The richest-ever Super Late Model race in the United States and the first USAC Silver Crown Championship Series event in North Carolina’s foothills highlight the 2011 Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway schedule announced Friday.
After returning to the motorsports community in September 2010 with three racing weekends over a two-month period, the historic short track will more than double the number of weekends in which the roar of racing engines will reside at the popular five-eighths-mile facility.
“We look forward to the fans of HNWS coming back in just a matter of weeks to experience all of the great events that will be sure to provide the biggest bang for the buck,” Speedway Associates Inc. President Alton McBride Jr. said. “We want everyone to be a part of making history again in 2011.
Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway’s season kicks off April 7-9 with the richest-ever Super Late Model Race race, the North Wilkesboro 300. Nicknamed “The Big Race” by the competitors, the winner is guaranteed $75,000 with a $25,000 bonus up for grabs for PASS competitors who ran all of the 2010 point races in either the North or South series, plus four PASS national events. PASS is sanctioning the North Wilkesboro 300.
Fifty-nine drivers have already filed an entry for the unprecedented showdown for asphalt short-track racers. Entries include two-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin, Ryan Blaney, and Jay Fogleman. John Flemming, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Patrick Laperle, of St. Denis Sur Roch, Quebec, also have entered the event. Joining PASS on the historical weekend will be the ground-pounding, fist-pumping, tour-type Stadium Modifieds with $5,000 going to the winner.
On July 23, USAC’s Silver Crown Championship Series visits North Wilkesboro for the first time in the circuit’s history. The 100-lap event is the fifth on the series 10-race schedule. Also on tap for the Saturday afternoon event is a MOPAR National Midget Championship race. It is the 16th event on the series 26-race schedule.
USARacing Pro Cup Series cars return to North Wilkesboro June 18 with a 200-lap event. Also scheduled for the “Crash and Bash” weekend are a demolition derby and a car train race. The latter consists of one car towing another, with the front car handling the steering duties and the rear the braking requirements.
Labor Day weekend will again be devoted to the PASS circuit, which kicked off the track’s 2010 schedule with the Labor Day Classic. In addition to PASS, the Sept. 2-3 weekend will host other racing series to be announced at a later date.
Wilkes County’s Apple Festival will once again have the Triple Header weekend at the speedway. There will be the Brushy Mountain 250 for the USAR Pro Cup cars, the tour-type Stadium Modifieds will return and a Limited Late Model race will round out the weekend.
North Wilkesboro Speedway will celebrate Halloween with its second annual Short Track Shootout. This year, however, the event that raised 400 pounds of food for the county’s food bank last October will be an action-packed two-day event, Oct. 28-29.
The speedway ends its season Nov. 12 with a Chump Car 8-hour Enduro event.
In addition to the race weekends, HNWS will host the Southern Truck and Tractor Pullers Association May 13-14 and a first-ever historic racers festival weekend Sept. 23-24. The Back Roads to North Wilkesboro Museum will be open for the historical event, which will be a time for owners of historic race cars to show them off, enjoy some time on the speedway and bench race. On Sept. 24, the Wilkes County Cruisers also will conduct a car show and swap meet.
“It will be nice to have the Cruisers invade Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway just as they did up through 1992,” McBride said. “The Cruisers are known for holding the biggest event of this type in the race track’s long history. Car clubs throughout the region are already making plans for this to be the new bench mark; the largest event of show cars, hot rods and garage-and-shop swap meet warriors to ever set foot at Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway.”
Tickets for the April 7-9 weekend are now on sale and may be purchased at the speedway office or at www.historicnws.com.
Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway 2011 Schedule
April 7-9 PASS North Wilkesboro 300; Tour-type Stadium Modifieds
May 13-14 Southern Truck & Tractor Pullers Association
June 18 USAR Pro Cup 200; Crash and Bash Weekend (Demolition Derby, Chain Race).
July 23 USAC Silver Crown, MOPAR National Midget series
Sept. 2-3 2nd annual Labor Day Classic PASS 200
Sept. 23-24 Back to Basics Historic Race Weekend
Sept. 24 Wilkes County Cruisers Car Show and Swap Meet
Oct. 2 2nd annual Triple Header Weekend (Brushy Mountain 250 USAR Pro Cup Race, Tour-type Stadium Modifieds and Limited Late Model.)
Oct. 28-29 2nd annual Short Track Shootout
Nov. 12 Chump Car 8-Hour Enduro
