Qualla: Concord Speedway

Concord Speedway: Introduction

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Concord Speedway was the kind of track that does not show up in nationally televised highlight reels but shows up in the biographies of nearly every driver who eventually does. From 1982 to 2019 it sat in Midland, North Carolina, southeast of Concord, and on its half-mile asphalt tri-oval Jack Sprague won championships, Freddie Query became the all-time wins leader, and a young Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran laps that nobody filmed. The track closed in July 2019, sold to Copart. The grandstands are gone or going. The laser scan iRacing made of the half-mile in 2005 still lets you drive it in a video game, which is the strange new way that small American racetracks become immortal.

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Concord Speedway: Three Tracks, One Name

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Concord Speedway is actually the third track to carry the name. The first was built off Poplar Tent Road in the 1950s and hosted seven NASCAR Grand National races between 1956 and 1959 - the era when stock car racing on dirt half-miles was still figuring out whether it was a spor...

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Concord Speedway: The Big 10 Series

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The half-mile's signature series was the Big 10 for Super Late Models, started in 1987. Jack Sprague won the first championship; Rich Bickle won back-to-back in 1991 and 1992; Freddie Query took titles in 1993, 1994, 2004, and 2005 and became the track's all-time wins leader. Sup...

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Concord Speedway: The North-South Shootout

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Starting in 2003, the half-mile hosted the North-South Shootout - a marquee event built around a 125-lap race for Tour-type Modifieds. The series also brought ARCA/CRA Super Series, PASS South Super Late Models, ISMA Supermodifieds, SK Modifieds, and Vintage cars. The marquee rac...

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Concord Speedway: The Earnhardt Connection

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Concord sat in the geographic heart of NASCAR country - close enough to Charlotte Motor Speedway and the manufacturer shops that virtually every Cup Series driver passed through at some point. Dale Earnhardt Sr. raced here. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did too, before he was the Dale Jr. p...

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Concord Speedway: How It Ended

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Weekly racing on the half-mile tri-oval stopped in 2012. The quarter-mile track inside it kept going, hosting INEX Legends, Bandoleros, mini cups, go-karts, and quarter midgets - the entry-level rungs of the stock car ladder. Touring series returned to the half-mile briefly in 20...

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