Fayetteville Motor Speedway
Introduction
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Fayetteville Motor Speedway is now home to dirt track racing.
The track was constructed in 1968 and has held many legendary NASCAR and dirt track races.
Backstory and Context
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Stock Car racing is a sport rooted deep in Southern culture, dating back to races by moonshiners who built cars that could out-run the law. The moonshiners enjoyed racing one another and these races later led to the creation of more organized events. In 1948, Bill France founded the official sanctioning body known today as NASCAR.
Fayetteville Motor Speedway opened in 1968 on the outskirts of Fayetteville with an asphalt racing surface. In later years, the track was converted to a dirt surface. While dirt track racing may involve more skill, the heyday of the speedway was when its asphalt surface hosted many NASCAR legends. The track is well-regarded among fans of dirt track racing and is home to the World of Outlaws national dirt track series that continues to honor the sport's "moonshine" heritage.
Eight-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt competed at this track frequently in the early part of his career. Using the skills developed here and other smaller tracks, Earnhardt would go on to win 8 premiere series championships and amass 76 wins, as well as 22 career poles.
Sources
Dale Earnhardt ." Driver Dale Earnhardt Career Statistics - Racing-Reference.info. Accessed June 20, 2017. http://racing-reference.info/driver/earnhda01.
"Fayetteville Motor Speedway." VisitNC.com. Accessed June 20, 2017. https://www.visitnc.com/listing/fayetteville-motor-speedway.
"Fayetteville Motor Speedway." Randy Lewis. Accessed June 20, 2017. http://randylewis.org/fayetteville-motor-speedway/.
"Special Collections at Belk Library." History of Stock Car Racing | Special Collections at Belk Library. Accessed June 20, 2017. http://collections.library.appstate.edu/stockcar/history.