develop on the racetrack and learn the skills that veteran drivers, (three-time K&N Pro Series champion) Eric Holmes works for me as a spotter and a driver coach. We surround our drivers with people who can help them develop as quick as possible not just on the racetrack but with their marketing, speaking in front of sponsors, and even doing autograph sessions. We have show car and driver appearances, interviewed on radio and television, we work really hard to put our drivers in position so they can also develop their public relations skills and working with the media while working on their driving skills.

    We just try to give them a well-rounded development program as a whole, and I don’t think there is a better place to develop a driver in the NASCAR ranks, in the K&N Pro Series level, than at BMR.

    Thank you to BIll McAnally and Kevin Green of Bill McAnally Racing.

  • One on One with NASCAR K&N Pro Series Driver Jesse Iwuji

    One on One with NASCAR K&N Pro Series Driver Jesse Iwuji

    Texas native Jesse Iwuji is a rarity in the NASCAR garage. That isn’t because he’s one of a growing number of minorities in the garage. Rather, it’s because the full-time K&N Pro Series West driver is also an active-duty member of the United States military. A U.S. Naval Officer, Iwuji finished 10th in the 2016 K&N Pro Series West standings, with a season-best finish of 10th at Orange Show Speedway in May.

    Iwuji, driving the No. 36 Chevy for Patriot Motorsports Group, talked with SpeedwayMedia.com about racing, deployment, and making a difference in the lives of the fans.

    Speedway Media: What was it that drew you to NASCAR?

    Jesse Iwuji: I think what really drew me to NASCAR was that one, it’s a really big motorsport in America and it’s America’s number one watched motorsport. I felt that NASCAR was going to be the big stage and the place where I felt that I was going to make a big impact because I’m different when it comes to the sport. There’s not a lot of African-Americans in the sport or a lot of active duty members of America’s armed forces.

    SM: How did you first get involved in racing?

    JI: “Right after I graduated from the Naval Academy in 2010, I began drag racing at local dragstrips in a Dodge Challenger that I had, and it was a great car. I was souping it up, adding a lot of power to it, and just going to different, small, local competitions.

    “Then around 2013, I bought a Corvette and began taking it to local road course tracks nearby to run time trial events and after about a year of doing that, I’m getting pretty good at it and I thought, ‘You know what? I think there’s something I could do to push my performance. I want to pursue a professional racing career.’ That’s when I decided to pursue my goals and NASCAR was the first door that opened up for me.”

    SM: How do you balance being active duty military with your NASCAR career?

    JI: “There is a balance you have to find when it comes to stuff like time and time management and everything. because, you know, I am still full-time in the Navy, I’m still active duty, and I got to work Monday through Friday and the main thing is to just make sure I balance my time right so that I’m not missing too much work and ultimately be able to meet my racing obligations too.”

    SM: As a U.S. Naval Officer, how often have you been deployed, and where to?

    JI: “I’ve been in the Navy for six-an-a-half years now, and I’ve been deployed twice. My first deployment was in 2012, for about 10 months from February through December, and I was on a minesweeper ship in the Arabian Gulf in Bahrain most of the time, where we would do exercises and operations with other naval forces as well as the U.S. Navy, training and doing different things.

    “In 2014, I went on my second deployment on a different ship, the USS Comstock, which was an LSD (Dock Landing Ship) amphibious ship. I was on the ship from July to December of that year, about five months. We had left from San Diego, then we had gone to Hong Kong, then all the way around to the Middle East. Once we got there, we spent about five months there before we came back.”

    SM: What are your goals as a NASCAR driver?

    JI: “Ultimately I’d like to make it to the top level of NASCAR, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. I also want to use this as a platform to help a lot of people. It doesn’t necessarily have to be people in the motorsports world; it could also be people outside of it. I just want to use it to bring positivity, to help people achieve their dreams, to show people it is possible to achieve dreams that may seem impossible, that may seem unrealistic or something like that. I just want to show people that, hey, if you’re going to put your all into it, put your life into it, really believe in yourself, and continue pushing and grinding every single day, then those dreams can come true.”

    SM: You’re highly active on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Is there a favorite platform?

