“Why did these places shut down in the first place?” - Chase Elliott on North Wilkesboro returning to NASCAR schedule

Chase Elliott is one among those who favor the return of the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway to the NASCAR schedule. However, he recently raised a question on the sustainability of the track in the calendar.

Elliott argued that the North Wilkesboro Speedway needs continuous support from the organizers and fans to be a regular feature in the NASCAR calendar. The revival of the spirit of North Wilkesboro has gotten off to a strong start, and Elliott urges fans to continue the support so that it doesn't shut down for the second time.

Speaking about the future of the short track, the #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver said (via motorsport.com):

"Ultimately, you have to ask yourself – why did these places shut down in the first place? Well, it was because people quit supporting them, but now it’s cool to bring it back."

"So, it’s like which one do you want to do … do you want it or not? I think we all have to ask ourselves that and the people that support racing need to ask themselves that, too," he added.

"If we don’t support this stuff, then it’s going to go away. It’s just how it works," Chase Elliot said further.

North Wilkesboro Speedway

The North Wilkesboro Speedway underwent a $20 million renovation before it could host NASCAR races. Despite the multi-million dollar renovations, the track has far fewer amenities compared to the modern-day tracks.

Neither Speedway Motorsports (owner of the track) nor NASCAR has spoken about the future of the North Wilkesboro Speedway. However, the track is likely to host a Truck Series in the future.

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Chase Elliott wants another North Carolina facility to be revived

NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott

After the successful revival of the North Wilkesboro Speedway, Chase Elliott wants the Rockingham Speedway to be back in NASCAR. Nicknamed 'The Rock', the 1.017 Oval hosted NASCAR for the final time in 2004.

On being asked about the revival of Rockingham Speedway, the 2020 Cup Series champion said:

"I'd be up for it. I thought Rockingham was a great racetrack and I had a chance to race there too a few times, I ran a truck there I think once and had a couple K&N races up there and ran late model race there once as well. So yeah, I thought Rockingham was a great race track."

"I loved racing there," Elliot added. "Especially at the time I was just getting going, it was the biggest place I had been to, so I thought that was really cool then but it was a great track and really wide."

Chase Elliott has to be content with the North Wilkesboro Speedway as The Rock's return is still uncertain.