Carl Dean Combs describes the feeling of going around the race track like no other.
“I got butterflies every race, same lap before every race. When a green flag dropped, it was just me and the race car. And basically my theory of racing is just what was in front of me to keep my momentum up and keep going. And I couldn’t even imagine the grandstand. I was just that concentrated in what I was doing,” Combs said.
Combs was a race car driver for decades, winning five lower-level Dash Series titles and traveling across the country for different series.
“We went from Richmond, Virginia, and Dover, Delaware. We even went to Daytona, Charlotte, Atlanta. You know, we ran most of the tracks in the southeast, and we went as far as Texas Motor Speedway at that time,” Combs said.
Although, one track stood out more than the rest: North Wilkesboro Speedway.
“I won 15 races up here in the Dash Series, and it seemed like I would get more nervous of this track because I want to win here in front of all my friends and family and give more effort,” Combs said.
Besides growing up steps away from the track, the driver said North Wilkesboro Speedway was the first asphalt track he raced on.
As he racked up titles and trophies, he competed for small cash prizes or items like a country ham, far from the prizes of races today.
“I believe, to me, 72 years old now, I look back, and think I lived the American dream,” Combs said.
He is excited to see the return of racing back to the historic track, which helped craft drivers deemed as heroes to so many. Last year he went to some of the races as well.
“When they came by, you could feel the seat vibrate. When I sat down there, I said ‘this is racing,’” Combs said.
The short track hosted NASCAR’s All-Star Race last year as well, after being shut down for years, bringing excitement and life back to the town that helped spring board racing to one of America’s favorite pastimes.
“Anywhere you go, you just basically want to talk about, North Wilkesboro Speedway. Where’s it going, is it going to make, is it not … they put on good racing and keep their enthusiasm going, it will be great,” Combs said.
