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Since 2004, the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series have not been to the 'The Rock', the Rockingham Speedway located in Rockingham, North Carolina. It was in 2013 that the Truck Series was held there last. But this year, the second and third tiers of the national series will be visiting the historic track for races in their respective seasons. Now, it may be that a Cup Series return is possible, according to Ben Kennedy, NASCAR's chief venue and racing innovations officer.
The owner of the track, Dan Lovenheim, invested a total of $15 million of his and the government of North Carolina's money to refurbish the track and get it ready for the 2025 season, allowing the Xfinity and Truck Series to come back. Kennedy revealed that work has begun on the Cup Series schedule for the next five years, and with there being a push from NASCAR to strategically have new events in places that are well-founded, it means racing at the Rockingham Speedway is on the table.
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“For the Cup schedule, we’re in the process of building out our schedule through 2031,” the NASCAR official said [via The Charlotte Observer]. “And I think the great part about it is we have great interest for new events in new markets. I would say now more than ever we have to be more thoughtful and strategic in any moves that we make, just because (when) we add a new event, it’s gotta come from somewhere.”
“I would say for Rockingham in particular, like all other tracks and promoters out there, it’s on the radar for sure (for a Cup date). I think it’s something you want to see how it does the first few years, and then if it’s successful, it’s something that we’ll put in our consideration set.”
The Rockingham Speedway was part of the NASCAR Cup Series calendar starting from 1965, and there were two races at the track every year.
The Xfinity Series event at The Rock, titled 'North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire', takes place next weekend on Saturday (April 19) at 4:00 pm ET. The Truck Series race, 'Black's Tire 200', takes place the previous day, at 5:00 pm ET. Meanwhile, the NASCAR Cup Series will pick up their season the week after at the Talladega Superspeedway.
Former NASCAR Cup Series driver gives his opinion on a possible return to Rockingham
Mark Martin, a former NASCAR Cup Series driver, part of the last batch of drivers who raced at the Rockingham Speedway during the 2000s, believes that the sport should be returning to more tracks rooted in its history. Martin argues that while the season has races at major tracks like the Daytona International Speedway and the Atlanta Motor Speedway, it's important to bring back older tracks as well.
“I’m not opposed to modernizing facilities and building bigger and all these things, but there is a major thirst for the more racing roots,” Martin said. “Rockingham, I think, is an important addition to our sport. We need to go to these dazzling facilities, like Daytona and Atlanta and Charlotte, but we also need to be embracing where we came from. I think there’s a segment of the fans that really embrace that.” [via The Charlotte Observer]
Other drivers like Kyle Larson have also come out in favour of putting The Rock back on the calendar.
