Rockingham Speedway is pleased to announce that Richmond County and the city of Rockingham, N.C., will once again be home to NASCAR-sanctioned racing with the addition of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 on [Sunday] April 15, 2012. Good Sam Club, the world’s largest RV owners’ organization will serve as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway, while Cheerwine, legendary soft drink of the south will serve as presenting sponsor. Rockingham Speedway, affectionately known as “The Rock,” will begin safety improvements to its race track this fall. One improvement will include the installation of a Steel and Foam Energy Reduction barrier, known as the SAFER barrier system, which is a required feature for all top three tier NASCAR-sanctioned race tracks to help improve driver safety. Additional upgrades will be made to the track’s scoring system and pit road, as well as other aesthetic improvements. Founded in 1965, Rockingham Speedway is a one-mile asphalt race track located 10 miles outside of Rockingham, N.C. in Richmond County. For over 40 years the race track held NASCAR sanctioned events. In 2007, the race track was purchased by former NASCAR driver, Andy Hillenburg, and now plays host to several regional and nationally-sanctioned touring events each year. The speedway is also home to the Fast Track Driving School, a stock car racing experience.(NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)(9-7-2011)
UPDATE: Hillenburg and track operation director Robert Ingraham admit now that they had started lobbying NASCAR for a return event nearly as soon as they reopened the track in the spring 2008. “I can verify that is very accurate,” said NASCAR Camping World Truck Series director Wayne Auton with a laugh. “Andy has been wearing me out every time he’s seen me over the last three years. And he’s been wearing my bosses out, too. Over the last four years the steadiest source of income has still come via NASCAR, though indirectly. In 2009, NASCAR implemented a “testing ban” that prevented teams from holding test session at tracks that also held sanctioned events. It proved to be a boon for Rockingham, with most of the teams located in the Charlotte area, a short drive away. Teams not only tested on the one-mile oval, but also on the half-mile Martinsville Speedway clone, “Little Rock” located behind the backstretch of the big track. Those sessions can be worth up to $5,000 for the track on days when multiple teams participate. There had been talk that the arrival of the Truck Series would put an end to such test sessions, but Auton says that the rule will apply only to the big track. And because the race is scheduled for 2012, teams can still hold previously-scheduled sessions on the speedway itself. If the numbers provided by the state are accurate, saying that the track will see a 48 percent increase in revenues and 56 percent increase in jobs, then Hillenburg’s operation should be more than OK. On Wednesday there were already whispers that a NASCAR Nationwide Series event will be in the near future, and that the track had actually turned down an offer to host both series.(ESPN.com)(9-8-2011)
