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North Carolina Speedway
North Carolina Speedway, in the sparsely settled Sandhills of southeastern North Carolina, began as a dream of several local businessmen in the early 1960s and was very much a local project at its inception. Today, the 1.017-mile superspeedway has become one of the most popular stops on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series.
Located in the heart of stock car country, North Carolina Speedway is most noted for its fan-friendly atmosphere and Southern hospitality. The track, originally christened North Carolina Motor Speedway, began as a joint venture by South Carolina land developer Harold Brasington (who built Darlington Raceway, NASCAR's first superspeedway, in 1950) and Bill Land, who owned the property the speedway came to occupy. Realizing they needed financial help, Brasington and Land approached prominent local lawyer Elsie Webb, who assembled a group of backers. The money group also sold shares to local residents for a dollar a share. The track at one time had about 1,000 shareholders. North Carolina Speedway's first race, the NASCAR American 500, was held October 31, 1965.
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