    JI: “Instagram and Facebook are my favorite right now, but I find myself interacting more on Instagram than Facebook. Instagram’s algorithm allows for posts to reach more people than Facebook’s, which allows me to promote the things I’m involved with better. The visual aspect of Instagram also is very intriguing too.”

    SM: How do you feel social media helps your brand?

    JI: “Social media is a powerful tool you can use to build your brand and other brands looking to get involved with you. The amount of people engaged on there is second to none. If used correctly, social media can be a key tool in attracting sponsors to help further your career.”

    SM: You had a post on Instagram recently that stuck out to me because of the way you handled a follower’s negative, racial comments. Could you reiterate your stance when it comes to negative NASCAR “fans” like that?

    JI: “NASCAR does not need racist fans and many NASCAR fans feel that racism does not belong in NASCAR. Our sport promotes positivity and growth and with it now being 2017, we, as a sport and country, should be past the times of the 50s and 60s. NASCAR is currently doing a lot to expand its diversity initiatives and I’m in full support of that.”

    SM: You’ve been showing some material with Kappa on your Instagram lately. Will they be a 2017 sponsor?

    JI: “Kappa Riding has brought me on board to be a Kappa Riding Ambassador in 2017 and I’m looking forward to supporting and promoting that brand throughout the year. Throughout the year you’ll see posts on my social media of me sporting their gear and pushing their marketing efforts to reach new crowds. It should be exciting and their gear is phenomenal!”

    SM: You do a lot of charity work as well as interact with a lot of young fans. What drives that in you?

    JI: “I love inspiring those with dreams and aspirations of becoming more than what they currently are. Young minds think big and see themselves doing great things. It’s our jobs as adults to feed that hunger to become great. With the position I’m in as a driver in such a popular industry, I love utilizing my status in there to help mentor, motivate, and inspire the youth to go after the dreams and goals they have that people may have told them they couldn’t reach before.”

    SM: How do you stay active away from the track?

    JI: “I spend two-plus hours a night on my iRacing simulator at home and I work out daily. When I work out I lift weights and do sprints to keep my physical condition where it needs to be to compete in such a physically demanding sport. On my iRacing simulator I use it to train my racecraft so that when I’m on the track in real life, situations that occur will not surprise me.”

    SM: What type of track do you feel strongest at?

    JI: “The ¼ mile ovals have been my best performances in 2016. In 2017 I’m looking forward to getting better at all of the other tracks. I need to be a versatile driver that is strong at all types of tracks.”

    SM: Recently on your Instagram, your No. 36 Chevy was adorned with NASA livery for a visit to NASA. What was that about?

    JI: “In October 2016 I was invited by NASA Ames Research Centers to speak to employees in a brief about the correlation between NASCAR and NASA. My race team supported my efforts by bringing the racecar to the event so the workers at NASA could view it after the brief. Since we were there, I decided it would be smart to put NASA on the car as a decal. Everyone loved it and the car was a hit!

    SM: Which other drivers have been the most helpful to you?

    JI: “Ryan Partridge has been a great teacher when I’ve come to him asking questions about tracks and how to run the race line there. He’s one of the rare few who can be a great driver and a great teacher at the same time. I’m definitely thankful for his help.”

    SM: You talked about being aboard the USS Comstock, and last year Bubba Wallace carried the USS Comstock name on his No. 6 Ford for a XFINITY Series race. How did you react to that?

    JI: “It was an honor to see the only African-American driver in the top-three national touring series of NASCAR carrying my last ship on his car for the NASCAR Salutes effort in the 2016 July Daytona race.”

    SM: Recently you were on Oscar Mike, discussing racing. What’s Oscar Mike, and how did you get on the show?

    JI: “Oscar Mike is code words for “On the Move.” It is a Verizon Go90 show about Army Vet Ryan Curtis going around from city to city finding military active and veteran service members doing cool things outside of their military careers. In each show, he will learn the occupation of the person he visits and then challenge them in a contest at the end of the show against what the military member does best. In my show, I taught him how to drive a racecar then we competed in a time trial competition at the end of the show.”

    SM: You’ve been doing some Outlaw Karting. How’s that been going? There was one race that went south, what happened?

    JI: “Outlaw Karts on dirt have trained me well and helped me learn how to drive a loose racecar. The race that went south really didn’t go too south except the one point when I flipped the kart but at least it still worked and I finished the race fifth.”

