Iconic speedway track and one of first Nascar circuits ever used reopens to public as historic walking trail

A LEGENDARY Nascar speedway track has reopened to the public as a historic walking trail.

The trail, which resides in Hillsborough, North Carolina, still shows remnants of the former circuit.

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The Occoneechee Speedway was a dirt track that ran NASCAR Cup Series races for nearly 20 yearsCredit: Getty

The site is now a walking trail and features numerous rusting carsCredit: Alamy

Occoneechee Speedway held 32 Cup Series races for 19 years.

It was originally a horse racing track in 1947, before it was converted into a speedway by Bill France Sr., the founder of Nascar, per the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

But in 1968, the one-mile track closed and sat dormant for several decades.

Then, in 2003, a year after The Speedway was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, it became a walking trail.

Nascar fans and others can walk along the trees and across the clay track.

There is a concrete grandstand and a concessions stand.

And there are old cars and an official’s podium, which still remains.

The trail is four miles long and takes you along the banks of the Eno River.

Fans can walk around the only surviving dirt speedway from NASCAR’s inaugural 1949 season.

The track played host to one of the eight races in Nascar’s first year, when the series was known as the Strictly Stock Series.

Bob Flock drove his 1948 Oldsmobile to victory at the 200-mile race and won $5,000 in prize money, per Racing Reference.

The track had numerous Hall of Famers be part of its list of winners, including Lee Petty, his son, Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett, Joe Weatherly, and Fireball Roberts.

In 1968, Richard Petty drove his 1968 Plymouth to victory in what was the track’s final Cup Series race.

The closure of the track was due to pressure from clergies, who reportedly “didn’t like the Sunday races,” per the NCDCR.

The track is on the National Register of Historic PlacesCredit: Instagram / @nicholette_shea29

The walking trail isn’t the only memory of the former track.

The Thomasville Speedway in Pixar’s Cars 3 was reportedly inspired by Occoneechee Speedway.

And the North Carolina track was the subject of an episode of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Peacock show Lost Speedways.

The concession stand of the former track still stands todayCredit: Instagram / @archer3225