Possible moonshine still found beneath North Wilkesboro Speedway

For decades, there have been rumors that North Wilkesboro Speedway housed the ruins of a secret moonshine still somewhere on the property.

It was a cute rumor because Wilkes County was the moonshine capital of North Carolina and stock car racing has inextricable links to the creation of illegal liquor back in the day.

As it turns out, something has been discovered beneath the frontstretch grandstands and it very well could be the rumored moonshine still. During a routine inspection last week, track operators discovered cracks in the north section towards closer to Turn 1.

After removing the classic seats to begin evaluating the damage, an approximately 700-square-feet open area was discovered underneath the aging concrete.

North Wilkesboro Speedway is the oldest track in NASCAR, having been opened on May 18, 1947 as a dirt track.

“When we began renovating and restoring North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2022, we’d often hear stories of how an old moonshine still was operated here on the property under the grandstands,” said Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations and development at Speedway Motorsports. “Well, we haven’t found a still (yet), but we’ve found a small cave and an interior wall that would have been the perfect location to not only make illegal liquor, but to hide from the law as well. We don’t know how people would have gotten in and out, but as we uncover more, there’s no telling what we might find.”

Overall, 600 seats have been removed from sections N and 0 and Speedway Motorsports is evaluating its options in advance of the second running of the All Star Race on May 14-19.

“Now we have a race before the race, “Swift added. “The area that’s been affected by the sinkhole is a frontstretch grandstand area with some of the best views of the track. We’ll have a lot of work to get done before NASCAR All-Star Race Week.”

Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter .

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