No North Carolina driver entered in Sprint Cup race

Dustin Long, Special for USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

CONCORD, N.C. — A sport spawned by moonshiners racing through red clay hills and grown under the guidance of native sons Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR and North Carolina are inexorably linked.

But for the first time since 1961, tonight's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be held without a driver from North Carolina in the field.

"Wow," said ABC/ESPN analyst Dale Jarrett, a North Carolina native and 1999 series champion. "If I had known that ... I would have volunteered my services to Rick Hendrick to keep a North Carolina driver in there."

There won't be a North Carolina native in the Bank of America 500 after Dale Earnhardt Jr. was held out because of a concussion and Scott Riggs failed to qualify. Fellow North Carolina native Brian Vickers, who has run select races this season, was not entered this weekend.

A state that made stock-car racing its official sport last year, claims 25 Cup championships and accounts for 40% of the inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, North Carolina's history is intertwined with NASCAR's.

The last race without a North Carolina driver was May 27, 1961, at Ascot Stadium in Los Angeles. That race, won by Eddie Gray, was held the day before the World 600, which later became the Coca-Cola 600. That season NASCAR sanctioned races on the East Coast and West Coast either on the same day or same weekend.

Jarrett said the North Carolina streak — dating back to John F. Kennedy's presidency — showed the sport's growth.

"After the initial shock, it makes me realize how much this sport has become a national sport," said Jarrett, son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett. "I think, more than anything, it shows that young people now and families that support them are getting started in this sport from all around the country. Tonight is a perfect example that they come from all over.

"It is pretty amazing that of the 43 (starters) we wouldn't have a driver from North Carolina."

Instead, the 43 drivers in tonight's race represent 23 states, including seven from California — Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, David Gilliland, A.J. Allmendinger and Scott Speed.

The future for North Carolina looks promising. Friday night's Nationwide Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway featured 22-year-old Austin Dillon and 18-year-old Ryan Blaney. Dillon's brother, 20-year-old Ty, competes in the Camping World Truck Series. The Dillons are grandsons of car owner Richard Childress.

"Looking at those names, certainly there's opportunity for this history to continue with drivers from this state," Jarrett said. "Hopefully, there are others at these short tracks around here that will get their opportunity."