{"id":50231,"date":"2025-07-09T02:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T02:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/50231\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T02:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T02:05:08","slug":"should-north-wilkesboro-have-a-cup-series-points-race-alex-bowman-gives-his-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/50231\/","title":{"rendered":"Should North Wilkesboro Have a Cup Series Points Race? Alex Bowman Gives His Take"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dale Earnhardt Jr.\u2019s tireless efforts since 2017 may soon bear the ultimate fruit, as momentum continues to build for a NASCAR points race at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. What began with Dale Jr. preserving the track\u2019s digital legacy through iRacing, followed by the return of racing with a CARS Tour event, and eventually NASCAR\u2019s decision to stage the All-Star Race, has grown into a resurrection campaign. And now, with Alex Bowman throwing his support behind the idea, Earnhardt\u2019s grassroots push has found even deeper roots.<\/p>\n

Following this year\u2019s All-Star Race winner Christopher Bell, Bowman also spoke up, acknowledging the logistical hurdles the venue poses but firmly backing the idea of a points-paying showdown at Wilkesboro. <\/p>\n

He said, \u201cI think it\u2019s fine to have a points race there. Honestly, the All-Star race is the biggest event for us as far as the time perspective goes. Aside from the Daytona 500, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been at a racetrack for so long this year as I was at North Wilkesboro, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowman\u00a0emphasized the nostalgic pulse and packed house the venue still draws. He added<\/a>, \u201cLike it\u2019s a three-day show. There\u2019s so many things going on. Like, you may as well have a points race there. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing more to it aside from more cars on the racetrack at that point. So yeah, it\u2019s a cool place. It\u2019s so much history there, such a cool vibe. Obviously, the fans love it. It\u2019s packed whenever we go there.\u201d<\/p>\n

For over two decades, North Wilkesboro Speedway had become a ghost of its former self, save for a brief flurry of lower-tier races in 2010 and 2011. The track last saw Cup Series action in 1996, when Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag. But thanks to a $20 million facelift powered by the American Rescue Plan, NASCAR handed it a lifeline with the 2023 All-Star Race.<\/p>\n

The first two All-Star editions were tepid at best, but the 2025 race breathed new life into the beloved short track. With a newly repaved surface offering multi-groove action on the tight 0.625-mile oval, the spring spectacle delivered 1,426 green-flag passes, sending the grandstands into a frenzy and proving North Wilkesboro still has plenty of magic left inside its walls.<\/p>\n

Is Kyle Petty not in favor of having a points race at NWS?<\/p>\n

While many drivers have thrown their weight behind a points-paying race at North Wilkesboro, Kyle Petty finds himself paddling against the current.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the May edition of Fast Talk on the Performance Racing Network, Petty cautioned that awarding Cup points at the storied 0.625-mile oval could strip away the charm and mystique the track has reclaimed through its recent All-Star Race appearances.<\/p>\n

In his eyes, turning Wilkesboro into another checkbox on the 36-race calendar would water down what makes it stand out. Petty explained<\/a>, drawing a line between novelty and oversaturation. He said,\u00a0\u201cMy point is, it\u2019s like how my mom would always say. It\u2019s like chocolate: if I give it to you all the time, it\u2019s not special. <\/p>\n

\u201cWilkesboro is special because it means something right now. If it\u2019s just another race on a 36-race schedule, does it mean anything? Does it hold that excitement for the fans?\u201d <\/p>\n

Besides that, if Wilkesboro earns a full-time slot, NASCAR would be forced to reshuffle the deck, likely moving the All-Star Race elsewhere and pulling a date from another track to keep the race count at 36. And while chatter around expanding to a 38-race schedule has floated through the garage in recent years, the sport has yet to make that leap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dale Earnhardt Jr.\u2019s tireless efforts since 2017 may soon bear the ultimate fruit, as momentum continues to build…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-50231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114820830114336975","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}