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Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed an emotional truth about his connection to North Wilkesboro Speedway before Sunday's Cup Series race.
The ex-NASCAR star told broadcast partner Marty Smith that the track's revival was never really about the racetrack itself, it was about reconnecting with memories of his late father.
Speaking during the preshow before Joey Logano's dominant win at the historic 0.625-mile short track, Earnhardt Jr. addressed a question he said he's fielded repeatedly over the years without ever quite knowing how to answer.
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"I get asked all the time what was so important about North Wilkesboro and I had a hard time putting my finger on it until I turned into the intersection to bring me to the back gate today," Earnhardt said. "And it's not about the track."
Earnhardt went on to explain the confession in more detail, describing how the venue had simply been a regular stop on the schedule during his childhood, one made special only because of its proximity to his family's home in Mooresville, North Carolina.
"North Wilkesboro was just another stop in a long season when I was a kid and I begged daddy to let me go to all the races and Wilkesboro was one that I often got a yes because of its proximity to our house," Earnhardt said.
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"So I would get to go up there with him on Fridays for practice or Saturday for practice, obviously Sunday for the race, and I just had so many cool memories of going to the track with dad," he added.
He continued, reflecting on loss and the passage of time. "It wasn't Wilkesboro that I wanted to get back. It was getting closer to those memories. You're going to lose people in your life. You're going to lose things that you love and those things are going to go away."
"Things change in life and it's just the way it is. It was about getting closer to those things we had lost and I pulled into that racetrack. I immediately recognized that it wasn't Wilkesboro that I was wanting to bring back," he said.
"It was all of those memories and my dad and my friends trying to turn the clock back and get that feeling in your heart again that you had when you were there as a kid. That's what it was about," he explained.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. built a strong record at North Wilkesboro during his career, winning five times at the track across 36 starts, including a dominant 13.48-second victory over a young Jeff Gordon in April 1995.
His final start there came in September 1996, a runner-up finish to Gordon in the track's last points race before it closed. Dale Jr. never got the chance to race a Cup points event at the venue himself, as it had shut down before he reached NASCAR's top series, a gap that helped fuel his years-long effort to bring it back.
