NASCAR Team CEO Confirms No Contract Discussions With Veteran Driver
What’s Happening? With NASCAR Silly Season heating up, Ty Dillon is the latest driver caught in the crosshairs of the rumor…
NASCAR fans are abuzz about the long-term future of Rockingham Speedway after reports surfaced Thursday that the sanctioning body, which owns the track, could face uncertainty.
Rockingham Speedway’s return to NASCAR action in 2025 was a moment of victory for race fans.
The track, once one of NASCAR’s longest-tenured, had not hosted NASCAR National Series racing since 2013, and in particular, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series since 2004.
During its run as a regular stop on the NASCAR National Series schedule, the track hosted up to two Cup and OAP Series races annually before it lost its spot on the calendar during NASCAR’s westward expansion in the early 2000s.
Despite its abandonment and semi-frequent changing of ownership, the 1.017-mile oval found new life in the 2020s, thanks in part to a grant from the state of North Carolina and new ownership.
This past offseason, however, NASCAR fans were surprised to learn that the track was for sale, raising questions once again about its future on the NASCAR schedule.
Nonetheless, on December 31, the International Hot Rod Association announced it had purchased the track, along with other former NASCAR venues such as Kansas’ Heartland Motorsports Park and Tennessee’s Memphis Motorsports Park.
These purchases made by an organization so well known for drag racing were part of the launch of the IHRA’s new Pro Late Model Stock Car Series, which kicked off its 2026 season on March 23 at Virginia’s Pulaski Motorsports Park.
But since then, things have taken a bit of a turn, with a viral social media post last night from reporter Aaron England claiming his sources told him the IHRA as a whole had “folded.”
England has covered several personnel changes at the organization throughout 2026, including the cancellation of drag and powerboat racing events.
While there is no official word from the IHRA, the NASCAR community, fearful of Rockingham’s future, latched onto this post almost immediately.
A Facebook post on Thursday night from DragCoverage reported that the IHRA was ending its IHRA Nitro drag racing Series for 2026, but that “leadership clarified today, through an email to IHRA-sanctioned tracks, that the organization has not announced any plans to close.”
Without any formal confirmation from the IHRA, any talk of ceasing operations remains mere rumors. Even then, there is no telling how the future of the IHRA could impact their track ownerships, as most new surroundings the sanctioning body has a focus on drag racing.
Of course, this leaves everyone with more questions than answers as NASCAR fans await future updates about the IHRA and the potential implications their future could have on the track.
Over the years, Rockingham has changed hands quite a few times, but somehow, despite all odds, the track has managed to stick around and find its way back to the NASCAR schedule time and again.
What’s Happening? With NASCAR Silly Season heating up, Ty Dillon is the latest driver caught in the crosshairs of the rumor…
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