It has been more than 13 years now since race cars last made competitive laps around North Wilkesboro Speedway, that venerable old short track on the outskirts of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Since the autumn of 1996, when Jeff Gordon beat Dale Earnhardt by 1.73 seconds -- not a bad way to go out, actually -- the .625-mile facility has sat mostly idle, except for one of Jack Roush's gong shows. Driving by the place on Highway 421, it looked like some abandoned vestige of NASCAR's long-forgotten past.

If there is any one place that's become the demarcation line between stock-car racing's present and its often-recalled "good ol' days," then North Wilkesboro is it. To traditionalists, one outdated North Carolina short track serves as something of a touchstone, a tangible reminder of an era they don't want to let go. Many people in and around Wilkes County have worked very hard to save it, to keep it viable as a potential racing venue, to ensure the place isn't forgotten and left to rot. At times it seemed something of a Quixotic gesture, given that clearly -- and in many ways understandably -- NASCAR isn't coming back.

And then, earlier this week, a small miracle occurred. Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, Bobby and Donnie Allison and other luminaries converged on the place Tuesday for an announcement that, for the first time in more than a decade, real racing would take place at the old track.

Speedway Associates, a group that has secured a three-year lease on the property, unveiled a trio of small-series events planned for 2010, most notably an ASA Late Model race formerly held at Memphis Motorsports Park, which has since been shut down.

Supporters of the old track are understandably excited. Losing North Wilkesboro was a dagger to the heart of many old-school NASCAR fans, and the way it happened -- with Bruton Smith and Bob Bahre each buying half the place and splitting its two dates between Texas and New Hampshire -- felt like a form of betrayal. (Continued)