NASCAR insider vouches for North Wilkesboro's future in a different form

NASCAR Insiders Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck recently addressed the subject of North Wilkesboro's future on the calendar. The iconic racetrack has been the venue for the All-Star race, an annual exhibition race which was previously hosted by Texas, Bristol, and Charlotte.

But after the most recent edition of the million-dollar race at the short track in North Wilkesboro, fans and many industry insiders have been of the opinion that the track deserves more. This was something which Bianchi and Gluck spoke about on an episode of the Teardown podcast.

Bianchi said that while North Wilkesboro would remain on the schedule, whether it'd be a points race or not was something of a big topic before the race.

"You see at a lot of tracks, any new facility that's really come on usually by the third year what happens the crowd support kind of dims a little bit, the enthusiasm and the support isn't there. Tonight was a soldout crowd. It was packed and the crowd was jacked. There's a lot of energy before the race, during the race, even after the race. That's what you want to see," Bianchi described.

"So why would you not want to see a points race here? What would be the downside of this? I mean the fans have turned out. It's obvious the support is there. The racing quality was pretty good tonight," he added. [3:10]

He claimed that if NASCAR adds 20 more cars to the field, which they'd have to do for a points race, it'd help the racing product as well because of more pit strategy. Bianchi added that NASCAR needs to have the conversation on the future of North Wilkesboro.

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Jeff Gluck wants NASCAR to cut down on its yearly exhibition races

Sharing his idea for the future of the All-Star race, Jeff Gluck suggested cutting down on one exhibition race from the two that are part of the 38-race schedule. He urged NASCAR to make it 'more of a bigger deal' and more unique by moving it around.

Like his co-host, Gluck was also in favor of making North Wilkesboro a points race. As for the future of the All-Star race, he said:

"Rockingham was maybe kicked around a little bit as an idea. But you don't have lights there. So, you're running that race in a Sunday afternoon. I don't know if that's really what FOX wants. I mean, this is prime time and this is what they want to see."

"So, you're kind of limited there. And that place needs a little bit of sprucing up as well. So, that is the only track that immediately comes to mind as a possible site for the All-Star race," he added [5:37].

He claimed NASCAR's options are 'kind of limited'. Gluck pointed to going with 37 points-paying races and one exhibition race to either open the season before Daytona or have it in the middle of the season.