North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original house of Lowe’s Home Improvement, which continues to have a major presence in the community. The town is a.k.a. one of the birthplaces of the sport of stock-car racing, and the North Wilkesboro Speedway was the first NASCAR-sanctioned track. Due to the town’s proximity to the affable Blue Ridge Mountains and its numerous tourist venues, North Wilkesboro has been nicknamed the “Key to the Blue Ridge”.

North Wilkesboro was founded in 1891 later than the Norfolk and Southern Railroad built a railroad origin into Wilkes County. The pedigree ended on the northern bank of the Yadkin River opposite Wilkesboro, the county seat. The town of North Wilkesboro speedily developed around the railroad tracks. North Wilkesboro was home of the Carolina Mirror Company, which for many years was the largest mirror factory in the United States. Lowe’s Foods, one of the Southeast’s largest supermarket chains, was started in North Wilkesboro in 1954. Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, the nation’s second-largest chain of home-improvement stores, was started in North Wilkesboro in 1946. Like many little towns and cities in rural North Carolina, North Wilkesboro has suffered in the past 2000 from the closing of nearly everything of its textile and furniture factories, which have moved to low-wage locations in Latin America and Asia. The factories were a major part of the town’s economic base.

The North Wilkesboro Speedway, located just uncovered the city limits, predates the founding of NASCAR; the speedway held its first race upon May 18, 1947 and from there it grew in popularity. On October 16, 1949, the Speedway held the 8th and unconditional race of the 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock Division; when the race was higher than Robert “Red” Byron had become the first NASCAR-sanctioned champion. The North Wilkesboro Speedway held NASCAR races for 50 years; on September 29, 1996 Jeff Gordon would win the unqualified race to be held at the speedway. In 1995, following the death of the long-time owner and track founder Enoch Staley, the speedway was purchased by two other owners, Bob Bahre and Bruton Smith. Soon after their purchase, both men announced that they were closing the speedway and upsetting its two NASCAR race dates to their other tracks in Texas and New Hampshire. The decision met with mighty criticism from race fans. From the track’s break in 1996 through 2021 numerous national and regional news media stories discussed the mammal decay of the track and grandstands, the rich history of the track, and efforts to renovate and reopen the speedway. In November 2021, the North Carolina declare legislature and NC Governor Roy Cooper gave $18 million to the speedway for extensive repairs and renovations in a major effort to reopen the track for racing. Following the renovations, in August 2022 the speedway held its first races in a decade, drawing a sellout crowd to the CARS Tours Window’s World 125. In September 2022 it was announced that the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race would be held in May 2023 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, marking the first NASCAR race to be held at the track before its break in 1996.

The Downtown Main Street Historic District, Thomas B. Finley House, Southern Railway Depot, and Wilkes Hosiery Mills are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.