NASCAR has roots in running moonshine when doing such a thing could be both risky and mean big bucks.

So, it might not surprise folks that there might just be a moonshine cave underneath North Wilkesboro Speedway. Apparently, there was always a tale told that such a thing existed at the facility, which was one of the sport’s original tracks, but no solid proof.

At least not any solid proof that anyone who might have known was going to talk about.

But the track reported last week that during grandstand cleaning and inspection, it discovered cracks in the concrete foundation that led them to discover a 700-foot opening underneath the grandstands.

“We’d often hear stories of how an old moonshine still was operated here on the property under the grandstands,” Steve Swift, the senior vice president of operations and development, said. “Well, we haven’t found a still (yet), but we’ve found a small cave and an interior wall that would have been the perfect location to not only make illegal liquor, but to hide from the law as well. We don’t know how people would have gotten in and out, but as we uncover more, there’s no telling that we might find.”

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[–] 25 points 2 years ago (1 child)

Similar anecdote.

There were a series of unused steam tunnels under a university. After decades of hemming and hawing they finally allocated funds and some engineers were sent down to inspect. They found an abandoned pot farm, with thousands of dollars worth of equipment just laying there. The general surmise was that someone had built the place with the goal of raising a certain amount and, once they'd made their fortune, ahd just walked away without being greedy. Or maybe they were killed by rivals and died without giving up the secret.

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  • [+] 15 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 child)
  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago (2 children)
  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    This is the coolest NASCAR-related story I’ve seen in years.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Only second to the one where the guy won the race by flooring it and using the wall to guide him "like he did on video games growing up".

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    Here’s a post direct from the speedway. They only have a few weeks to figure out how to get the stands above the hole safe to use again before the NASCAR all-star race!

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