Still great racing at ‘The Rock’
The Rock has come back!
No, I’m not writing about WWE, I’m writing about the Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. My wife and I had the privilege of being on hand for Andy Hillenburg’s debut as the new owner of the speedway.
Rockingham Speedway, previously called the North Carolina Speedway, opened in 1965 and NASCAR held two races there yearly from 1966-2003. When one of the Rock’s dates was awarded to California, only one race was held in 2004.
With the buying and selling of the track by different owners, politics came into play and the lawsuit that involved Texas Motor Speedway, Francis Ferko, and NASCAR would ultimately result in the removal of that lone date from the schedule 12 months later. As a result of the settlement of the lawsuit, ISC sold The Rock to Speedway Motorsports Inc., and the last race date that was on the schedule for Rockingham was officially moved to Texas, signifying the end of big time auto racing at this longtime NASCAR track.
When the track went up for auction in 2007, Andy Hillenburg purchased it for about $4.5 million. Andy made a name for himself racing sprint cars. He is one of the handful of drivers who have raced in both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. He has big plans for the racetrack, starting with last weekend’s ARCA/REMXA Series race. One other race is scheduled for this year, the Hooter’s Pro Cup season finale scheduled for the first of November. Andy then hopes that the Trucks and Nationwide series may eventually find their way back to The Rock. Plans for a Legends series track are already in place and the future could also hold plans for a first-rate road course.
Andy makes his living by operating the Fast Track Driving School. Presently located near Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, plans call for moving it to Rockingham where every up-and-coming racing driver can hone their skills on the mile, the road course or the quarter-mile track.
As for the race on Sunday, most everything played out beautifully. The weather was perfect for racing and many dignitaries were on hand. Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart was the honorary starter and former Cup star Ricky Rudd drove a race car during the parade laps, acting as a chauffer for the winner of a charity auction. Ken Schrader drove his ARCA car to a second-place finish. Having to qualify for the Richmond Cup race, he was not available to set his ARCA car up. Johnny Benson was on hand to help Schrader out. Other notables on hand for the festivities were Greg Zipadelli, Stewart’s crew chief, Donnie and Bobby Allison, Waddell Wilson, and, singing the National Anthem, Josh Gracin.
I watched the race unfold from a great vantage point’the roof of the media building. After a dozen or so laps, I noticed a person turning around every time I did as I followed my grandson Justin around the track. I realized he was Richard Childress. Yes, the Richard Childress, owner of RCR. He was following the exploits of his grandson, Austin Dillon. We had a great time discussing many aspects of racing and I had to ask him about the ending of the Cup race in Richmond the night before. As almost everyone else at Rockingham thought, he said it was just good Saturday night racing. I was not surprised since his Cup driver Clint Bowyer was the winner of the race as a result of the duel between Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Justin Allgaier once again had a fast top-five car but this time a failed transmission relegated him to a 27th-place finish, dropping him to sixth in the points race.
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MORE RACING, 5-B