Rockingham Speedway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockingham_Speedway Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a 0.94 mi (1.51 km) D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1965, including the NASCAR Cup Series from 1965 to 2004, and currently the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It has a 32,000-seat capacity as of 2012. Rockingham Speedway is owned by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). Rockingham Speedway opened in 1965 under the control of attorney Elsie Webb. Initially opening as a flat 1-mile (1.6 km) oval, in 1969, the track's dimensions were changed to make the bankings steeper. After Webb's death in 1972, NASCAR team owner L. G. DeWitt took over control of the facility. Renovations on the speedway remained slow for decades. Despite a push to make renovations and seating additions after Roger Penske bought the facility in 1997, due to a lack of amenities, poor attendance, and NASCAR's expansion towards bigger markets, NASCAR left the facility in 2004 in the wake of the Ferko lawsuit. With the exception of a brief period of racing under the ownership of Andy Hillenburg, the facility was left desolate for most of the 2010s. In 2018, a group of investors led by Dan Lovenheim bought and renovated the facility into a multi-use complex, with NASCAR returning in 2025 under Lovenheim's leadership.

Darlington founder Harold Brasington and businessman Bill Land began building North Carolina Motor Speedway near Rockingham in 1964, and the flat one-mile oval opened in 1965. In 1969 it was rebuilt with steeper banking, giving "The Rock" its distinctive shape. The track was a NASCAR stop for four decades, but after Roger Penske's ownership and a 2004 lawsuit that reshuffled race dates, NASCAR left. It sat mostly empty through the 2010s until investors led by Dan Lovenheim bought and restored it in 2018. NASCAR returned in 2025, and the International Hot Rod Association took ownership that December.

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