Rockingham Speedway: From NASCAR Oval to Multi-Use Complex

Rockingham Speedway is a D-shaped oval in Rockingham, North Carolina, that opened in 1965 as the North Carolina Motor Speedway. It hosted NASCAR Cup Series races until 2004, sat largely idle for much of the following decade and was then rebuilt as a multi-use complex. The facility's latest owner is the International Hot Rod Association, which made the deal public at the end of 2025.

The track has changed hands several times, changed its name more than once and spent years without major racing. Its story runs from a 1965 start with a flat oval, through a long run of NASCAR weekends, into a period of disuse and back to the racing calendar in 2025.

When did Rockingham Speedway open?

Rockingham Speedway began life as the North Carolina Motor Speedway in 1965, a flat 1.6 km (1 mi) oval beside U.S. Route 1, close to the junction with North Carolina Highway 177. A group of 11 investors led by attorney Elsie Webb financed the project, which cost about $1,000,000 and seated 26,062 spectators at completion.

Construction was reported to have begun in April 1964, when The Charlotte Observer described a $250,000 project led by Harold Brasington, the founder of Darlington Raceway, and businessman W. R. 'Bill' Land. Initial plans included a 1.6 km (1 mi) paved oval, a 0.805 km (0.500 mi) dirt oval and a drag strip of the same length as the dirt oval.

The first testing sessions took place on 21 September, when Darel Dieringer and Bobby Isaac drove the track. Dieringer posted an unofficial average-speed best on the one-mile oval, and David Pearson later set an official lap of 182.138 km/h (113.175 mph). The inaugural race, the American 500, ran on 31 October and was won by Curtis Turner.

Drivers and reporters praised the amenities and the racing that followed. Brasington sold his interest in January 1966, and Webb took over as president and general manager a month later.

A 1965 oval that hosted NASCAR, sat largely idle for most of a decade and is now owned by the International Hot Rod Association.

How is the track laid out?

The current oval measures 1.513 km (0.940 mi) and is banked at 22 degrees in its first two turns, 25 degrees in its last two and 8 degrees on the straights. A 2.4 km (1.5 mi) road course, combining an infield road course with parts of the oval, was added in 1977.

The 1969 changes steepened the banking and lengthened the track slightly. A plan to stretch the oval to 1.5 miles was dropped in April after Webb said she had spoken to 90% of the drivers and found none in favour of it. The same banking figures were recorded at the end of that repave.

Little Rock, a 0.847 km (0.526 mi) replica of Martinsville Speedway, sits outside the main oval. It was built in 2008 under Andy Hillenburg, and after NASCAR banned testing at its own tracks in November 2008, Little Rock became a popular testing stop for NASCAR teams.

The surface caused trouble in 1977, when track officials used a sealant on rough patches. Drivers and beat reporters widely criticised it for making the surface too slippery, and it was linked to many crashes at that year's Carolina 500. Officials kept applying sealant in later years because it cost less than repaving.

A complete repave in 1985 was the first since the 1969 changes. Further work in 1986 added a 4,500-seat tower and six VIP lounges, lifting seating capacity to about 33,000. The biggest expansion followed in 1998. The frontstretch grandstands gained chairs in a rebuild, and the backstretch Hamlet Grandstand gave way to a new 28,021-seat structure in time for the AC Delco 400, taking seating capacity to 60,122.

Why did NASCAR leave Rockingham?

NASCAR left Rockingham in 2004 after a combination of weak attendance, a declining local economy and a lawsuit involving a minority shareholder of Speedway Motorsports. The remaining Cup Series date went to Texas Motor Speedway when the Ferko lawsuit was settled on 14 May 2004.

The warning signs came earlier. By early 2003 the local economy was in decline, attendance was poor and the facilities trailed newer venues such as Texas and Kansas. NASCAR confirmed the fall date would move to Darlington Raceway so that California Speedway could host a second race, citing weak fan support and a lack of sell-outs.

Ownership was also in dispute. In 1995 Bruton Smith bought a 24-25% stake from Horris DeWitt, and Roger Penske acquired less than 2% that May. During 1997 the two men bid against each other: Penske offered $29.4 million, Smith countered with $48.3 million, and Penske later merged the track into his own company.

