North Wilkesboro Speedway crews begin repairs above purported moonshine cave
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Crews are repairing the foundation of the frontstretch concrete grandstands at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
This comes around a week after a sinkhole uncovered a purported moonshine cave under the frontstretch grandstands at the historic track.
The sinkhole prompted crews to remove over 600 aluminum seats and open a large chunk of concrete seating.
Officials conducted a thorough examination of the foundation around the concrete grandstands to ensure it meets safety requirements. Now, they’re ready to repair the hole that uncovered the mysterious cave.
Crews poured concrete into the cave, estimated to be around 700 square feet. They found the cave isn’t in a collapsible area. There are rocks and dirt beneath it, providing a stable foundation.
“Once our operations guys found the initial hole, we knocked it open to find there was an even bigger hole, approximately 700 square-feet, a huge cavity,” said Steve Swift, the Speedway Motorsports Senior Vice President of Operations and Development. “You could park a Chevrolet pickup truck in the hole, and it was right under the Turn 1 grandstands.”
Swift said he and a team of engineers that analyzed and evaluated the area. Even after that, they are still uncertain about the cave’s origins.
“It’s hard to say if the folklore and old stories that you constantly hear around here are true, but we are in the heart of what was once moonshining country, so who knows?” Swift said. “We didn’t want to dig too deep into the cave. We unfortunately didn’t have time to be an archeologist.”
He continued saying, “There’s things under there you would see that makes no sense why they are there. We saw some things that were kind of weird, columns and an interior wall. It made us think of some of the stories we have heard in the past. There could be something to this hole. It’s still plausible, and maybe Myth Busters can come out and investigate it one day.”
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com