Senior Editor

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Big-time auto racing will return to Rockingham Speedway this weekend for the first time in more than four years.                        International Speedway Corp. sold the track, which was originally built by Harold Brasington in 1965, to Speedway Motorsports, Inc., as part of the settlement in the much publicized Ferko lawsuit. As a result, SMI moved the remaining NASCAR date at what was then North Carolina Speedway to Texas Motor Speedway, and the 1.017-mile speedway sat idle with the exception of a few club races and driving schools.
That all changed in October when former dirt-track racer Andy Hillenburg purchased the facility at auction for slightly more than $4 million. Hillenburg took possession a month later and quickly began preparing the track for a return to racing.
That return comes Sunday with the Carolina 500 for the ARCA RE/MAX Series. It will be the first race at The Rock since Kasey Kahne won the Sprint Cup race there in February 2004 and the first ARCA event at the track since 1973.
Preparing the Richmond County facility for a return to racing has had its challenges for Hillenburg, who is one of only a handful of men who have raced in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.

REBIRTH: A large rock outside of Rockingham Speedway lists the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have visited victory lane at the 1.017-mile track. (Rockingham Speedway Photo)

ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY Rockingham, N.C. Distance: 1.017-mile oval First race: American 500, October 31, 1965 Degree of banking: Turns 1 & 2:  22 degrees; Turns 3 & 4: 25 degrees; Straightaways: 8 degrees Width:  Turns:  55 feet wide Straightaways: 50 feet wide Next event: American 200, Hooters Pro Cup Series, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2008 On the Web: www.rockinghamspeedway.com. HISTORY • Built in 1965 by Harold Brasington and Bill Land • Acquired by L.G. DeWitt and reconfigured in 1969 • Sold by DeWitt family to Penske Speedways in 1997 • International Speedway Corp. acquired Penske Speedways in 1999 • Transferred to Speedway Motorsports, Inc. as part of settlement in Ferko lawsuit in 2004 • Sold to racer Andy Hillenburg at auction in October 2007

“We have to make sure we have everything,” he explained recently. “Heating and air conditioning, plumbing, clean up crews and that kind of thing. The track was in great shape. It was ready for race cars the day we bought it. That’s one of the things that is driving me crazy. We actually have more time to prepare for our second race than we have for our first race since we bought the place.”
Hillenburg explained there have been plenty of surprises through the process of revitalizing the famed track.
“The neatest thing happened,” Hillenburg said. “David Knight, who is the Hamlet fire chief, ran the safety there (North Carolina Speedway) and he is back with us. Larry McNeil, who ran the security there, is back with us. They have all their names from before and everybody is back with us and happy the track is up and running. We have first-class safety and security from what was leftover from four years ago. That was another one of those great surprises.”
It all hasn’t been peaches and cream, though.
“One of the bad examples was the fencing,” Hillenburg said, discussing the fence that separates the infield from the race track. “You could walk out on the race track in about eight different places. That was an ‘uh oh.’ I didn’t have any money budgeted for fencing, but we had to have it. It was completed in mid March and now we can have fans in the infield and not have to worry about their safety.”
Hillenburg has no ambitions of Rockingham Speedway hosting the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series again, but he does have an idea of what he would like this new incarnation of the track to represent.
“Hopefully, we can provide a good value and family fun,” he said. “I have wanted to be in racing ever since I could talk. I remember my dad taking me to races when I was 2 or 3 years old.
“I still get goose bumps thinking about the first race that I went to, and I want other people to have that experience. I want to be good for the sport, where I think about the competitor side, what can we do better for the fans, what can we do to make it better for the guys who race, and what kind of example can we set to help make a difference within the industry.”
Hillenburg, who grew up in Indiana and made a name for himself racing sprint cars, calls himself a “big racing historian” and clearly he is interested in keeping the history of Rockingham Speedway alive.
One of the attractions at Rockingham has always been the large rock near the speedway, which features the names of all the previous winners at the track. The rock remains, but Hillenburg has added a second rock.
“I want people to come back each and every year,” he explained. “We got a new rock delivered. It is 42 tons, bigger than the old rock. This rock is huge. It’s a new rock. The winner of the ARCA race will be the first name chiseled on that new rock. We don’t want to lose the history, so it sits right next to the old rock that has all the Cup winners’ names on the rock. That rock will stay right there and no new names will ever be added to it. All the new history will be recorded on the new rock.”
Hillenburg has been overwhelmed by the support he has received from the Richmond County and Rockingham city officials and citizens.
“They think of this as their race track,” he began. “The city is putting on RaceFest on May the 1st in the city square. They are hanging banners on the street poles. They have drivers and show cars coming, there will be booths set up, there is going to be a band playing there on Thursday evening in the town square. They are really behind it.”
While this weekend’s ARCA race, which is expected to draw more than 80 entries for a whopping 50 starting spots, is the first step, Hillenburg has a long-term plan for the property.
“Hopefully, we are up to supporting three to five racing events per year on the mile,” says Hillenburg. “I do want to develop a road course and a Legends track. The Legends track is actually staked off in the infield. We are getting estimates on it to have a great facility for the Legends guys to race on.
“I would like to have a first-rate road course on the outside of the property,” continued Hillenburg, who for years has made his living operating the FastTrack Driving School, which is now located near Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, but will eventually move to Rockingham. “That is two or three years down the road, but that is something we are really looking at. We would be able to do a lot with our driving school there, where every up-and- coming racing driver comes to Rockingham at some point, whether it be on the mile, the road course or the quarter-mile track.”
The 1995 ARCA champion, Hillenburg has faith that the series, which will be bolstered for this race by numerous high-profile entries, will deliver an entertaining race.
“It is going to intrigue enough people to come out and give it a try, and that is all I am asking is give it a chance,” Hillenburg said. “You will enjoy this and put it on your calendar every year. You will see that this is big league stock-car racing.”
And it will be at one of the sport’s most legendary race tracks.