In the mid-1940s, local Carolinian Enoch Staley built a track near the Brushy Mountains with help from Lawson Curry, John Mastin, and the Combs family.

After Enoch died in 1995 amongst an explosion of popularity for NASCAR in the 1990s, Speedway Motorsports (SMI) owner Bruton Smith and businessman Bob Bahre each bought out half interest from the families.

[14][15] In 1945, Enoch Staley, who at the time was working numerous jobs at a variety of industries, went to watch a stock car race in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with his friend, John Mastin.

[5][19] Originally, North Wilkesboro Speedway utilized a dirt surface, with developers adding a 14 ton mixture of calcium chloride and salt into the track to prevent dust.

[21] Throughout the track's history, it became renowned for its connection to moonshine runners; a common activity within the Wilkes County area that has its roots in the American Prohibition era.

[26][27] In 1965, the track, along with North Wilkesboro native and former moonshine runner Junior Johnson, were featured in an Esquire article written by journalist Tom Wolfe.

[40] In 1990, along with the addition of 3,100 seats, an electronic scoring pylon was added, replacing the last manual scoreboard on the Winston Cup Series schedule.

[46] Despite NASCAR vice president of competition Mike Helton declaring that "the Cup schedule can't grow much more" in January 1995,[47] a boom period of developers announcing plans to build modern, high-capacity tracks in new markets such as Las Vegas, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and St. Louis was kickstarted.

Monte Dutton, writer for The Gaston Gazette, wrote about the lack of modern telephones for members of the press in the 1990s, stating that only four phones were available; three being rotary dials.

"[65] At the 1996 First Union 400, the duo met for the first time in more than two months; although they stated intents on running the Holly Farms 400, they did not clarify NWS or Texas' future in remaining on the Winston Cup Series schedule.

[66][67] The Holly Farms 400 was later confirmed to run on April 24,[68] with France Jr. vetoing Bahre's offer to move the race to New Hampshire within the 1996 season due to time restraints within the month.

[77][78] Immediately after the purchase, however, the future of any NASCAR racing at NWS was met with doubt due to Bahre and Bruton's relationship, entering a bitter dispute because both wanted full control of the facility for themselves.

Bruton then threatened to shut down the track if he didn't obtain full control;[79] he later backtracked on his comment, stating that he was willing to "preserve some things at North Wilkesboro".

[81] A group led by Junior Johnson was formed that month in a last-ditch effort to purchase the facility,[82] but Bahre refused to accept the offer.

[88][5] Three months later, SMI leadership stated hopes of holding a charity Busch Series race at NWS;[89] the proposal, however, was considered dead by July according to Bahre.

[97] Later that year, a petition organized by real-estate agent Robert Glen that proposed to condemn the track so the Wilkes County government could sell it to an investor through eminent domain got 3,312 signatures;[98] it was rejected.

[101] A month later, another petition, this time organized by Robert Marsden under the name Save the Speedway (STS), drew around 2,000 online signatures.

[109][110] In early November 2009, an ownership group led by Alton McBride Jr. operating under the name Speedway Associates announced their intents to host USARacing Pro Cup Series races at NWS in October 2010.

[111][112] The group obtained a three-year lease from Bruton, and was viewed initially as a positive, legitimate offer by the Wilkes Economic Development Corporation.

[120][121] However, Call's preservation efforts were insurmountable to the deterioration of NWS; by 2015, buildings on the site had completely caved in, the Junior Johnson grandstands collapsed, and several suites were damaged.

[51] In 2017, the track, which was viewed as abandoned and desolate, was paid homage to in the movie Cars 3 when NWS served as the inspirational basis for the fictional Thomasville Speedway.

[122][123] The next year, STS spokesman Steven Wilson stated renewed interest at restoring the facility; chances of it ever happening, however, were viewed as non-likely.

[124] In September 2019, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked to Bruton's successor, Marcus Smith, about the possibility of digitally preserving the facility.

A physical renovation, however, was seen as an extreme long-shot due to the track's condition, which had deteriorated so much that writer Jordan Bianchi wrote that "the facility is closer to being condemned than anything else.

[128] Within the month, Marcus stated on a podcast episode of The Dale Jr. Download that he was considering ways to revitalize the facility and that "we haven't given up on it", although "no promises" were made.

[130][131] That same month, Roy Cooper, the Governor of North Carolina, began considering a COVID-19 relief economic package that would give $10 million to the government of Wilkes County to repair the facility.

[138] Smith unveiled revitalization plans and conceptual drawings in January 2022, stating that there was a "real possibility" of the facility being awarded a third-tier NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race weekend.

[147] More renovation announcements soon followed, including the paving of infield garage, the addition of SAFER barriers and storm drain pipes, and other repairs to amenities were reported.

It was later alleged as a possible moonshine cave that would have been used in the 1940s; this has been disputed due to NWS' reputation with poor drainage issues before SMI's purchase of the track.

[157] Until 1996, the facility ran two points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race weekends for most of its existence: the spring First Union 400 and the fall Tyson Holly Farms 400.