Rockingham Speedway

Circuit History

The story of Rockingham Speedway begins in the early 1960s, when the construction boom of superspeedways sparked interest in bringing major motorsport to North Carolina's Sandhills region. With Daytona opening in 1959 and Charlotte Motor Speedway following in 1960, local business leaders believed a racing facility could significantly benefit Richmond County's economy. The area already boasted attractions like Southern Pines and the famous Pinehurst No. 2 golf course, but rural Richmond County needed something substantial for its residents.

Harold Brasington, the visionary behind Darlington Raceway, was contracted to build what would initially be called North Carolina Motor Speedway. Working alongside property owner Bill Land, construction began in 1964 on a site 10 miles north of Rockingham, adjacent to US Highway 1. However, financial difficulties soon threatened the ambitious project, requiring intervention from local business leaders to keep the dream alive.

The project's salvation came through L.G. DeWitt, a remarkable self-made businessman who had built an empire from humble beginnings. Born in South Carolina's low country, DeWitt moved to North Carolina's Sandhills at age 12, where he and his siblings worked cotton and potato fields. Despite limited formal education, he eventually controlled 25 corporations and became the world's largest peach grower, with orchards spanning North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

When Brasington and Land's partnership became strained in 1965, each wanting to buy out the other, they turned to local attorney J. Elsie Webb, a close friend of DeWitt's. Webb organised a crucial meeting in January 1965, bringing together DeWitt, Sheriff R.W. Goodman, Hubert Lathan and banker E. Vernon Hogan. With a NASCAR-sanctioned race already scheduled for October, the five men decided to proceed with construction. Webb became president, DeWitt vice president, and together they both supervised and financed the completion of the one-mile facility.

Opening day drama

By the time the track opened on 31st October 1965 for the inaugural American 500, Webb and DeWitt's group had invested a million dollars. The timing proved fortuitous for NASCAR, which had endured a difficult 1965 season marked by manufacturer boycotts. Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge had withdrawn after the Hemi engine was banned, meaning Richard Petty wasn't defending his 1964 championship. Additionally, fan favourite Curtis Turner remained banned following his 1961 attempt to unionise drivers.

Turner's four-year suspension ended just before the Rockingham race, with track promoters convincing NASCAR head Bill France Sr that allowing Turner's return was essential to salvage the disappointing season. The race marked the first time all year that the sport's most popular drivers and all manufacturers competed together in a single event.

Richard Petty earned pole position for the inaugural American 500, but it was Curtis Turner who claimed victory in a Wood Brothers Ford. The man who had begun running moonshine at age nine secured his 17th NASCAR Cup victory at 41, defeating Cale Yarborough by 11 seconds. Remarkably, it was Turner's first victory since March 1959, though it would prove to be his last.

The D-Shaped revolution

Four years after opening, North Carolina Motor Speedway underwent extensive reconfiguration in 1969. The original design was transformed into a high-banked, slightly D-shaped oval measuring 1.017 miles in length. This unique configuration, featuring varying banking angles and distinctive geometry, would become The Rock's signature characteristic and contribute to its reputation for producing exciting, competitive racing.

LeeRoy Yarbrough won the first race in this new layout on 26th October 1969, during the 1969 American 500.

DeWitt eventually gained sole control of the speedway, with his family maintaining ownership until 1997. During this era, DeWitt also operated a NASCAR Cup team, initially hiring local drivers John Hill and John Sears before recruiting Ellerbe resident Benny Parsons. The partnership with Parsons proved golden, delivering their only Cup championship in 1973 after Parsons' remarkable recovery from a Lap 13 crash.

Road course addition brings variety

In 1977, North Carolina Motor Speedway underwent another significant expansion with the addition of a road course layout. The new configuration utilised both the main oval and an infield circuit, creating what DeWitt described as "obviously a very well-accepted answer" to diversifying the facility's racing offerings.

