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The Return of Rockingham Speedway Moves Closer to Reality

Joshua Lipowski

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Royal T Grafix

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Adam Stern shared a report from a local TV affiliate expressing optimism about the future of Rockingham Speedway.

What’s Happening

Adam Stern broke big news about Rockingham Speedway in the early hours of Friday morning, pointing to a CBS 2 WFMY report that Rockingham could return. Daniel Crews of WFMY talked to Rockingham Speedway owner Daniel Lovenheim, who expressed that he has been talking with “Everyone, everyone”, and expressing optimism that Rockingham could come back. He even added that the venue could host other events including car shows and concerts.

  • Rockingham Speedway was also given $9 million from the American Rescue Plan similar to what North Wilkesboro and Charlotte received to renovate their own facilities. North Wilkesboro used the money to make the facility race ready again, and recently hosted the All-Star Race. Lovenheim told WFMY that he used the money given to the track to repave it, and that he would fund $10 million more in renovations to the track.
  • Rockingham Speedway, affectionately known as “The Rock”, hosted 78 Cup Series races between 1966 and 2003, and hosted its’ final Cup Series race in February of 2004. The track also hosted two Truck Series races with one per year in 2012 and 2013 before NASCAR left the track again. It is a 1.017 mile track with banks between 22 and 25 degrees in the corners, meaning the track has historically been a multi-groove track.
  • Fans online are excited to see the potential return of Rockingham. However, some fans are concerned about having too many tracks in the North Carolina area once again.

In the Stands

MK has a solution to those that are concerned about oversaturation.

Ryan Ostrander feels that this could replace Fontana for next year.

Kyle is concerned about market oversaturation.

Andy Roberts is okay with a Truck, Xfinity, or ARCA race at the track should a Cup Series event not work out.

Coty Wallace likes the idea of alternating race dates at different tracks.

Lucas Cram loves the idea of returning to “The Rock”

SRX?????

crypto6g points out the potential issue with oversaturation.

Comment
by u/crypto6g from discussion [Stern] ockingham Speedway’s owner on the chances of @NASCAR returning next year: "I can’t put a number to it. What I can say is that we are obviously in talks with everyone, everyone. I am very hopeful and very optimistic at this point."
in NASCAR

KentuckyHorsepower with three simple words.

Comment
by u/KentuckyHorsepower from discussion [Stern] ockingham Speedway’s owner on the chances of @NASCAR returning next year: "I can’t put a number to it. What I can say is that we are obviously in talks with everyone, everyone. I am very hopeful and very optimistic at this point."
in NASCAR

SRVisGod24 believes that taking a date from Atlanta and giving it to Rockingham is a solution to the problem.

Comment
by u/SRVisGod24 from discussion [Stern] ockingham Speedway’s owner on the chances of @NASCAR returning next year: "I can’t put a number to it. What I can say is that we are obviously in talks with everyone, everyone. I am very hopeful and very optimistic at this point."
in NASCAR

Rockingham has hosted the season finale before.

Comment
by u/Playingpokerwithgod from discussion [Stern] ockingham Speedway’s owner on the chances of @NASCAR returning next year: "I can’t put a number to it. What I can say is that we are obviously in talks with everyone, everyone. I am very hopeful and very optimistic at this point."
in NASCAR

On Your Screen

The Iceberg recently looked at abandoned tracks that could come back, and he mentioned Rockingham

Rockingham is the first track many thought of when thinking about which other tracks can be added to the schedule. It is a track that was beloved by fans, and it produced a solid racing product. The multi-grooved surface also works well for the modern next-gen cars.

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Cup: Tyler Reddick Starts 2026 With Two Straight Wins

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

The checkered flag has flown in the second race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season. And, at the end of the day, it was Tyler Reddick who went back-to-back to win at EchoPark Speedway. Tonight, Reddick became the sixth NASCAR Cup Series driver to win the first two races of the season. He is the first since NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth did it to kick off the 2009 season.

But, of course, Reddick wasn’t the only one to have a great start to the season. Several drivers leave Atlanta with a great points day, including Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney. Here are the highlights of tonight’s race:

  • It was a chilly day down in Hampton, Georgia for the NASCAR Cup Series event at EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). There was a big fat question mark around this event as qualifying was rained out on Saturday morning. This meant that the metric determined the field and it was largely based upon the Daytona 500 finishing order. Daytona 500 champ Tyler Reddick started on the pole with his teammates Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst starting not far behind.
  • Stage 1 was relatively tame. There was a lot of juking for positions, but the best of the best in the NASCAR Cup Series were largely able to keep their noses clean. Austin Cindric won stage 1, with Bubba Wallace taking stage two. The top two stage earners for today’s race were Bubba Wallace (19) and William Byron (16).
  • A number of contenders were involved in massive crashes littered throughout the day. Among drivers caught up in incidents are Josh Berry, Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, and Kyle Larson, among others. When it comes to superspeedway-style racing, big crashes are inevitable.
  • In the last 10 laps of the race, it was still anybody’s game. Bubba Wallace led with a hornet’s nest of Bell, Hocevar, Chastain, Reddick, and Suarez behind him. With 4 laps to go, Byron had a tire go down, causing a huge late-race caution. The race would finish in overtime.
  • The overtime finish was thrilling. After one false start, Bubba Wallace lined up on the inside with his teammate, Tyler Reddick. Behind them was Chase Briscoe. In the high lane, we had the wrecking ball duo of Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain with Daniel Suarez behind them. As Reddick gave Bubba a great shot, the No. 23 jumped up to block Hocevar. Unfortunately, he jumped up too car and allowed Hocevar to get down below him. Then, the tandem of Reddick and Briscoe powered back on the inside and Tyler Reddick cruised to victory with no right front fender.