The speedway's problems were not only about the calendar. Speedway Motorsports, the company founded by Bruton Smith, bought the facility for $100.4 million in 2004. Stephen Earwood, who owned the nearby Rockingham Dragway, later said Speedway Motorsports had wanted the race date rather than the racetrack.

Once NASCAR was gone, the track was used mainly for filming, NASCAR testing and driving schools. For several years afterwards, no NASCAR events were on the calendar.

Who owned Rockingham Speedway after NASCAR?

The speedway changed hands repeatedly after NASCAR left. A NASCAR driver, Andy Hillenburg, bought it at auction in 2007, and after a court-approved managing agent and a failed lease, a group led by Dan Lovenheim bought it for $2.8 million on 30 August 2018.

Hillenburg paid $4.4 million at an auction held on 2 October 2007. He renamed the track Rockingham Speedway and brought in ARCA Re/Max Series races from 2008. The first of those, on 4 May 2008, was won by Joey Logano.

The debts then piled up. In September 2014 Farmers and Merchants Bank said Hillenburg and co-owner Bill Silas owed it more than $4.5 million, and a court let The Finley Group act as managing agent. An auction was approved with a deadline of 15 March 2015. Silas and his company, BK Rock Holdings, placed a $3 million credit bid at an auction set for 5 May, and the speedway was later offered for sale at $3.795 million.

Vets-Help, a disabled veterans' charity, had planned to turn the track into a reintegration centre for veterans and set a racing schedule for 2016 under a lease. The lease was terminated in April 2016, and none of the scheduled races was run.

A week after its purchase, Lovenheim's group outlined plans for a complex that would host both motor racing and music events. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper proposed $8 million in state funding for improvements the following year.

Ownership stayed unsettled. The speedway was listed for sale again on 28 May 2025, after the Rockingham Properties group had held it for seven years. The buyer, the International Hot Rod Association, made the deal public on 31 December 2025 at an undisclosed price, and its owner, Darryl Cuttell, said he hoped to expand the racing events and improve the amenities.

How did the speedway return to racing?

Racing returned in stages, starting with drifting competitions in 2021 and building to a NASCAR return announced for 2025. A CARS Tour event planned for 2021 was cancelled after a shortage of tyres from supplier Hoosier, but drifting went ahead, the first motorsport activity at the site since NASCAR left.

State money helped with the rebuild. Cooper's May 2021 COVID-19 relief package included $10 million for the speedway, and the General Assembly approved $9 million later that year. The repave started in October 2022 and was finished roughly two months on, after which the track was measured again at 1.51 km (0.94 mi).

Grandstands and catch fences were renovated by June 2023, and the infield road course received new asphalt in early 2024. In 2023 NASCAR spokesman Ben Kennedy said the track had certainly caught the series' attention as a possible return. On 29 August 2024 NASCAR said Xfinity and Truck Series races would come back in 2025.

What events has Rockingham Speedway hosted?

Rockingham has hosted NASCAR Cup Series races, Xfinity and Truck Series races, ARCA and USAR events, drifting, large festivals and film shoots. Its Cup weekends were the Subway 400 and the Microwave Popcorn 400 sponsored by Pop Secret. The list runs from the earliest NASCAR weekends to the drifting and festival programme of recent years.

The Xfinity-level race was the Education Lottery 250 from North Carolina, while the Truck Series event was Black's Tire 200. Other series that raced at the facility included USAR Pro Cup and the Automobile Racing Club of America. ARCA's run ended in 2011, when the series left the calendar.

The first festival was the Peach Tree Celebration on 18 August 1972, a rock music festival that drew about 70,000 people. Later festivals were Carolina Rebellion in 2012, Epicenter in May 2019, which was the first major event since 2013, and Tailgate N' Tallboys in 2023.

Film productions have used the site too. Talladega Nights and Days of Thunder were shot there, as were the film Ta Ra Rum Pum and a 2011 edition of World's Strongest Man.

What are the key figures for Rockingham Speedway?