The road course was designed to incorporate the oval's backstretch and various infield sections, with the infield portion described as "six-tenths of a mile, 40 feet wide and essentially flat". Racers entered the new track section near the third turn on the back-stretch, proceeding through the infield complex of corners and straightaways and rejoining the backstretch just ahead of Turn 4.

This addition positioned Rockingham alongside prestigious venues like Daytona International Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, which had similar road course facilities. The timing proved prescient, as officials from various racing organisations including the SCCA had already expressed interest in utilising the new layout for different types of motorsport competition.

At the same time, the track also gained an unusual signature point: a second pit lane along the backstretch allowed the track to accommodate the growing NASCAR field. The lower-order cars generally used the secondary pit lane from this point onwards.

Racing legacy and champions

Richard Petty dominated The Rock during its early years, claiming 11 Cup Series victories at the track - the most among all drivers, with Cale Yarborough's seven wins ranking second. Dale Earnhardt clinched his seventh Cup Series championship at the 1994 AC-Delco 500, securing the title with two races remaining in the campaign.

The 2004 Subway 400 proved memorable for multiple reasons - Matt Kenseth just beat Kasey Kahne by 0.010 seconds, a margin tied for 12th among the closest finishes in Cup Series history. More significantly, it marked the Cup Series' final race at the track.

Changing hands and decline

In 1997, the DeWitt family sold the speedway to Roger Penske, who renamed it North Carolina Speedway. Penske's ownership was brief; two years later, International Speedway Corporation acquired the track along with other Penske-owned facilities. ISC subsequently sold Rockingham to Speedway Motorsports Inc., which made the difficult decision to remove the facility from the Cup Series schedule after 2004 as NASCAR consolidated around larger markets.

The track briefly reopened under new ownership when former driver Andy Hillenburg and investors purchased it in 2007, leading to a brief NASCAR Truck Series return in 2012-2013. Kasey Kahne won the 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance Carolina 200, whilst Kyle Larson took victory in the 2013 North Carolina Education Lottery 200.

During this period, Hillenburg expanded the facility's racing capabilities by constructing "Little Rock" in 2008 - a 0.526-mile oval designed as a replica of Martinsville Speedway, built outside the main track's confines. This addition provided a short track complement to the main D-shaped oval. However, financial difficulties forced another closure in 2014, seemingly ending The Rock's motorsport chapter.

The Lovenheim era and remarkable revival

In 2018, a group of investors led by Dan Lovenheim purchased the facility for $2.8 million. Lovenheim, who built his wealth owning and operating nightclubs in Raleigh, found the facility in dire condition. "Weeds were growing out of the track surfaces, weeds were growing out of every single piece of pavement. The place was overgrown and the water damage from the rain coming off the grandstands nearly rendered this place unusable,” Lovenheim explained.

The transformation accelerated dramatically when North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper's pandemic relief package allocated $9 million in state funding for track improvements in November 2021. Track officials used approximately $3.3 million to completely repave the main oval in December 2022, with the track being remeasured at 0.94 miles following repaving. By June 2023, renovations to the grandstands and catchfences were completed, and the infield road course was repaved in early 2024.

NASCAR's triumphant return

On 29th August 2024, NASCAR announced that both the Xfinity Series and Truck Series would return to Rockingham on Easter weekend 2025. The ARCA Menards Series East was later added to create a triple-header weekend. Track Enterprises, led by Bob Sargent, served as the event promoter for the historic return.

The April 2025 NASCAR return proved successful, with Tyler Ankrum snapping a 130-race winless drought in the Truck race, whilst Sammy Smith won the Xfinity Series race the following day. The events marked the first NASCAR-sanctioned races at the facility since the Truck Series last competed there in 2013.

Unexpected sale listing

In a surprising turn of events, just weeks after NASCAR's successful return, Rockingham Properties LLC listed the speedway for sale in May 2025. Lovenheim told the Charlotte Observer that "The time is right to pass the baton to someone who can take it farther than we can". The property listing reveals that over $12 million has been invested in renovations, with more than $10 million coming from state government grants.

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