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6. l¢ NPS Farm 10.900•a OMB Approval No. 1024 -0018 (8 -86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet__ Occoneechee Speedway Orange County, N.C. Section number 8 Page 16 incurs a $10,000 fine and drivers work to personify an image or lifestyle approved of by their sponsors. In the words of Junior Johnson, "It's all been tamed now. t938 Of the original eight Strictly Stock race venues, which collectively form the birthplace of modern -day NASCAR Winston Cup Racing, only the North Wilkesboro track, Occoneechee Speedway and Martinsville Speedway are extant. The North Wilkesboro Speedway was paved in the 1950s and was a NASCAR Winston Cup track until it was closed in 1996. The Martinsville Speedway, paved in 1955, still hosts Winston Cup races. The other five tracks were demolished. 39 Occoneechee Speedway as a Rare Property Type As stock car racing evolved in the decades after World War II, racing venues'improved and moved from rural areas to larger towns and cities. In the late 1950s and early 1960s drivers on the professional circuit preferred paved tracks to the muddy, pothole filled tracks of the sport's early years. As the sport's image improved, promoters began erecting more attractive seating areas and facilities and the dirt tracks, with their rudimentary restrooms, ticket offices and concession stands, could not satisfy most NASCAR fans. When speedways like those at Daytona, Talledega and Charlotte emerged, the small venues, like Occoneechee could not compete. The early tracks associated with NASCAR's beginnings have long since been abandoned or developed for commercial or residential purposes. The last race at Occoneechee took place in September 1968. That year, dirt track races were held in Columbia and Greenville, South Carolina and Richmond. Those three tracks no longer exist. The.last year dirt tracks were used for Grand National Racing was 1970 when two events were held in Columbia and one took place in Raleigh. A city -owned maintenance yard stands at the former site of the Raleigh track. Occoneechee is a remarkable survivor in that it is the only remaining dirt track from NASCAR's early years. Although overgrown with trees and native bushes, the site continues to project its original function. Its rarity as a property type should mitigate the issues of integrity that arise because of the poor condition of some of its associated buildings and the overgrowth of plant life, the latter condition being reversible. At present, the property is under the care of Classical �$ Ibid., 120. 39 Martinsville Speedway, 9 May 2001, www. martinsvillespeedway .com/wcl949.htmk and Mike Hembree, "The Birth of Stock Car Racing ... NASCAR Style," January 1, 2001, www.nascar.com/ news /1998news /October /23/00899204.html