NASCAR drivers show support for regular season race at North Wilkesboro

Race winner Christopher Bell, who may have been slightly biased by the fact that he'd just picked up a check for a cool $1 million, was the first to express his desire for North Wilkesboro to not just return to the NASCAR schedule, but to be promoted to a points race once more. 

"North Wilkesboro, how bout that one!," Bell yelled to a raucous Wilkes County crowd. "That right there is absolutely incredible. North Wilkesboro, best short track on the schedule."

"Let's go," Bell said when asked if North Wilkesboro should get a points race. 

"I don't see why not," fifth-place finisher Chase Elliott said of a potential points race at North Wilkesboro. "I think it's plenty capable of hosting, and obviously the crowd seems extremely receptive to the idea too." 

Even the NASCAR on Fox booth seemed to support the idea of North Wilkesboro hosting a points race for the first time since 1996, as they discussed on air. 

"400 laps in the middle of the afternoon... unbelievable to think how this racetrack has progressed into a multi-groove racetrack in just two years," analyst and Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick said. 

The future of North Wilkesboro and whether or not it hosts a points race is ultimately in the hands of NASCAR, but it seems like there are plenty of folks who wouldn't mind seeing one of NASCAR's most legendary venues return to the regular season. 

On a night where drivers were able to run all over the track and trade the lead a total of 18 times, it's not hard to see why, with a car that has struggled to race well at short tracks, Bell touted North Wilkesboro as the best short track on the NASCAR circuit.