2-Headed Monster: Should Throwback Weekend Shift to North Wilkesboro’s All-Star Race?

With NASCAR headed to one of its most sacred grounds this weekend in North Wilkesboro Speedway, nostalgia will inevitably fill the air.

Hype videos will be plastered across every team’s social medias, the track page itself will light up with callbacks to days of old and each NASCAR fan will wish they were transported to the 1980s for at least one day of action at the famed short track.

With all of this nostalgia surrounding North Wilkesboro buzzing about, it got some of our writers here at Frontstretch thinking – why in the world is this not throwback weekend? Of course, that caused some dissension, and here we are to talk all about it.

Move Throwback Weekend to Wilkes

There was a time when throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway was one of the most anticipated dates on the NASCAR calendar. For fans, it wasn’t just another race — it was a celebration of the sport’s soul. The classic paint schemes, the nods to legends of the past, and even the throwback fire suits gave everyone from casual viewers to lifelong diehards something to look forward to. It was fresh. It was fun. It was deeply nostalgic.

And for a while, it worked.

Credit to Darlington’s marketing team: they crafted a brilliant concept that revitalized interest in the track and pulled fans back through the gates. Tributes to Petty, Rusty and The Intimidator himself created an emotional thread that tied the present to the past. But the hard truth? That spark is fading.

In recent years, throwback weekend has started to feel more like a routine than a revival. When you have potentially 90+ cars and trucks across multiple national series trying to recreate something memorable each year, it’s inevitable that the ideas run dry. The excitement has dulled. What was once a vibrant celebration now feels like an obligation.

But not all hope is lost. In fact, it’s been quietly growing just up the road.

North Wilkesboro Speedway, a name once reduced to whispered memories and dusty YouTube clips, has risen from the ashes. After sitting dormant for years, the track has returned to life, and it has brought with it the kind of organic, heart-tugging nostalgia that no marketing campaign can manufacture.

When you walk through the gates at North Wilkesboro, it doesn’t just feel like a race. It feels like coming home.

The cracked pavement. The old faded signs. The stories echoing through the mountains. There’s a tangible sense of history there, and fans are connecting with it in a way that feels rare in today’s polished, corporate version of the sport.

Which begs the question: Why not move throwback weekend to North Wilkesboro?

Think about it — a throwback weekend centered around a track that is a throwback. Instead of the same tired schemes repeated year after year, why not ask teams to honor moments from North Wilkesboro’s own legendary past? Let them bring back the look of Geoff Bodine’s ‘94 win, or pay tribute to Junior Johnson’s moonshining roots. Let the throwback be specific, real and tied directly to the history beneath the asphalt.

Make the track part of the story instead of just the setting for it.

Sure, eventually, you’ll run into the same challenges Darlington has faced. But a focused, track-specific theme buys you time. It gives the concept new life. And most importantly, it gives fans something to feel again. That’s the heart of all of this — emotion, memory and meaning.

And maybe this doesn’t have to stop at North Wilkesboro. Imagine a rotating throwback weekend: one year at Rockingham Speedway, the next at Bristol Motor Speedway, maybe even Martinsville Speedway down the line. Let the event evolve. Let it breathe. Give each historic venue its moment in the sun, and let fans reconnect with different pieces of NASCAR’s heritage.

But North Wilkesboro? That’s where you start. Because right now, no place in NASCAR evokes nostalgia quite like it. It’s not just about racing — it’s about resurrection. It’s about what was nearly lost and is now cherished more than ever.

Darlington will always have its place in history. But if NASCAR wants to recapture the magic, it needs more than a theme. It needs authenticity. It needs emotion. It needs Wilkes County.

Throwback Weekend doesn’t need a facelift.

It needs a new home. – James Jackson

Darlington is NASCAR’s Marquee Throwback Track

NASCAR has already built a market around the throwback weekend at Darlington Speedway. Fans flock to South Carolina in the spring to catch a view of various different paint schemes commemorating the racing greats with exciting, close-quarters, door-to-door racing at one of the most exciting tracks on the NASCAR schedule.

Why change that approach?

Darlington has hosted throwback weekend since the 2015 Southern 500. Once Darlington officially expanded back to two races in 2021, the weekend has taken place in the spring at the Goodyear 400. Year-by-year, NASCAR and its teams in all three national series have put together timeless throwbacks at the egg-shaped oval to commemorate past racing legends and racing families.

Having this event at Darlington, a track that is known for its deep racing history, is perfect, and both the track and NASCAR have executed successful throwback weekends here for a decade now.

While North Wilkesboro would be the second-best track to host a throwback weekend, Darlington has the proven market already established. North Wilkesboro already has a unique event in the All-Star Race that brings in the fans. The track isn’t in search for something unique like the throwback weekend because of the All-Star Race, and fans pack the place already thanks to its fresh return.

That’s not the only reason Darlington should keep getting the nod, though.

First, Darlington has a larger capacity to handle and attract more fans to the weekend. Continuing to host the event at Darlington can help preserve and build that fanbase in the spring and act as a springboard for marketing the Southern 500 later in the year.

Next, North Wilkesboro only hosts the All-Star Race.

That event is marketed as a sort of test for NASCAR to use new ideas and rules for the future. Plus, running throwback weekend in conjunction with All-Star Weekend seems counterintuitive. North Wilkesboro not having a regular-season race should eliminate the possibility of the track hosting throwback weekend as it is. NASCAR would have to step up and change where the All-Star Race runs (ex. Charlotte Motor Speedway or Rockingham Speedway), and the track would need to be scheduled for a points race, something that, through three seasons, hasn’t happened yet.

Additionally, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which really helped carry this year’s throwback race, hasn’t made its return to North Wilkesboro yet. It would be a tragedy if NASCAR moved throwback weekend without the Xfinity Series getting a chance to participate.

Finally, the same argument could be held for other tracks on the schedule. Martinsville Speedway, for example, holds almost the same case as North Wilkesboro. It’s an old, classic short track. The differences between the two are that North Wilkesboro was revived, while Martinsville has stayed on the calendar and has two race dates. Martinsville could easily take over this date as well with its storied past.

Darlington throwback weekend hasn’t lost its luster quite yet. Although NASCAR has made plenty of welcome changes in the last couple of seasons, this doesn’t need to be one of them at the moment. Despite some teams not taking on the tradition every year, those teams that do participate still get the recognition they deserve from the fans, and it continues to deliver each season.

Does North Wilkesboro eventually taking the reins of throwback weekend one day? Once NASCAR moves the All-Star Race, it’s certainly not out of the question. Eventually, throwback weekend will run its course at Darlington, and plenty of NASCAR’s classic tracks could certainly host the event with North Wilkesboro being first in line. The biggest and main concern for the track is if it will get that points-paying race in the first place.

For now, let’s appreciate what we’ve got at Darlington. – Wyatt Watson