Memory Lane: Former competitors share stories of North Wilkesboro

North Wilkesboro Speedway, which hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race in 1949, returns to the motorsports spotlight this weekend as host of the All-Star Race.

North Wilkesboro, originally a dirt track, played a prominent role in NASCAR’s pioneer years. It hosted the Cup Series until 1996 and then was mostly shuttered.

With the return of NASCAR racing to the track this week, drivers and others take a ride down memory lane:

(Childress was both a driver and team owner at North Wilkesboro. He drove in 19 Cup races at the track, scoring a best finish of sixth in 1977. He was much more successful as a team owner with driver Dale Earnhardt, who won five times at Wilkesboro).

“I have a lot of memories of North Wilkesboro and the wins we had. I remember the first time we ran the radial tire there. Everybody said Earnhardt is done now because he can’t run these radial tires. We go up there and win the race. That car is in our museum. It’s beat up pretty good.

“It was one of my favorite tracks as a driver to race on. I had some good runs there — not bad for an independent driver back in the day.

“For the fans who haven’t seen what the racing was like in the ’80s and ’90s, I think they’re going to be impressed. It’s uphill and downhill; one corner is different from the other. It’s a challenge for the crew chiefs to get a car set up there.

“I remember going up there as a little kid watching it when it was a dirt track. It’s a special, special place to me. We always had cookouts there with Dale and the crew guys.

“That was Junior Johnson territory. If you could go up there and beat them in their backyard, it was a good day. We looked at it as a home track, but Junior lived there. If you beat Junior Johnson’s car there, you had done