History exists just underneath the Earth’s surface. Whether it’s fossils or artifacts, people can uncover amazing — and unexpected — finds if they dig in.
Nature can provide a helping hand in those discoveries as well. That’s what happened at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina, which is set to host the NASCAR All-Star Race in May.
A sinkhole left cracks in the race track’s grandstands, which gave workers access to a previously unknown area of nearly 700 square feet underneath.
Legends told that a moonshine still existed somewhere at the race track, but it remained just a tale — until now. The area uncovered by the sinkhole is believed to be a secret moonshine cave.
“When we began renovating and restoring North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2022, we’d often hear stories of how an old moonshine still was operated here on the property under the grandstands,” said Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations and development at Speedway Motorsports.
North Wilkesboro Speedway has only found the cave so far, but it’s possible that the still used to make the moonshine is on the property somewhere as well, Swift said. The cave “would have been the perfect location to not only make illegal liquor, but to hide from the law as well,” he added.
There’s been over 600 seats removed from the North Wilkesboro Speedway as the track attempts to uncover more during renovations following the sinkhole. But the speedway will need to be ready in time for the All-Star Race on May 19.
NASCAR’s moonshine history
NASCAR and moonshine have an intertwined history, and the story of one cannot be told without the other.
The United States banned the use, sale and production of alcoholic beverages in the early 20th century. The Prohibition era lasted from 1920 until 1933. But that never stopped people from forming illegal — and very profitable — businesses around alcohol.
Moonshine runners began to greatly improve their vehicles to evade the police. Those modifications led to the NASCAR’s birth in 1948.
“You had to have fast cars to haul your whiskey to the people and to get away from the revenue and the [Alcoholic Beverage Control commission] and the federal officers,” said Junior Johnson, a former NASCAR driver who ran a an illegal whiskey still.
Johnson, who died in 2019 at age 88, spent one year in prison starting in 1956 for operating his whiskey still. But he is proud of his own history and that of his sport.
“If it hadn’t been for whiskey, Nascar wouldn’t have been formed,” he said in 2013. “That’s a fact.”
NASCAR Cup Series schedule
Here is the upcoming schedule for the NASCAR Cup Series, through the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19.
| Race | Date | Start time (ET) |
| Toyota Owners 400 | March 31 | 7 p.m. |
| Cook Out 400 | April 7 | 3 p.m. |
| AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 | April 14 | 3:30 p.m. |
| GEICO 500 | April 21 | 3 p.m. |
| Würth 400 | April 28 | 2 p.m. |
| AdventHealth 400 | May 5 | 3 p.m. |
| Goodyear 400 | May 12 | 3 p.m. |
| NASCAR All-Star Race | May 19 | 3 p.m. |
