Another world: 'Hidden' NASCAR track near downtown Raleigh celebrates 60 years

While the ghosts of former speedways leave oval-shaped footprints across the Piedmont area, many locals aren't aware of the fully-functional, historic speedway sitting less than 15 minutes from downtown Raleigh: The Wake County Speedway.

In the beginning, the Wake County Speedway was a simple quarter-mile dirt track, established by a local family with a passion for racing. Glenn and Marvin Simpkins built the track on their family-owned land off Simpkins Road, near Lake Wheeler and Yates Mill.

According to the track's history, it was, like most race tracks of that era, "made of good ol' North Carolina red clay, the kind that is plentiful across Wake County." It operated as a successful dirt track for 24 years.

Glenn Simpkins was well-known in the racing circuits and the community for running the Wake County Speedway. However, he leased it out from year-to-year, according to his wife Jean Simpkins, because he "didn't want to be confined."

"Glenn wanted to race," she said. "He liked to go around the state racing -- mostly dirt tracks, not as many asphalt."

Glenn Simpkins was born in 1939, and by 15 years old he was already racing. In the 1950s, NASCAR was blooming across the state with tracks like the Raleigh Speedway in their heyday.

"Glenn rode on the Raleigh Speedway when he was 14," said his wife. "I don’t know whose car he drove!"

Back then, drivers could race out of a junkyard, dropping only $3,000 into a car.

According to his wife, Glenn Simpkins began building up a following, with fans eager to see him race.

"Farmer John and Glenn raced all over," said his wife. "Dirt tracks in Johnston County. Wilkesboro. Wilson. They had a following, and everyone wanted to know where they were going on a Friday night."

Jean Simpkins said John Moose from Charlotte Motor Speedway encouraged Glenn Simpkins to change Wake County Speedway into the Raleigh Speedway – but he always refused. Today, while we've lost many of the popular tracks from the 1950s and 60s, the Wake County Speedway remains.

Jean Simpkins was told when she married Glenn Simpkins that she'd "be in racing for the rest of her life."

While she didn't race on the tracks, she carved out a little piece of racing history for herself regardless.

She began working in a little brick building in the pit area, selling hotdogs and bologna sandwiches to hungry customers.

"I got famous for that. We had so many orders for the fried bologna. Those guys would have a shirt pocket full of money and wanted two pieces of bologna, so we started selling double bologna with nacho cheese. We called it our Bologna Supreme," she recalled.

She said they got calls from other speedways around the state, asking her how she cooked up those popular sandwiches -- because their customers were asking for them, too, after eating at the Wake County Speedway.

"I got so much respect for working with Glenn and being his wife," she said. "But I didn't deserve it. It was Glenn that worked that hard."

She said he was known for his generosity and Christian faith. Even his granddaughter was proud of her roots as a Simpkins.

"She used to brag, 'My grandpa owns all of Speedway County!'" said Jean Simpkins.

She recalled a 'warning' her father gave her when she decided to marry Glenn Simpkins.

"When I married him, my daddy said, ‘You know if you marry him, you’re going to be in that racing the rest of your life,'" she said. "I didn’t think I really would –– but I did, and it’s been a good life."

"Victory Lane hides a major piece of racing history: The old grain scale once used to weigh the cars," says current operator Charlie Hansen. When the winning driver pulls up on Victory Lane, they are actually sitting on top of the original grain scale historically used by the speedway.

There's another piece of speedway history hidden among a wall of yellow pipes that surround part of the track. "Originally, this wall was made up of wooden telephone poles," says Hansen. "We needed to replace them, but we saved one for history's sake."

The new yellow pipes were recycled from a recent NC-42 highway project.

They also upgraded the lighting to brighter, LED lights – but saved one of the original red, yellow, and green light fixtures that hangs over the track.

And there's one more piece of historic memory: The fans. Many of the long-time fans who remember the 'good old days' still come out and enjoy the races today. The small track has earned the nickname "America's Favorite Bullring" due to its tight corners and fast stock car races.

Despite their popularity among fans, Hansen says many people have no idea the Wake County Speedway exists.

"We're right here in Raleigh, not more than 15 minutes away from most people, and yet a lot of people don't know we're here, offering these exciting races," he says.