{"id":384040,"date":"2026-01-02T18:49:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/384040\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T18:49:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:49:21","slug":"legendary-nascar-racetrack-rockingham-speedway-sold-after-7-months-on-the-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/384040\/","title":{"rendered":"Legendary NASCAR racetrack Rockingham Speedway sold after 7 months on the market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rockingham Speedway has a new owner.<\/p>\n

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

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No details of the deal, including purchasing price, were disclosed in the announcement.<\/p>\n

The news comes within a year of the racetrack\u2019s triumphant return to NASCAR. On Easter Weekend 2024, the Truck Series raced on the venue\u2019s 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 \u2014 and such a success hinted at a gleaming future<\/a>, one that IHRA referenced in its announcement Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIHRA recognizes what Rockingham Speedway means to this community and to motorsports fans around the world,\u201d Darryl Cuttell, owner of IHRA, wrote in a statement. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

IHRA oversees multiple racing disciplines including drag racing, stock cars, offshore powerboating, snowmobiles and more, according to its website. The entity is also \u201ccommitted to preserving motorsports heritage while building the future of racing through innovation, safety and community engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NASCAR announced in August that it would return to Rockingham in 2026<\/a>, again in April. That weekend will mirror that of 2024 and feature a Truck Series race, an ARCA race and an O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series race (which was previously known as the Xfinity Series).<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Rockingham Speedway\u2019s place in NASCAR history<\/p>\n

Rockingham Speedway holds a sturdy place in NASCAR history.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Dan<\/p>\n

Dan Lovenheim started with a $3.5 million repave of what he calls \u201cBig Rock,\u201d the famed mile oval. (The facility also is home to a short track \u2014 \u201cLittle Rock\u201d \u2014 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 \u201c90% ready\u201d to host a daytime NASCAR race. By August, once the announcement came, it was closer \u2014 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\u2019s revival, Lovenheim said.<\/p>\n

In 2004, though, NASCAR left. The sanctioning body did so for several reasons. Among those reasons was to try to capitalize on NASCAR\u2019s ascending popularity by building state-of-the-art tracks outside the Southeast.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t up to snuff for NASCAR to return in 2014, and at that point, the racing seemed forever lost.<\/p>\n

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\"NASCAR<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> as well as some of Lovenheim\u2019s own funds \u2014 approximately $15 million in total, The Charlotte Observer previously reported \u2014 the racetrack was appropriately renovated and got back on NASCAR\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n

A sold-out Xfinity race that generated 1.053 million TV viewers in the spring \u2014 a weekend extravaganza spearheaded by a partnership between Track Enterprises and NASCAR<\/a> \u2014 only continued the racetrack\u2019s momentum.<\/p>\n

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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 \u201cthe time is right to pass the baton to someone who can take it farther than we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wednesday, the baton was passed.<\/p>\n

\"NASCAR<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor decades, The Rock has been one of our community\u2019s most recognizable and celebrated tourism icons,\u201d Meghann Lambeth, executive director of the Richmond County Tourism Development Authority, wrote in a statement. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to continue supporting Rockingham Speedway as it draws visitors to Rockin\u2019 Richmond County under the new ownership of the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA).\u201d<\/p>\n

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Added Cuttel: \u201cThis isn\u2019t about changing what made Rockingham special. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional announcements regarding the Easter weekend event, facility enhancements and future schedules will be released in the coming months, according to the release.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rockingham Speedway has a new owner. Approximately seven months after going for up for sale, the iconic North…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,103048,80845,163403,163402,634,8354,22865,163404,163401,82,163405,723],"class_list":["post-384040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-community-engagement","tag-drag-racing","tag-ihra","tag-international-hot-rod-association","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-cup-series","tag-north-carolina","tag-richmond-county","tag-rockingham-speedway","tag-sports","tag-triumphant-return","tag-xfinity-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}