As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway this weekend for its first points race there in 30 years, I can’t help but think of another North Carolina racetrack that was recently revived.
Just a few months ago, the NASCAR industry and fans were debating whether or not Cup should also return to Rockingham Speedway after the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck Series put on a second consecutive successful weekend at the track. Now, those debates have turned into whether the track will hold any form of racing at all in 2027.
On Monday, the IHRA announced it was cancelling the remainder of the 2026 IHRA Stock Car Series. This came shortly after the organization canned its Nitro Outlaw Drag Racing Series, laying off several employees in the process. Additionally, Short Track Scene reported several racers who competed in what ended up being the last SCS race of the season, at Anderson Speedway, claimed to have not been paid following the event.
You’re probably wondering what the IHRA is and how its troubles have anything to do with NASCAR racing at Rockingham. The IHRA is a racing organization that started the SCS this year that was similar to the zMAX CARS Tour in that it raced at grassroots short tracks and had both Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model divisions.
The league was throwing around money like crazy. It offered purses much larger than any other short track series in the area, and it purchased or leased a number of tracks, buying Rockingham on Jan. 1 of this year. All of it seemed too good to be true, and now it’s been revealed that it was.
To be fair, the IHRA did say in its announcement that it planned to bring the SCS back in 2027.
“After a thorough review of our operations, resources and long-term objectives, IHRA believes the responsible course of action is to pause the series and dedicate our full attention to building a stronger, more sustainable Stock Car program for 2027,” the release said.
But I, and I’m sure many others, will believe that when we see it. When SRX Racing announced it was postponing its 2024 season, it also gave hope that the series would be back someday. Fans have since been left waiting for that someday.
However, just because IHRA’s racing divisions may or may not come back, that doesn’t mean the future is necessarily bleak for Rockingham. The organization hasn’t filed for bankruptcy or had all its assets seized or frozen. It’s still possible it could host a NASCAR weekend.
I’m just not sure how the contracts were worked out for this year between IHRA and Track Enterprises, which is a sister company of Spire Sports + Entertainment (yes, it’s the same folks from Spire Motorsports). Track Enterprises was the promoter for the NOAPS and Trucks weekend at The Rock, but it’s unclear as to whether it leased the track from IHRA or was hired by the latter to promote the events.
If Track Enterprises is leasing the track, then the IHRA is only involved in that it owns the property. So it would get a fat check and just sit back and relax without having to do a whole lot.
If the IHRA hired Track Enterprises, then the latter may be leery to work with the former again, as there now has to be a fear that the check won’t come or clear. We’ve already seen Track Enterprises jump from promoting one track to another. After ticket sales weren’t great in the Trucks’ second straight visit to The Milwaukee Mile that Track Enterprises promoted in 2024, the race date and the company moved over to Rockingham for the following season.
Regardless of what happens, it’s pretty safe to say the Cup Series won’t be racing at The Rock anytime soon. It would require an upgrade to the current amenities, and how is an organization already strapped for cash going to pour in that type of investment? It’s too bad, because that track absolutely belongs on the Cup circuit.
The best-case scenario is that everything remains status quo with the IHRA and Track Enterprises sticking together with NOAPS and Trucks returning to race at Rockingham on Easter Weekend. It’s a great opportunity for those two series to shine with Cup off for the weekend, and it’s currently the only standalone race for NOAPS.
But if it comes down to The Rock being dead because the IHRA doesn’t know how to budget, then I hope NASCAR and Track Enterprises can find another track Cup doesn’t currently race at to host the two lower national series. Please don’t turn that date into another companion event. There are entirely too many of those already.
As for Rockingham, it’d be in everyone’s best interest if the IHRA sold it to either NASCAR or Speedway Motorsports so that its status and spot on the schedule would be a lot safer. The IHRA would then have a boatload of cash influx and could maybe even continue to exist and have a 2027 season.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
I sure would love to see a cup event at Rockingham before I die.I went there in nineteen sixty five i was twelve years old.