It's been a long-time coming, but after years of hard-work and preparation, North Wilkesboro Speedway is ready for the second chapter of its revival with a history-filled weekend of racing.
The NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, CARS Late Model Tour, and ASA STARS National Tour are all on-hand for an exciting week of festivities, that will be capped off with the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 21.
As expected, the highly publicized return to North Wilkesboro has motivated quite a few drivers and teams to travel to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina to complete in one - or more - of the week's events.
In fact, there are a number of drivers - 27 to be exact - that aren't satisfied with just racing once at the historic 0.625-mile facility, entering themselves in two, or in the case of some drivers, three, of the four events taking place at the track this week.
For some drivers, it's an opportunity to get acclimated with the historic track that contested its thought-to-be final NASCAR Cup Series event in 1996, prior to doing battle in Sunday's NASCAR All-Star Race for one-million dollars.
Meanwhile, for others, North Wilkesboro is viewed as another stop on the season-long grind to win a championship, a goal which can be assisted with some additional track time, that all competitors may not be privy too.
Whatever the situation, all the fields are stacked for this nostalgia-infused, action-packed week of racing at one of NASCAR's greatest forgotten treasures. So, who is taking advantage of the extra track time this week?
Kyle Larson (#7 Spire Motorsports), Bubba Wallace (#1 TRICON Garage), and Christopher Bell (#61 Hattori Racing Enterprises) will join the field for Saturday's NASCAR Truck Series event, in order to gain experience for the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Fellow NASCAR Cup Series stars William Byron (#51 Kyle Busch Motorsports) and Ross Chastain (#41 Niece Motorsports) will also compete in the event, while adding a third event to their schedules over the course of the week.
Chastain will pilot the #28 for Pinnacle Racing Group in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour event, while Byron, the most recent winner in the Cup Series, will drive the Anthony Campi Racing #24 in the ASA STARS National Tour race.
The Trackhouse Racing driver will see several familiar faces in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour event on Wednesday, including Chase Briscoe, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Both Harvick (Kevin Harvick Inc.) and Earnhardt (JR Motorsports) will compete for their own organizations in the event. Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe (Chad Bryant Racing) and Brad Keselowski (Hedgecock Racing) have each found existing teams to compete for.
Harrison Burton was scheduled to be part of the CARS Tour festivities on Wednesday as well, but was forced to withdraw from the event, as a result of his car not being ready to compete.
Daniel Suarez, Chastain's teammate at Trackhouse Racing, will be the busiest of the Cup Series double-dippers on Wednesday, competing in the ASA STARS National Tour event and the CARS Late Model Stock Tour race.
The Monterrey, Mexico-native will be working with two organizations on Wednesday, with R&S Race Cars preparing his CARS Tour effort, and Rackley WAR assisting in fielding his ASA STARS entry.
Chase Elliott, Noah Gragson, Chandler Smith, and Erik Jones will join Suarez in contesting both the NASCAR All-Star Race - or Open - and the ASA STARS National Tour event.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar, Conner Jones, and Johnny Sauter will also be competing in the ASA STARS National Tour event.
Both Hocevar (Pro Late Model Tour) and Conner Jones (Late Model Stock Tour) have added a CARS Tour event to their schedules on Wednesday, meaning they'll be among the busiest drivers this week in North Wilkesboro.
Add Corey Heim, Kaden Honeycutt, and Tyler Ankrum to the list of NASCAR Truck Series drivers set to double-dip at North Wilkesboro, as they'll each run in one of the CARS Tour divisions on Wednesday.
John Bolen, William Sawalich, Mason Diaz, Caden Kvapil, Matt Craig, and Michael Hindle are set to compete under multiple sanctions on Wednesday, entering in a division of the CARS Tour, as well as the ASA STARS event.
Add Connor Zilisch - the only driver scheduled to compete in both the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Pro Late Model Tour events on Wednesday, to that list, and there are nearly a full field of drivers who will be worn out by the end of All-Star Weekend.
UPDATE: Erik Jones and Johnny Sauter have withdrawn from the ASA STARS National Tour event at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