    SM: Do you have any other family members who are up and coming drivers?

    JI: “I’m the only person in my family racing. I might know one other Nigerian in the world who is a racing driver. I’m a pretty unique Nigerian when it comes to my passions!”

    SM: In both military and racing, when will be your stopping point?

    JI: “In the military, I plan on retiring in the Naval Reserves and in racing I plan on eventually competing at the highest level of NASCAR. That’s my goal, and that is what I will accomplish.”

    Special thanks to Jesse Iwuji (Instagram: @jesse_iwuji).

  • What Can Be Done for North Wilkesboro Speedway?

    What Can Be Done for North Wilkesboro Speedway?

    As NASCAR fans, we’ll forever hold the candle for abandoned race tracks like Rockingham and Nashville Superspeedway, but we somehow seem to hold a bigger candle for North Wilkesboro Speedway. As race fans, this is the sort of thing that tugs at our heartstrings regarding how the track just sits there sadly, falling into disrepair. It’s a track with many years of history and a long list of winners named Petty, Waltrip, Earnhardt, and Gordon. But despite all of that, there are some truths that even the most die-hard NASCAR fans have trouble accepting.

    • There will never be another Sprint Cup race there.
    • There will never be a return to the glory days 20, 30 years ago.
    • If the track is ever used for competition again, it won’t look anything like it did 20, 30 years ago.
    • Despite our highest hopes, the likelihood is that the days of any sort of competition ever returning to North Wilkesboro are long, long gone.

    So what can be done? There’s a current initiative going on centered around the speedway called Save The Speedway, which is dedicated to the preservation of the track. However, there is only so much they can do. From 2010 to 2011, racing did resume at North Wilkesboro with divisions such as the USAR ProCup, PASS Late Models, and the ASA Late Models. However, that obviously did not last.

    Enter NASCAR. Not exactly the Sprint Cup Series or the XFINITY Series, or even the Camping World Truck Series. Bring the K&N Pro Series to North Wilkesboro and turn them loose. How? Why? Well, look at it this way. If places like Dominion Raceway and Evergreen Speedway can host the K&N Pro Series as bare bones race tracks, then so can North Wilkesboro.

    For one, despite the Late Models and the USAR ProCup events, the turnout for both events wasn’t as big as was hoped. But people respond to NASCAR events. NASCAR is a name brand, as recognizable as Coca-Cola or Chevrolet. If NASCAR had been involved with the Late Model/ProCup events, it’s guaranteed that people that are curious about our sport would have turned up. For that matter, fans and competitors across the country would have shown up for the chance to be a part of history and/or be noticed as a competitor.

    WOODFORD, VA - MAY 30: Spencer Davis, driver of the #41 Davis Poultry/Ruud.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag in front of Justin Haley, driver of the #5 Braun Auto Chevrolet, to win the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East ComServe 150 on May 30, 2016 in Woodford, Virginia. (Photo by Matt Hazlett/NASCAR via Getty Images)
    WOODFORD, VA – Spencer Davis, driver of the No. 41 Chevrolet takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race on May 30, 2016, in Woodford, Virginia. Photo by Matt Hazlett/NASCAR via Getty Images.

    As for North Wilkesboro operating as a bare bones facility, it would be hard to see, but it could prove to be a benefit for the track. All over the facility, things are collapsing and falling apart. Why save them? What good would come out of rebuilding them at this point? Ten years ago, a case could have been made in saving as much of the facility as possible, but at this point, one of the saving graces would be to just clear up the debris, then repair the racing surface as well as the stands. Granted, North Wilkesboro had a unique and awesome Victory Lane, but at this point that’s irrelevant. Incorporate the usual NASCAR Home Tracks tradition of holding the Victory Lane on the frontstretch.

    Trimming down unnecessary buildings and trash at a race track is nothing new. Charlotte tore down some stands, and Atlanta has torn down multiple buildings and bleachers. North Wilkesboro needs to trim down. Get rid of irreparable facilities. Bring in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, which is the last vestige of great, basic racing in NASCAR. Accomplish all of that, and in due time, North Wilkesboro Speedway could be saved.