ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County’s historic round track is up for sale yet again.
Less than a year after being purchased by the International Hot Rod Association, Rockingham Speedway has been listed — along with 11 other tracks — with real estate auction company Tranzon Atlas.
“Tranzon is pleased to offer this distinctive collection of racetracks, drag strips, and development properties,” reads a page on the auction house’s website under a banner for Darana Motorsports Holdings, LLC. “From established motorsports venues to substantial properties with redevelopment potential, this portfolio presents opportunities for racing operators, investors, developers, and hobbyists.”
Two other North Carolina tracks — Piedmont Dragway in Julian, and the former GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson — are also on the auction list.
Piedmont teased on Oct. 16 that a North Carolina native with “deep roots in the drag racing community” will be buying that track. More information is expected to be released Oct. 22.
Citing a press release, Drag Illustrated reported Oct. 6 that Darana CEO Darryl Cuttell — who bought the IHRA in December of 2024 — said he was getting out of the racing business by the end of the year.
The listing for Rockingham Speedway notes that the property features 243-plus acres, a “Significant land area with large-scale development potential.”
Also highlighted is the track’s history with NASCAR, with the Cup Series running from there from 1965-2004, and the recent revival featuring the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck series in 2025 and earlier this year.
However, race promoter Track Enterprises announced in mid-August that it would not be hosting NASCAR in 2027.
The infield road course, which has seen prominent use by MB Drift’s grassroots series since 2021, is included in the listing — but the half-mile “Little Rock” oval is not mentioned.
Other selling points include its proximity to both neighboring Rockingham Dragway — which is privately owned and not associated with the IHRA — with an opportunity “for collaboration and shared visitor pool, as well as to the Pinehurst and Southern Pines market.
“...the property features existing racing and event infrastructure with a proven history of hosting NASCAR racing, concerts, fundraisers and other large-scale events,” the listing reads. “Its substantial acreage and strategic location offer significant potential for continued motorsports use, entertainment, redevelopment and long-term investment.”
Sealed bids and a $100,000 deposit are due by 5 p.m. CT on Nov. 17.
The listing also includes a line that the property is subject to sale prior to the auction without notice.
Kenny Nowling, who announced that he was the new president of Rockingham Speedway in August, said in an Oct. 6 Facebook post that he has met with “two extremely interested buyers who are willing to pay the asking price and have every intention of keeping it a Speedway and Entertainment Complex!”
Nowling added that he had “tremendous faith that one of these two groups will close on the historic and legendary facility in the coming weeks.”
In a Sept. 12 post, Nowling said that “not for a nickel less” than $10 million would be accepted.
Nowling said in that same post that Track Enterprises had made an offer on the speedway, but it was “well under the minimum asking price.”
Track Enterprises had been in talks to purchase the speedway from the former owners in 2025 before it was acquired by Rockingham Speedway Investments, LLC — of which Cuttell is the CEO, according to records with the N.C. Secretary of State’s Office.
The track was put up for public auction in May of 2016, after Billy Silas had paid the lien put on the property by Salisbury-based Farmers and Merchants Bank. An attorney for BK Rock Holdings, LLC, put in a $3 million credit bid at the auction.
Rockingham Properties, LLC bought the track for $2.8 million in August of 2018 and started hosting events in 2021.
MB Drift made its new home at the Rock that year following the closure of Myrtle Beach Speedway in late 2020, and has held at least six events annually.
In the past six years, the speedway has also hosted a mini-stock race, monster trucks, car and truck shows — including the Hot Rod Power Tour — and several music events.
In 2021, the N.C. General Assembly allocated $9 million to the county for “water and sewer and related infrastructure projects” at the track.
Since then, both the main oval and the road course have been repaved, and other improvements have been made to the facility.
In late 2024, legislators reallocated $2 million originally set aside for a pedestrian bridge across U.S. 1 to connect the speedway and dragway. The dragway received $1.7 million to renovate the concrete grand stands and the speedway was allocated the remaining $300,000.
Rockingham Properties announced that the track was for sale less than two months after NASCAR’s return.
Several months later, a majority of the Richmond County Board of commissioners approved a grant payment of $375,000 to go directly to the company that installed the SAFER barriers at the track prior to the NASCAR races.
During that same meeting, it was revealed that the county had already allocated $300,000 for SAFER barriers earlier in the year. However, that decision was not made in open session.
Rockingham was scheduled to host the final race in the IHRA's stock car series, but that season was canceled in July.
