North Carolina Speedway

The North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located in Rockingham, North Carolina.

North Carolina Speedway Closes

Affectionately known as "The Rock", this track hosted NASCAR race events from 1965 to 2004.

The track was closed as a result of the Ferko lawsuit.

The Rock

The track measures slightly over one mile in length, and is shaped like a D rather than a perfect oval. The track surface is very abrasive compared to other tracks on the circuit, due to the high sand content of paving compounds made from local materials.

This abrasiveness notoriously contributes to excessive tire wear; this characteristic is often cited as a demanding element of racing at The Rock, necessitating strict management of tire wear by drivers. The track was reshaped from a flat one mile track to the present configuration in 1969.

The Rock played host to two NASCAR top tier races each year, until 2004 when its schedule was reduced to only one race due to disappointing ticket sales. It held its last race on February 22, 2004. Despite wide speculation that it would be its last race on the NASCAR circuit, the race failed to sell out, falling nearly 10,000 short of the 60,000 capacity.

In that last race, Matt Kenseth held off then rookie Kasey Kahne on the last lap to win by only 0.010 seconds. This finish was one of the closest in NASCAR history, and viewed by many fans as one of the best races that year. It is also known for a wild crash early in the race in which Carl Long flipped wildly down the backstretch. Upon its exit from the NASCAR circuit, The Rock joined the Ontario Motor Speedway, Riverside International Raceway, and the North Wilkesboro Speedway as racetracks no longer on the circuit.

Location, Location, Location.

Most agree that the lack of any other tourist attractions in the area and the relatively small size of the city hurt ticket sales. In addition, other tracks nearby such as Lowe's Motor Speedway and Darlington Speedway (which is near Myrtle Beach) had a tendency to lure away fans looking to catch a race.

All of this despite Rockingham's reputation for excellent racing and for having great sightlines for spectators. It must also be mentioned that the facility made limited infrastructure reinvestments over the years while being owned by the DeWitt family, and seemed to lag behind other facilities which continually modernized and updated their business plans, especially after it was sold to pay off estate taxes owed by the DeWitt and Wilson families which had owned the track.

Buck Baker, Hollywood & Dale Earnhardt

The track is home to the Buck Baker Driving School and is used for television and movie filming, along with testing. The 2004 ESPN telefilm The Dale Earnhardt Story was filmed at the track.

NASCAR Teams Test Track

Rockingham has become a test track for many NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series teams because of recently imposed testing restrictions by NASCAR to save money. After the track was stripped of its dates, teams began using the circuit to test cars and engines, especially to simulate abrasive wear at certain tracks (Darlington and Atlanta most notably).

In 2005, Kyle Petty tested his Darlington car at Rockingham days before its race to not waste one of his five assigned tests.

With 2006 NASCAR rules banning all testing at active Nextel Cup tracks except at selected NASCAR-approved open tests, testing at Rockingham has become a premium; Penske Racing tested at the track in mid-April to simulate testing, and with the abrasiveness of the Atlanta Motor Speedway surface, which has not been repaved since reconstruction in 1997, and Atlanta's participation in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, many teams are considering returning to Rockingham in September or October to test their cars to simulate Atlanta's similar surface.

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Trivia

June 18, 1967: Richard Petty romps to victory in the Carolina 500 at Rockingham for his 11th win of the season. The win pushes Petty atop the NASCAR points standings for the first time.

June 16, 1968: Donnie Allison scores his first career NASCAR Grand National victory in Rockingham's Carolina 500. Rookie Richard Brickhouse, driving in his first Grand National event, finishes fourth.

October 26, 1969: LeeRoy Yarbrough scores his seventh speedway win of the season in the American 500 at Rockingham. Yarbrough loses a lap when a tire blows, sending him into the wall. He scrambles back into contention and takes the lead for keeps with 57 laps remaining.

March 5, 1978: David Pearson rallies from a late spin, passes Benny Parsons, and drives to victory in the Carolina 500 at Rockingham's North Carolina Speedway. It is the 100th win of Pearson's illustrious career.

March 1, 1981: Darrell Waltrip drives the Junior Johnson Buick to win Rockingham's Carolina 500. Waltrip has won two of his first four starts with the highly regarded Johnson team.

March 13, 1983: Richard Petty ends a 43-race winless streak and nips Bill Elliott by a bumper in the Carolina 500 at Rockingham. The triumph is the 196th of Petty's career.

