WILKES COUNTY, N.C. — It's a race before the race.
We are a little more than a month away from the NASCAR All-Star Race's return to the North Wilkesboro Speedway.
There is much to do, including repairing this massive hole that led to a historic discovery.
If you remember, operation crews were doing a routine inspection of the grandstands when they found cracks in the concrete.
They removed the seats and found a 700-square-foot small cave.
Speedway officials, like Speedway Motorsports Senior Vice President of Operations and Development Steve Swift, said they've heard stories about how an old moonshine still was operating under the grandstands and believe this to be a part of that.
"When we got into the hole and actually started researching looking it, there were things underneath there that you normally wouldn't see underneath," Swift said. "There's some columns, there's a back wall. All of those things make those stories come to fruition, and the funny part is that whenever you look at all this, you know, we don't have tons of time. We have a race right around the bend, so we have to start putting back together.
Swift said they couldn't play archaeologists for too long after finding the discovery.
"We had to go back to work, but there are things in there that, from a construction stance, you'd think are not built just because those are purpose-built," he said.
Now, crews are racing to fill the hole with concrete, and it's a slow process.
Crews have to add concrete little by little to ensure it can set and be structurally sound.
There are also little projects going on across the stadium, like de-winterizing the bathrooms, painting, and more.
"Once you get all that, one of the biggest pieces was to make sure we had a tire established for the cars to be able to put on a good show," said Swift. "We're super excited about the new racing surface. We think it'll change the racing that we saw back last year. We're going to see something that should be very competitive and a little different than Kyle Larson putting on a butt-whooping for everybody to watch. The track's actually in really good shape. Everything else, because of all the construction we did last year, is in really good shape. It's really painting, making the place look good. It looks great now, but you know, making sure all those pieces are in the puzzle."
All of this comes as the speedway is preparing for another economic boost!
Next month, the NASCAR All-Star Race will return to the historic speedway for the second consecutive year.
Tickets are available for races, the campground has parking, and several concerts are planned in and around the race track.
On Thursday, April 4, tickets will go on sale for individual race days.
The week of racing gets underway on May 17.
Last year, the All-Star Race generated an estimated 30 million dollars for Wilkes County and 64 million for the state.
Now, the racetrack has a new story to tell about the hole in the grandstands.