Rockingham Speedway Returns to NASCAR Xfinity, Truck Schedules in 2025
In a partnership between the Rockingham Speedway track ownership group and Track Enterprises, a motorsports promoter organization led by Bob Sargent, Rockingham Speedway will return to the NASCAR National Series schedule in 2025. The iconic 1-mile track will host the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Easter weekend during the NASCAR Cup Series off week.
NASCAR revealed the full 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule earlier in the afternoon on Thursday. The 2025 Rockingham Speedway race weekend will run from Friday, April 18 to Saturday, April 19.
”The entire Track Enterprises team is eager and proud to be working with Dan Lovenheim and everyone at Rockingham Speedway to bring the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series back to one of the most storied venues in NASCAR’s proud history,” said Bob Sargent, President, Track Enterprises. “We are very fortunate to work with the professional staff at NASCAR and the incredible drivers and teams who will be racing with us. This is shaping up to be a great Easter weekend for the fans and everyone involved.”
The addition of Rockingham to the 2025 schedule continues to cement the recent wave of NASCAR adding legacy tracks to the schedule from NASCAR's golden years. NASCAR added North Wilkesboro Speedway back into the fold in 2023, and in 2025 Rockingham will join Bowman Gray Stadium, which will host The Clash, on the NASCAR National Series schedule.
“Rockingham Speedway has a storied history in NASCAR, so we look forward to the return of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to the famed racetrack,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR Executive Vice President, Chief Venue and Racing Innovation Officer. “The holiday race weekend at The Rock will offer the opportunity to showcase the future stars of the sport at a venue with a rich history.”
Rockingham Speedway, which hasn't hosted a NASCAR Xfinity Series event since the 2004 season, and last hosted a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event in 2013, was a staple on the NASCAR National Series schedule as the facility hosted 120 races combined in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series from 1965 to 2004.
Due to the massive growth of NASCAR in the early 2000s, Rockingham was left behind as the sport grew to new venues and regions.
After being removed from the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series schedules following the 2004 season, the speedway attempted a comeback a couple of times as it was added to the ARCA Menards Series schedule in 2008, but by the end of the 2010 season, Rockingham would no longer be on the ARCA schedule. A couple of seasons later, Rockingham was added to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule and ran a race each in 2012 and 2013, those two races were won by Joey Logano and Kyle Larson.
But the revitalization was short-lived and the track once again went dormant.
Fast forward to 2024, and the sport and track have found each other once again. Thursday's announcement of Rockingham landing back on the NASCAR National Series schedule will likely be a popular move amongst long-time diehard NASCAR fans.
Thursday's announcement wouldn't have even been possible for Rockingham Speedway had it not been for North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. $9 million in funds were issued to the facility as part of an overall $45.8 million grant from the State of North Carolina in May 2022. The purpose of the funds from the state was to help 17 motorsports venues in North Carolina recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was the same grant that sent $18 million to Wilkes County, which helped Speedway Motorsports finally save North Wilkesboro Speedway.
With the funds in place, Rockingham Properties LLC, which purchased the track for $2.8 million in 2018, had the capital it needed to make upgrades, including the addition of SAFER barriers, which would allow the track to gain approval from NASCAR to be suitable for competition in the NASCAR National Series ranks.
Now, Rockingham -- like North Wilkesboro Speedway, will return where it belongs.
“Rockingham Speedway is proud to welcome NASCAR and especially race fans from all over the state back to Richmond County,” said Rockingham Speedway owner Dan Lovenheim. “Our team has put a tremendous amount of work and resources into modernizing the property and providing the area with a destination to be proud of. This moment validates our plans. We’ve refreshed the entire facility and are eager to show race fans what we’ve done. We’re looking forward to partnering with Track Enterprises and NASCAR to host the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series over Easter Weekend. We’re also thankful to Governor Cooper and the North Carolina Legislature for sharing and investing in our vision. We can’t wait to see the green flag wave again on NASCAR racing at The Rock.”
With Rockingham being off of the schedule for so long, there aren't many current competitors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ranks that have competed there in the past. Current full-time drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series or Craftsman Truck Series that have competed in NASCAR National Series events at Rockingham include Jeb Burton, Matt Crafton, Ty Dillon, Grant Enfinger, and Ryan Sieg.
Next season's Easter weekend NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series showdown at Rockingham is going to be awesome from a nostalgia perspective, but the lack of experience for drivers in the field at the difficult track will also likely yield an unpredictable event.
Tickets for the 2025 NASCAR return race weekend at Rockingham Speedway are set to go on sale Friday, November 1 at 10 AM ET. Rockingham Speedway urges fans to continue checking its official website (RacetheRock.com) for details and updates for next year's Easter Weekend NASCAR events.
In addition to Rockingham Speedway, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will also compete at Lime Rock Park next season in a race scheduled for Saturday, June 28. This will mark the first-ever NASCAR National Series event at Lime Rock Park, a picturesque road course in Lakeville, Connecticut.
TOBY CHRISTIE