Rockingham Speedway has a new owner.

Approximately seven months after going for up for sale, the iconic North Carolina racetrack located in Richmond County has been purchased by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), the racing entity announced.

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No details of the deal, including purchasing price, were disclosed in the announcement.

The news comes within a year of the racetrack’s triumphant return to NASCAR. On Easter Weekend 2024, the Truck Series raced on the venue’s 1.017-mile oval for the first time since 2013. The Xfinity Series raced there for the first time since 2004. The event, by all accounts, was a smash hit — and such a success hinted at a gleaming future, one that IHRA referenced in its announcement Wednesday.

“IHRA recognizes what Rockingham Speedway means to this community and to motorsports fans around the world,” Darryl Cuttell, owner of IHRA, wrote in a statement. “This is a special place with a strong foundation. Our goal is to be good stewards of the facility, respect its history, and work collaboratively to bring quality racing and entertainment back to The Rock.”

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IHRA said it intends to restore Rockingham as a racing haven, but also to continue to develop it as a multi-use facility, with the possibility for festivals, concerts and more.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jesse Love crosses the finish line to win the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jesse Love crosses the finish line to win the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

IHRA oversees multiple racing disciplines including drag racing, stock cars, offshore powerboating, snowmobiles and more, according to its website. The entity is also “committed to preserving motorsports heritage while building the future of racing through innovation, safety and community engagement.”

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NASCAR announced in August that it would return to Rockingham in 2026, again in April. That weekend will mirror that of 2024 and feature a Truck Series race, an ARCA race and an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race (which was previously known as the Xfinity Series).

The field in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 passes the front stretch to start the race at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

The field in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 passes the front stretch to start the race at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

Rockingham Speedway’s place in NASCAR history

Rockingham Speedway holds a sturdy place in NASCAR history.

From its construction and first race in 1965, all the way to the early 2000s, the place endearingly called The Rock was a staple in the NASCAR Cup Series. Richard Petty won at Rockingham a NASCAR-most 11 times. Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth and many others clinched championships there. The racetrack was also home to the first race after the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt in February 2001.

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Dan Lovenheim started with a $3.5 million repave of what he calls “Big Rock,” the famed mile oval. (The facility also is home to a short track — “Little Rock” — and an infield road course.) After that, there were HVAC systems to install, bathrooms to clean and refurbish, pit garages to renovate. By May 2023, it was “90% ready” to host a daytime NASCAR race. By August, once the announcement came, it was closer — save for a few more NASCAR safety specifications required of all facilities, including SAFER barriers on all walls of the track. All in all, with the money put forth by Lovenheim himself and the government, about $15 million has gone into Rockingham’s revival, Lovenheim said.

Dan Lovenheim started with a $3.5 million repave of what he calls “Big Rock,” the famed mile oval. (The facility also is home to a short track — “Little Rock” — and an infield road course.) After that, there were HVAC systems to install, bathrooms to clean and refurbish, pit garages to renovate. By May 2023, it was “90% ready” to host a daytime NASCAR race. By August, once the announcement came, it was closer — save for a few more NASCAR safety specifications required of all facilities, including SAFER barriers on all walls of the track. All in all, with the money put forth by Lovenheim himself and the government, about $15 million has gone into Rockingham’s revival, Lovenheim said.

In 2004, though, NASCAR left. The sanctioning body did so for several reasons. Among those reasons was to try to capitalize on NASCAR’s ascending popularity by building state-of-the-art tracks outside the Southeast.

Between 1997 and 2004, the once-named North Carolina Motor Speedway changed ownership several times, and its fate worsened with every acquisition. By 2005, the track had lost both of its Cup Series dates, and the 250-acre property sat dormant, in abandoned disrepair. One ownership group tried to revive The Rock in 2012 and 2013, but the facility wasn’t up to snuff for NASCAR to return in 2014, and at that point, the racing seemed forever lost.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers blur past The Rock during action in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers blur past The Rock during action in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

Then in August 2018, the racetrack was purchased again, this time by Dan Lovenheim, who made his fortune as a nightclub magnate in downtown Raleigh. And then, with the help of millions of COVID-19 stimulus package money as well as some of Lovenheim’s own funds — approximately $15 million in total, The Charlotte Observer previously reported — the racetrack was appropriately renovated and got back on NASCAR’s radar.

A sold-out Xfinity race that generated 1.053 million TV viewers in the spring — a weekend extravaganza spearheaded by a partnership between Track Enterprises and NASCAR — only continued the racetrack’s momentum.

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Then, in May 2025, Lovenheim told The Charlotte Observer that the track had been put up for sale. The principal owner said then that “the time is right to pass the baton to someone who can take it farther than we can.”

Wednesday, the baton was passed.

NASCAR fans cheer the Xfinity Series field in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 as they race across the start line during action at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

NASCAR fans cheer the Xfinity Series field in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 as they race across the start line during action at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

“For decades, The Rock has been one of our community’s most recognizable and celebrated tourism icons,” Meghann Lambeth, executive director of the Richmond County Tourism Development Authority, wrote in a statement. “We’re proud to continue supporting Rockingham Speedway as it draws visitors to Rockin’ Richmond County under the new ownership of the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA).”

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Added Cuttel: “This isn’t about changing what made Rockingham special. It’s about investing in it, taking care of it, and making sure it continues to be a place where great racing and great memories are made.”

Additional announcements regarding the Easter weekend event, facility enhancements and future schedules will be released in the coming months, according to the release.

A paratrooper carries the American flag into the infield as NASCAR fans cheer at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025. The NASCAR Xfinity Series ran the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at the speedway.

A paratrooper carries the American flag into the infield as NASCAR fans cheer at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, April 19, 2025. The NASCAR Xfinity Series ran the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at the speedway.