Rockingham Speedway is up for sale after successful return to NASCAR
Rockingham Speedway is officially on the market.
The North Carolina racetrack located in Richmond County, home to a 250-acre property replete with racing and community history, was put up for sale this week. This is the latest news in a consequential year for the racetrack — a year that in April saw The Rock’s return to the NASCAR Truck Series after more than a decade, as well as its first foray into the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2004.
The property is listed by CBRE Group, a commercial real estate services and investment firm. The move to put the property up for sale was separately confirmed by racetrack owner Dan Lovenheim, who bought the venue in August 2018 and helped in its resurrection.
“We’ve basically taken it in first gear as far as we can go, building it out, getting it ready for bigger and better hands,” Lovenheim told The Charlotte Observer. “And the time is right to pass the baton to someone who can take it farther than we can.”
The new buyer will be selected by July 1, Lovenheim said. This marks the beginning of an open offering period, Lovenheim said, and thus there is no asking price available on the listing.
The Easter weekend set of races — which included a Truck Series race, an Xfinity Series race and an ARCA race — was by all accounts a hit. The Xfinity Series race on that Saturday, most notably, attracted a sold-out crowd of over 25,000 fans and generated 1.053 million TV viewers, the second-best viewership for an Xfinity race at Rockingham, according to the listing.
Still, such a success was not the catalyst behind Lovenheim’s decision to put the racetrack on the market, he said.
“It gave me a greater smile in doing so,” Lovenheim said. “But whether or not this race went off like it did — gangbusters — or it was rained out, still, we’ve taken the facility from weeds growing out of it to the capabilities of having high-level NASCAR races. And that was our goal either way.”
The racetrack lies at the intersection of US-1 and NC-177 and is best known for its racing. Among the race courses at the facility: the famed 1.017-mile track that was repaved in December 2022, the half-mile track (affectionately called “Little Rock” by Lovenheim) and an infield road course.
The property has received more than $12 million in infrastructure upgrades over the past three years. More than $9 million of that came from the state government budget, which was made possible via funding made available by North Carolina’s cut of a post-pandemic stimulus package that passed in February 2021.
The facility also has full ABC permits site-wide — meaning it can sell malt beverages, wine and mixed beverages — and is exempt from any noise ordinances, according to the listing. As the listing also notes: “Rockingham Speedway also now qualifies for the new and extremely rare N.C. Sports Wagering License.”
The offering memorandum notes that, this year, The Rock has “requested an additional $12 million in appropriations from the N.C. General Assembly for additional track and infrastructure improvements to get The Rock ‘Cup ready’ for a potential NASCAR Cup race in 2026 or 2027.”
A NASCAR spokesperson said that the 2026 and 2027 schedules are still in development, and no agreement has been signed with Rockingham for 2026 and beyond.
Reflecting on Rockingham’s recent ‘unbelievable turnout’
To understand the decision to put the racetrack up for sale, consider Rockingham Speedway’s past.
For decades, the racetrack at Rockingham served as a rite of passage in the sport of racing. It was a fixture on NASCAR’s top circuit — the Cup Series — from the mid-1960s to the early 2000s.
The Cup Series left in 2004, however, with decision makers in the sport opting to attempt to capitalize on NASCAR’s ascending popularity by building state-of-the-art tracks in larger markets outside the Southeast. The Cup Series hasn’t returned since.
In the past few years, however, NASCAR has made a concerted effort to return to its roots, and that has meant investing — and at times, revitalizing — racetracks of its past. That includes fellow North Carolina racetracks North Wilkesboro Speedway (which has held the NASCAR All-Star Race the past three years), as well as Bowman Gray Stadium (which was home to The Clash this year.)
That’s how Lovenheim — who purchased the track in 2018 after making his fortune bringing nightlife to Raleigh — and NASCAR got connected.
Earlier this month, NASCAR said the race weekend at Rockingham saw “an unbelievable turnout” and was so successful that its potential return to the Cup Series is worth monitoring and exploring. Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s newly promoted president, told The Observer at the time that the sanctioning body would “love to keep it as an Xfinity Series and Truck Series staple, and maybe bring in more Cup drivers to race that weekend” in the future. He added, “You never know what the future holds beyond that.”
The Rock had a busy schedule in 2025 that produced over $1.6 million in revenue, according to the listing. That is thanks to the “dozens of weekly events” that have been scheduled at the facility, from local car groups using the track, to lower-level races, to the annual Christmas lighting and more.
Lovenheim said that the one thing he wasn’t prepared for when he first purchased the track seven years ago was the amount of community support there was in Richmond County and the city of Rockingham for the track. He didn’t necessarily know how deep the love for the area’s crown jewel went. He said selling the facility is “a bittersweet feeling because I have grown to love the track and the area and the people.”
“I wasn’t expecting there to be that much hope and love for a dilapidated racetrack when I purchased it,” he said. “That was a surprise. And it grows on you. When a dozen people come every day, even when there are weeds growing out of the track, to stand in front of The Rock to take pictures. …
“It just makes you feel like a steward of history in a certain way. And that’s been pleasurable. And the best thing to do as a steward of history is to make it as best as you can and hand off the baton to those who can take it to the next level.”
This article has been updated to clarify the status of future NASCAR races in Rockingham.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 5:06 PM.
