Reports of no grip at North Wilkesboro might be exaggerated

NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 19: Ryan Preece, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19, 2023 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Conventional wisdom would have you believe there’s very little grip in the worn-out asphalt at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Ryan Preece would beg to differ, and his opinion is based on a modified race he ran at the track last August.

“I mean, this place had a ton of grip,” said Preece, who finished fourth in the modified event. “A lot of a people will compare Myrtle Beach as one of those tracks we had on the East Coast that has no grip. If you decide to go, you’re just going to burn your stuff up, but it never had grip.

“This place, it has tons of grip. But you’re going to pay the price if you choose to go after it. So that’s what I thought was very unique about this race track. It just destroys tires. But at the same time, you can, if you choose to go. Hard. You can go hard.”