North Carolina Motor Speedway
Circuit info:
- Address:
North Carolina Motor Speedway
PO Box 500
Rockingham
NC 28380
USA- PH:
- (1) 919 582-2861
- Fax:
- (1) 919 582-3324
- Circuit lengths:
1.017 miles/1.637 km oval course
1.500 miles/2.414 km road course- Circuit type:
- Permanent oval and road course
Circuit history:
A classic oval track near Rockingham and known as 'The Rock', North Carolina hosted two top-level NASCAR races per year for nearly 40 years.
In 2004, NASCAR announced that one of the Rockingham races would go to California Speedway as part of its 'realignment' programme - a circuit built by International Speedway Corp., a company majority-held by NASCAR's France family. As a result, Francis Ferko, a shareholder in the Bruton Smith-led Speedway Motorsports Inc., claimed in a lawsuit that NASCAR had breached agreements by not awarding a second Nextel Cup race to SMI-owned Texas Motor Speedway. As part of the settlement of the lawsuit, North Carolina Motor Speedway was purchased by SMI for $100.4 million and the track's remaining race went to Texas.
New owners SMI immediately ceased all racing activities at the venue for 2005, but the track has become the home to several driving schools and is still used for NASCAR testing.
The ultimate future of 'The Rock' is uncertain, and while racing hasn't been ruled out altogether, it does seem unlikely that top-line motorsport will return.
