COVID Relief Money Could Go To Repair Speedways Across The State
COVID Relief for North Carolina Speedways could be on its way. You may have heard NC just received $5.7 billion from the Federal Government as part of the American Rescue Plan. Details are beginning to emerge about how this money will be spent. Governor Roy Cooper is proposing spending $30 million to make repairs to three historic speedways across the state.
The money would be given to the county who would work with the venue to fund repairs and upgrades. The plan would allocate $10 million to the local Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Rockingham Speedway and the North Wilkesboro Speedway would also each receive $10 million.
As part of the state's portion of the federal American Rescue Plan funds, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper has proposed $10 million to Charlotte, North Wilkesboro and Rockingham, each.
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) May 19, 2021
Another $10 million would go to various short tracks - all pending state approval.https://t.co/DwqMsGKOxi
Such enhancements could include but are not limited to, pedestrian walkways, speedway repaving, upgrades to facilities, drag ways , and grandstands. “This pandemic brought us a once-in-a-generation challenge, and these funds have brought us a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Let’s use them to make a transformational change for our state.” state Cooper.
This news is especially welcome for the North Wilkesboro Speedway. The venue hasn’t hosted a rare since 2011 and a Twitter campaign “Save The Speedway has been in effect. NASCAR and motorsports in general are a huge part of the economy in North Carolina. The Charlotte area hosts two weeks each year of NASCAR racing and is home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Motorsports is the biggest tourism industry in the state bringing in an average of $5 billion a year. CMS hosted 1.1 million visitors in 2019. The goal is for each of the three venues to host 5 new events over the next three years.
Excited to see an opportunity open up for North Wilkesboro. Never expected that place to ever make a come back, but maybe there’s a worthy purpose for it yet. https://t.co/LRvRnmEShz
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 19, 2021
In addition to the previously mentioned venues, money would go to racing facilities across the state. $5 million is also proposed to create a Motorsports and Moonshine Heritage Trail. This money still must be approved by the state legislature.
