Over the last fifty years, the sport of NASCAR has become nationalized, leaving behind the small, Carolina towns where much of the lore and origins of stock car racing began. In 1996, the stock car engines no longer roared at North Wilkesboro Speedway (NWS) as racing ceased to exist after fifty years in the tiny, northwestern North Carolina town of North Wilkesboro. This thesis examines how the loss of NASCAR at North Wilkesboro Speedway has altered the local population’s sense of place and self-identity or image. The research in this thesis is based on assessment of editorials, articles, and opinion discussions from two local newspapers, The Record of Wilkes and The Journal-Patriot , and a survey of Wilkes County residents. Further, by attending a NASCAR race weekend in Martinsville, Virginia, a town and speedway very similar to North Wilkesboro, this research gained critical insights and an understanding of what a race weekend would have been like in North Wilkesboro. The local population still feels that North Wilkesboro is a “NASCAR” town since the speedway and its local racing heroes were integral in creating the largest spectator sport in the world. However, overwhelmingly, the local population agrees that the town’s image has changed since racing ended at the speedway.