For his first act as a NASCAR All-Star Race champion , Christopher Bell chose to praise the revitalized 78-year-old racetrack that delivered a memorable night of racing.
"Let's go!" Bell shouted to roaring approval from a capacity crowd of 25,000 as he made the case Sunday night during his frontstretch celebration that North Wilkesboro Speedway was due a Cup Series points race.
"The best short track in NASCAR," Bell said. "It is absolutely incredible. It's just going to get better and better. Man, that was an amazing race."
In its third edition as host of the 1 million exhibition event, the speedway produced All-Star Race records for lead changes 18 and green-flag passes for the lead 59 as its remarkable rebirth continued from a dilapidated and rotting hulk just three years ago.
Speedway Motorsports announced that grandstand seating and premium hospitality were sold out for the 41st All-Star Race, which drew fans from 43 states and nine countries to North Wilkesboro, which is 80 miles north of Charlotte. SMI president and CEO Marcus Smith proclaimed that "like Lambeau Field to football and Fenway Park to baseball, North Wilkesboro Speedway has become America's throwback racetrack."