Key Incidents

Berry & Gibbs Tangle

From an awful showing in the 2025 Playoffs to yet another last-place finish, Josh Berry’s 2026 season is off to a rough start. Today, he got together with Ty Gibbs after Gibbs had an awful start to the year last year. The No. 54 was able to turn it around later in the season, though. But, for their 2026 outing, there’s a lot left to be desired. Check it out.

Also Read:

Cup: Bell Forces the Issue, Takes Out Berry and Gibbs

Kyle Busch Goes Around

Kyle Busch’s 2025 season was abysmal. But, after he put his No. 8 RCR Chevy on the pole for the 2026 Daytona 500, things seemed to be looking up. He smartly survived last week by lying back on the last lap and safely navigating through the crash, finishing 15th. And he was a contender early in this race. However, late, Kyle Busch continued his dismal legacy at RCR by spinning after contact with Noah Gragson. His day ended prematurely. Check it out:

Also Read:

Cup: Busch Crashes Out at EchoPark Speedway

Hamlin/Logano Trigger Big One

We got our first big crash of the race at Lap 224 when both Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano got loose in front of the field. You can read all about that incident with the link below:

Also Read:

Cup: Logano/Hamlin Get Together, Trigger Big One at EchoPark

Caution Recap
  • Lap 60: Stage 1 Break
  • Lap 81: Josh Berry and Ty Gibbs
  • Lap 103: Riley Herbst
  • Lap 126: Kyle Busch
  • Lap 161: Stage 2 Break
  • Lap 200: Shane van Gisbergen
  • Lap 224: Hamlin, Logano Gets Loose, Triggers Big One
  • Lap 239: Logano Spins
  • Lap 257: Byron Spins
  • Lap 267: Logano Spins

Unofficial Race Results

Race to the Chase Points (2 of 26)

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Cup: Logano/Hamlin Get Together, Trigger Big One at EchoPark

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

Things started to get real for the NASCAR Cup Series drivers as we got inside 40 laps to go. We got our first Big One of the afternoon at Lap 224. It was triggered as the field came out of Turn 4 and entered the dogleg. Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, both whose cars were upset by the dirty air, got together. Logano was able to scoot on virtually unscathed. However, Hamlin turned in front of the pack, collecting several stars and heavy hitters. Here’s what happened:

  • Taking a look at it, it looks like Joey Logano got loose and let out of the throttle. Initially, it looks like he saved it. However, he was still barely hanging on. He got loose again and once again let off. Hamlin had nowhere to go.
  • Hamlin, reacting to Logano, overcorrected and ricocheted off the outside SAFER Barrier. This bounced him down into traffic, where he collected the likes of Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, A. J. Allmendinger, Connor Zilisch, and several others.
  • It has been a bad offseason for Denny Hamlin. He lost the 2025 championship in devastating fashion, he was in the thick of a lawsuit against NASCAR with Michael Jordan, he tragically lost his father in a house fire in December, and now he has two DNF finishes to start his 2026 campaign. After starting the season with three wild card races, one could only imagine that Hamlin is excited to get back to “normal racing” in a couple weeks when NASCAR heads to Phoenix.

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Cup: Mid-Race Report from EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

Two stages down at EchoPark Speedway! Austin Cindric won stage one while Bubba Wallace took Stage 2. Here’s what you need to know heading into the final stage.

  • There were a lot of comers and goers early on in the earlier stages of the race. Joey Logano led several laps early, leading Josh Berry, who led 50 laps last year in this race before and incident with 10 laps to go took him out of contention. Beyond them, the usual suspects were up front. Daytona 500 Champion, Tyler Reddick red the first handful of laps and the Hendrick trio of Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and William Byron looked pretty sporty early on.
  • Austin Cindric went on to win the opening stage of the race, leading 4 laps to take the green and white checkered flag. With this win, Cindric earned 10 points to pad him during the Race for the NASCAR Chase. Also earning stage points were Wallace (9), Larson (8), Byron (7), Elliott (6), Reddick (5), Busch (4), Logano (3), Zilisch (2), and Blaney (1). During the stage break, a couple of contenders had issues on pit road. Chase Elliott overshot his pit box and leader, Austin Cindric also had a slow stop.
  • The first caution for the incident came on Lap 81. Christopher Bell got a huge run on the inside down the backstretch and decided to force the issue. Heading into Turn 3, he was pushing 4 wide. Josh Berry let off and clipped the bumper of Ty Gibbs. Both plowed into the wall, their days over. Also getting a piece of that action were Denny Hamlin and Riley Herbst. Their damage was negligible.
  • The second caution for cause came at Lap 103 and it was a similar deal. In this situation, Riley Herbst lost the front end of his No. 35 Monster Energy Toyota. He tagged Austin Dillon from behind, and the two went around, receiving significant damage. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was also caught up in the mess.
  • Kyle Busch’s 2025 woes followed him into 2026. After a solid first stage, Kyle Busch pulled up in front of Noah Gragson and got tagged from behind. He slid down the track and plowed into the inside wall. His day is over.
  • After a series of cautions sprinkled throughout the second stage, we ended Stage 2 on a major incident as well. As William Byron and Bubba Wallace drag raced to the line for the stage win, defending champion Kyle Larson threw a late block on Shane van Gisbergen, who had a headful of steam. This took both drivers out, sending them spinning in the infield. Bubba prevailed to win the stage (+10 points).
  • Also earning points in the stage are Byron (9), Briscoe (8), Reddick (7), Elliott (6), Hocevar (5), Preece (4), Blaney (3), Keselowski (2), Chastain (1).

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