Wake County Speedway, "America's Favorite Bullring," is a quarter-mile asphalt race track located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Wake County Speedway was built in 1962 by Glenn and Marvin Simpkins on their family-owned land, located at 2109 Simpkins Road, about fifteen minutes south of downtown Raleigh. Glenn's brother Talmadge Simpkins was beside him through all of their trials and errors as the track went from being a dream to a reality. Wake County Speedway, like most race tracks of that era, was made of good ol' North Carolina red clay, the kind that is plentiful across Wake County. The speedway operated as a successful dirt track for the next twenty-four years.
?With the increased popularity of NASCAR racing during the nineteen-eighties, Wake County Speedway was paved for the start of the 1987 racing season. Concrete safety walls were added too, replacing the original steel guardrails and wooden barriers that dated back to the track's origin. Over time, Raleigh's 1/4 mile asphalt track earned the nickname, "America's Favorite Bullring," due to its tight corners and Friday night rock 'em-sock 'em, door-bangin' stock car action!
Wake County Speedway is operated now by Charlie Hansen, who has been a part of the track since 1994, first as a competitor, then an employee, and now as the track promoter.
In 2020, Wake County Speedway joined the ranks of NASCAR for the first time, making it one of only four NASCAR sanctioned racetracks in North Carolina. Currently, there are six NASCAR sanctioned tracks in the state.
Late Model Series drivers and teams compete at Wake County Speedway in both the regional and national Advance Auto Parts Weekly NASCAR points system.