Seeing how their communities were hurting, Cindy made a post on Facebook about anybody wanting to donate supplies. In a very short time, people showed up with enough items to stock three full trailers. Salvatore went to some of the small communities and towns to deliver to those in need.
“It was a spur of the moment thing,” Salvatore said. “I mentioned to Cindy being that we have so many racers and followers from those areas that we could put together some goods. Before you knew it, I went to Lansing, Creston and ended up in Burnsville and Pensacola. That spot was hit the hardest so we were doing the most good up there.”
They’ve also worked with the First Baptist Church in Spruce Pine and Baptist missions to help where there has been such widespread damage. Beyond helping with the storm recovery, they hosted the “Race for Cancer” on October 19 where there were over 200 entries working together for another good cause.
“That was started by a couple of local racers, Frank and Diane Roberts, when Frank got diagnosed with cancer,” Salvatore said. “It started at Wilkesboro and has always been there except one year. It made its way back home in 2023 and followed up this year.”
Todd Stevens was the Top winner against a strong field of racers, while Terry Coleman took the victory in Mod. Wayne Ward won in the Street class with Josh Reece victorious in Motorcycle. Junior Dragster winner Gunner Abernathy had two reasons to celebrate with the race also being on his birthday.
Beyond the storm, the weather is constantly something a track operator has to be aware of. In his third season at Wilkesboro, Salvatore sees the great natural beauty of the area and the unpredictability of the weather
“Wilkesboro is notorious for having spotty weather, but we’ve been trying to navigate through it,” Salvatore said. “It’s been a big learning curve for us. You’re learning whether to cancel a race or push through it. A lot of time, you will hear 50-60 percent chance of rain and get nothing. We’ve learned not to always be scared of the forecast.”
Even with the weather challenges of the spring and early summer, they were able to have a successful IHRA Summit SuperSeries program. Todd Payne (Top & Motorcycle), Bubba White (Mod), Roger Miller (Sportsman) and Abernathy (Jr. Dragster) earned track points championships and entry into the 2024 IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals.
A visit to the facility shows the hard work of Salvatore and others at the historic drag strip. He grew up around racing and working at Wilkesboro is a labor of love.
They continue to put revenue back into the facility to make it better for the racers. That’s what they like about the IHRA and the vision shared by new President Kenny Nowling. The first point of emphasis is taking care of the racers.
“The IHRA is that household name I still remember from when I was a kid,” Salvatore said. “The most important thing is taking care of the racer. That’s what I like about IHRA.”
Click here to keep checking out the Wilkesboro Dragway Facebook page to keep up with the latest news to date.
