Rockingham Speedway is back in the spotlight this weekend as the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series visit the historic race track. Along with the ARCA Menards Series East, the three series will have the track to themselves as the Cup Series sits idle for the only time this season.
The track, originally known as North Carolina Motor Speedway, opened in 1965 and played host to 78 Cup Series events from 1965 to 2004. The unique shape of the 1.017-mile track, along with its high banking and worn-out surface, produced some of the best racing in the sport. The thrilling racing was evident in the most recent Cup race in 2004 when Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth outlasted Kasey Kahne in a photo finish.
The last time the Xfinity Series raced at The Rock was also 2004 when Jamie McMurray was victorious. NASCAR brought the Truck Series back to the venue in 2012 and 2013, but has not been back since 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson's 2013 triumph.
It should not come as a surprise that NASCAR is coming back to the historic track, given it returned to North Wilkesboro Speedway last season for the first time since 1996 and ventured to Bowman Gray Stadium earlier this season for the first time since 1971. Both featured the Cup Series as the main event, but got a huge fan turnout and brought NASCAR back to some of its popular tracks during the sport's infancy.
The return trip to Rockingham this weekend will stir up some memories for those who were around when it was a yearly fixture on the schedule. The nostalgia will be there, but so will a different surface after a recent repave in 2022. Not to mention, most of the drivers racing at the track this weekend have no prior experience competing there, making for a challenging weekend for drivers and teams alike.
Why this trip to The Rock could lead to more opportunities in the future
The weekend kicks off with the Craftsman Truck Series on Friday (5 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Three-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton is the only series regular to have competed at the track the last time the series visited in 2013. While tickets are not sold out for the Truck race like they are for Saturday's Xfinity race, a return to a historic venue should make for an interesting kick off to the weekend schedule.
In addition to being sold out, Kahne's return will give the Xfinity Series even more exposure on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kahne, making his first Xfinity start since 2017 and first NASCAR start since 2018, will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
The 15-year Cup Series veteran may have stepped away from Cup Series racing due to dehydration issues, but he is still as competitive as ever as a full-timer in the Kubota High Limit Racing Sprint Car Series where he is eighth in points. Other than Kahne, only Jeb Burton and Ryan Sieg have prior racing experience at The Rock, and it came in the Truck Series.
The Xfinity and Truck teams had an organizational test back in January to get acclimated with the new surface, but a lot of unknowns still remain. The stakes are magnified for JR Motorsports' Justin Allgaier on Saturday, who is going for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus in the final installment of the financial program for the season. With an average of over one million viewers this season on The CW, the increase in popularity and overall exposure the series has been getting should lend itself to attracting even more eyes on Saturday at a track whose fanbase has longed for racing's return to its beloved venue.
NASCAR is returning to North Wilkesboro for the All-Star race once again in May and received rave reviews following The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. After years of waiting for racing to return to The Rock, this weekend could be a successful revival of another one of NASCAR's historic tracks. Even if the racing is not as good due to the newly repaved surface, Rockingham's place on the calendar during Easter weekend puts its back in the spotlight where it once used to be. Who knows where that could lead in the future.