Raleighs hidden gem: How Wake County Speedway continues to thrive in 2020s

With North Carolina‘s capital of Raleigh continuing to grow every year, it would be easy for a non-motorsports fan to assume no race track lies within the sprawling city limits.

Yet nestled on Simpkins Road, between Lake Wheeler and U.S. Highway 401, is Wake County Speedway, a hidden gem of a quarter-mile paved oval that has been in operation since it opened as a dirt track in 1962.

One of the people responsible for keeping the gem polished is William Brown, who considers himself the primary handyman of Wake County. When he first assumed his role in 2019, Brown put his vast knowledge as a builder to use by outlining a series of goals he believed would bring Wake County into the modern era.

The process is ongoing, but Brown is more than satisfied with the improvements made to Wake County over the past six years.

“From where I started to where we are now, we‘re at about 60-70 percent of what I envisioned this place to be,” Brown said. “We‘ve done a lot of heavy lifting working on the infrastructure, and we‘re going to do some electrical work once the season ends.

“This is some of the hardest work I‘ve ever done, but the fruit of our labor has paid off.”

Were it not for his son Zack, a Legends competitor, Brown likely would have never seen the potential Wake County had to offer.

The two were at the facility on a practice day when Brown came across Charlie Hansen, who had just signed a long-term lease to operate the facility. Having worked at Wake County himself since 1997, Hansen was seeking any kind of assistance on how to maintain the dream started by the track‘s original owners in the Simpkins family.

A conversation between Hansen and Brown resulted in the latter officially joining the Wake County staff. A thorough analysis of the facility gave Brown an idea of the undertaking ahead of him, but he was ready to fully commit to Wake County‘s modernization.

“It was like stepping in chewing gum and trying to get it off with your other foot,” Brown said. “Then you reach down to grab it and get it all over you. On that day, I said [to Charlie] that I‘d help, and I have not quit.”

The renovations Brown has overseen at Wake County have been ubiquitous to nearly every aspect of the facility. They range from minor-but-important components like re-plumbing the bathrooms and installing a new sound system to repaving the surface, which stemmed from money received by the North Carolina Motorsports Relief Fund.

A personal project of which Brown is particularly proud is the restoration of the inside wall at Turn 2. Prior to Brown‘s arrival, the inner barrier was comprised of used telephone poles that frequently caused significant damage to cars that hit them.

With a limited amount of funding at their disposal, Brown and Hansen had to get creative with their approach to the wall. The solution ended up being a replacement of the poles with repurposed, high-pressure gas lines Hansen happened to discover by pure chance.

“Charlie spotted some pipe on his way to Southern National [Motorsports Park] one day,” Brown said. “He sent me a picture and said ‘what do you think about this?‘. I said I would check it out. It took me two days to get to the right person, and they said to come get all we wanted.

“It was their trash, but our treasure.”

Once Brown got the gas lines installed, he had them painted yellow to match the rest of the retaining walls around Wake County. At the beginning of the gas line barrier is one of the old telephone poles, which Brown kept in place as a reminder of all the progress made.

While Brown stays occupied with new projects at Wake County, Hansen is equally busy ensuring the facility still thrives from a presentation perspective. He wants the facility to be family friendly and has organized special kid-themed events such as quarter-mile marathons, bike races for children and candy drops.

Taking care of the drivers is another part of Hansen‘s plan. With costs continuing to rise throughout motorsports, Hansen stressed the importance of minimizing the financial strain on his competitors so that car counts can stay reasonable every week.

“Our tire program is probably one of the least expensive in the country,” Hansen said. “We do a lease program where we give the competitors the tires at cost, and they turn them back in at the end of the night. We then re-lease the tires back. We try to do everything we can to keep the expense down.”

Maintaining healthy fields is a constant battle for Hansen amidst an always dynamic industry, but his policies have earned Wake County a loyal group of regulars across all its divisions. Among them is Clay Jones, the current Late Model Stock points leader who is chasing his fifth track championship.

Jones’ father and grandfather both turned plenty of laps at Wake County during their respective careers, so it only made sense for him to continue the family tradition starting in the late 2000s. Many changes have befallen Wake County since Jones‘ first race, such as the track receiving NASCAR sanctioning in 2020, yet he believes the facility is currently enjoying one of its best eras.

The diligence of Hansen and his staff to promote the hard-nosed action associated with Wake County is why Jones believes packed grandstands are a constant. He does not recall a single evening this decade when Wake County was nowhere near full capacity.

“When Charlie and all those guys took over, they put extra effort in to get the word out,” Jones said. “A lot of people in Raleigh don‘t even know there‘s a race track right here less than 10 minutes from downtown. Once people come for the first time and enjoy it, they come back.”

Spreading the word about Wake County and its vibrant culture is something Jones believes will be imperative toward the track‘s longevity, especially since the urbanization of Raleigh is spreading right to the track‘s doorstep.

A neighborhood has been developed less than a quarter mile away, right off Simpkins Rd. More houses are being built in the subdivision every week, meaning it will be imperative for Wake County to maintain a sound reputation with noise ordinances.

Hansen said established legal precedents provide Wake County some protection from the encroaching urbanization, but he’s also doing everything feasible to co-exist with his new neighbors. Other tracks have lived on through similar scenarios; Hansen is confident Wake County will do the same.

“There‘s definitely a delicate balance being that we‘re five miles away from skyscrapers just like Richmond [Raceway],” Hansen said. “We try to be a good neighbor, be finished by 11 p.m. ET and not start any engines before 11 a.m. ET. We try to minimize the noise as much as we can, but we‘ve been here 62 years. They might want to call their realtor, not the race track.”

An increase in residents near the track presents an opportunity for them to learn more about Wake County and why Jones, along with so many others, consider the track to be so special.

For Jones, Wake County‘s influence on motorsports is immeasurable with names like Benny Parsons, Ken Schrader, Dennis Setzer and others all having turned laps there. He added the sense of community and the exciting weekly action only further showcase the impact Wake County continues to have on short-track racing in the modern era.

“There‘s non-stop excitement [at Wake County],” Jones said. “You go to these bigger tracks, and everybody gets in a line. It‘s boring, but you can take five cars out here, no matter what class, and it‘s going to be a good show. Something is going to happen. The track itself promotes good racing.

“Everybody helps each other and works together, so this is a great thing we have going and hopefully it keeps going for a long time.”

Brown plans to keep doing his part to maintain Wake County‘s momentum. His next big project involves improving sightlines by removing the overhead wires on the frontstretch and helping install a video board for fans to watch the FloRacing broadcasts at the track.

There have been many long days for Brown as Wake County‘s handyman, but he has considered the experience rewarding in numerous regards. Numerous people have approached Brown to express their satisfaction about Wake County and how the renovations have made the facility more friendly for fans and spectators alike.

Looking back on the last several years, Brown can not help but be proud of what Wake County has turned into. The final version of Brown‘s outline has yet to materialize, but he takes pride in knowing he played a crucial role in revitalizing one of North Carolina‘s longest-running short tracks.

“I thought Wake County was a diamond in the rough that needed some polishing,” Brown said. “The more we polish it, the more results we get with kind remarks about what people are seeing. My goal was to make the people who came here happy. When I do something, I set my bar really high, and we try to keep everyone pumped.

“It‘s a rock and roll thing. You have to dream on and dream until your dreams come true.”

Brown‘s dream of a thriving Wake County did come to fruition. When his work is complete, all he hopes for is to see that passion sustained for generations of motorsports fans and drivers to enjoy.