ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — It appears that the current wave of race track revitalization will continue with Rockingham Speedway entering the mix.
A staple on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule when it operated as North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 through 2004, the 1.017-mile track has had a roller-coaster existence over the last 22 years with multiple owners and failed attempts at bringing major motorsports back to the facility.
NASCAR last raced at the track in 2013 when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competed there.
Current track owners have told the Queen City News that plans are underway to repave the track and make other improvements, thanks to $9 million that is part of the American Rescue Plan.
Weather permitting, officials plan to begin the repaving process between Oct. 24-26.
Following the path laid by Speedway Motorsports with North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, track officials hope to attract NASCAR and other significant racing series to the facility, which was purchased by Rockingham Properties LLC in 2018.
“My goal when I first took this position was to rebuild the foundation of Rockingham in hopes of inserting Rockingham back in the foundation of NASCAR,” Justin Jones, vice president of operations at Rockingham Speedway, told the Queen City News.
According to the Queen City News, Sunmount Paving and Carolina Design and Construction have been contracted to pave the facility at a cost of more than $3 million.
Jones also told the Queen City News that lights will be added and existing corporate suites will be remodeled.
There are plans to add improvements at the Little Rock, the .526-mile short track, located behind the backstretch of Rockingham Speedway.
Rockingham Speedway & Event Center has operated in recent years with a mixture of club racing events, car shows and other special attractions at the speedway
A CARS Tour race was scheduled at Rockingham last fall, but did not come to fruition.
Built in 1965, North Carolina Motor Speedway and was the brainchild of Harold Brasington and Bill Land. The first NASCAR Cup Series race was run there in 1965, with Curtis Turner driving to victory in a Ford fielded by the Wood Brothers Racing team. Through the years the venue went through a succession of owners, including the DeWitt family, Roger Penske, International Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports Inc.
The sale to Speedway Motorsports Inc. proved to be a knockout blow for the track. Its last remaining NASCAR Cup Series date was moved to Texas Motor Speedway in 2005 and the track sat idle.
Fast-forward to 2007 and the track was sold at auction, with retired racer Andy Hillenburg purchasing the track for $4.4 million. What followed was a revival period for the popular 1.017-mile asphalt oval. Hillenburg renamed the track Rockingham Speedway and brought big-league motorsports back there.
The ARCA Menards Series was the first series to race there, with Joey Logano winning on May 4, 2008. SAFER barriers were added and a half-mile oval known as Little Rock was built for testing behind the existing track. In the years that followed various racing divisions competed at the venue, with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series running a pair of races in 2012 and ’13. Kasey Kahne won the ’12 event, with Kyle Larson earning his first Truck Series win in ’13.
However, that was the final race at the venue under Hillenburg’s guidance. The track was in financial trouble and after a long legal battle, ownership has changed hands multiple times, with Rockingham Properties the current owner.