NASCAR EVP considers Dale Earnhardt Jr. a “big advocate” for North Wilkesboro’s new role in Cup Series

Ben Kennedy, the NASCAR EVP and chief venue and racing innovation officer, addressed Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a 'big advocate' as the sport is set to return to the North Wilkesboro Speedway next season. Speaking about Earnhardt Jr., Kennedy said that they were excited to turn the venue into a points-paying race.

The North Wilkesboro Speedway is a paved oval short track in North Carolina, which hosts races primarily sanctioned by NASCAR. As of 2023, the track has a capacity of 25,000 and is currently owned by Speedway Motorsports.

In NASCAR, the North Wilkesboro Speedway is known for hosting the NASCAR All-Star race for the last three years. The races were extremely popular, and as a result, there were talks about turning the race into a point-paying one, something Kennedy talked about in a recent interview.

"We had about 70% of our fans, and four out of five 18-to-34-year-olds that asked for North Wilkesboro to move into a points event, Kennedy said. "So, we’re going to move that into July and TNT’s portion of the season with Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. in the booth, who I know has been a big advocate of turning North Wilkesboro into a points event. (We’re) excited to make that change for them.”

“It is a consideration that we’ve talked about. If it’s a 400-lap race, a few hours for people being in the infield will probably be a little bit too long. I think it’s probably difficult to go down (under the track with a tunnel), so we might look at a couple of different options to potentially have a bridge or something that gives people the ability to both leave the facility and come back into the infield," Mr. Ben Kennedy further added.

The North Wilkesboro Cup Series race will take place on July 19, 2026, and it will be the 21st Cup Series race of the season. The All-Star race, which took place at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, will take place at Dover instead.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. teased about the North Wilkesboro Speedway

Earlier this month, Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared a teaser for the point-paying race at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. The track, which returned to the calendar in 2023 after a long gap, will finally host a point-paying Cup Series race, and here's what Earnhardt Jr. had to say about it:

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #3 Sun Drop Chevrolet, stands on the grid prior to the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour Window World 125 at North Wilkesboro Speedway - Source: Getty

“I think it would be badass for Wilkesboro to be a points race in the summer and I would get to broadcast it…maybe in the TNT portion of the year," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in the "Ask Jr." Podcast.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a former NASCAR Cup Series driver who has 631 race entries under his belt, spanning over 19 years, during which he picked up 26 wins, 15 poles, and 260 Top 10s. Besides being a former driver, Earnhardt Jr. is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports, a NASCAR team.