October 25, 1987: Bill Elliott wins the AC Delco 500 at Rockingham as Dale Earnhardt clinches his third NASCAR Winston Cup championship. Earnhardt finishes second and has a 515 point lead in the standings with two races left in the season.

March 6, 1988: Neil Bonnet comes from the 30th starting spot to win the Goodwrench 500 at Rockingham's North Carolina Speedway for his second win in a row. Bonnet edges Lake Speed by less than a second. The first four finishers are running Hoosier tires.

October 23, 1988: Rusty Wallace rallies from a three-lap deficit caused by a cut tire to win Rockingham's AC Delco 500. Wallace outruns runner-up Ricky Rudd by 13.5 seconds to score his fifth win of the season.

October 22, 1989: Mark Martin survives a rash of caution flags and notches his first career NASCAR Winston Cup win in the AC Delco 500 at Rockingham. Championship contenders Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt tangle midway through the race, causing major damage to Earnhardt's Chevrolet. Wallace now has a 109-point lead over Earnhardt in the standings.

March 4, 1990: Kyle Petty wins the GM Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway and pockets $284,550. The total includes $220,400 in Unocal 76 money that goes to a driver who wins the pole and the race.

March 3, 1991: Kyle Petty leads 380 of the 492 laps in Rockingham's Goodwrench 500, but has to rally from a lap deficit to seal his first win of the season.

February 27, 1994: In Rusty Wallace's second start in a Ford, he rides to victory in the Goodwrench 500 at Rockingham. Wallace and the Roger Penske team switched from Pontiacs to Ford's during the off-season.

February 25, 1996: Dale Earnhardt swats erstwhile leader Bobby Hamilton out of the way with 50 laps to go and sprints to a controversial win in the Goodwrench 400 at Rockingham.

Top Drivers

Top Active Drivers at North Carolina Speedway
Name	Race Starts	Average Start	Average Finish
Kasey Kahne	1	3.0	2.0
Jeff Gordon	15	9.5	10.4
Tony Stewart	11	18.7	10.8
Bobby Labonte	15	10.7	11.3
Ryan Newman	5	9.4	12.4
Jamie McMurray	4	8.0	14.5
Mark Martin	15	9.3	14.5
Jeff Burton	15	16.8	15.1
Matt Kenseth	10	23.7	15.2
Ward Burton	15	15.2	15.2
Sterling Marlin	14	22.3	16.8
Kurt Busch	8	16.4	17.6
Kevin Harvick	7	31.0	19.9
Brian Vickers	2	11.0	20.0
Dave Blaney	7	19.0	20.1
Greg Biffle	4	11.5	20.3
Bill Elliott	14	18.3	20.5
Elliott Sadler	11	26.3	21.1
Joe Nemechek	15	17.3	22.8
Jimmie Johnson	5	25.2	23.2
Dale Earnhardt Jr	9	20.7	24.7
Michael Waltrip	15	22.1	25.9
Casey Mears	3	23.0	28.0
Robby Gordon	10	25.3	29.5
Scott Riggs	1	19.0	31.0
Kyle Petty	13	22.6	32.8

Race Winners

Races Winners at North Carolina Speedway
Date	Race	Pole Winner	Race Winner	Laps Led	Start
02/22/2004	Subway 400	Ryan Newman	Matt Kenseth	259	23rd
11/09/2003	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Ryan Newman	Bill Elliott	140	5th
02/23/2003	Subway 400	Dave Blaney	Dale Jarrett	9	9th
11/03/2002	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Ryan Newman	Johnny Benson Jr	28	26th
02/24/2002	Subway 400	Ricky Craven	Matt Kenseth	152	25th
11/04/2001	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Kenny Wallace	Joe Nemechek	196	13th
02/26/2001	Dura Lube 400	Jeff Gordon	Steve Park	167	2nd
10/22/2000	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Jeremy Mayfield	Dale Jarrett	43	21st
02/27/2000	Dura-Lube / Kmart 400	Rusty Wallace	Bobby Labonte	134	3rd
10/24/1999	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Mark Martin	Jeff Burton	71	6th
02/21/1999	Dura-Lube / Big Kmart 400	Ricky Rudd	Mark Martin	50	5th
11/01/1998	ACDelco 400	Mark Martin	Jeff Gordon	29	9th
02/22/1998	GM Goodwrench Service Plus 400	Rick Mast	Jeff Gordon	73	4th
10/27/1997	ACDelco 400	Bobby Labonte	Bobby Hamilton	37	28th
02/23/1997	Goodwrench 400	Mark Martin	Jeff Gordon	43	4th