Rockingham Speedway will have no NASCAR-sanctioned races in 2027, with Track Enterprises confirming that the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series East will all stay away from “The Rock” next season.

The promoter cited “overall uncertainty at the facility” as the reason, putting an abrupt pause on a revival that had produced two successful NASCAR weekends in 2025 and 2026.

That uncertainty appears connected to a much larger situation surrounding the track’s ownership. Rockingham is owned by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), which purchased the speedway in late 2025.

The organization has since faced financial strain, canceled racing programs, and laid off employees, while owner Darryl Cuttell has been dealing with liens and lawsuits involving hundreds of millions of dollars with his other business interests.

Those problems surfaced publicly in 2026, when the IHRA canceled the remainder of its newly launched Stock Car Series after also shutting down the Nitro Outlaw Drag Racing Series. Reports also stated that some competitors from the final Stock Car Series event had yet to receive their prize money.

While Track Enterprises has stopped short of directly blaming those issues for NASCAR’s departure, its reference to uncertainty at the facility places the decision within an increasingly unstable business environment around the speedway.

Rockingham Speedway’s NASCAR revival had been working

NASCAR’s return to Rockingham had been well received. National-series racing came back in 2025 after more than a decade away, with fans filling the grandstands during Easter weekend.

Tyler Ankrum won the Truck Series race, Sammy Smith took the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win, and Brent Crews bagged the ARCA Menards Series East event.

The momentum carried into 2026, when Corey Heim won in Trucks, William Sawalich claimed the O’Reilly race and Tristan McKee dominated the ARCA East event from the pole. The strong crowds had even generated discussion about whether the Cup Series could eventually return.

Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent acknowledged that fan support exceeded expectations.

“The response from the fans over the past two years has been nothing short of incredible,” Sargent said. “Bringing NASCAR back to Rockingham was a special opportunity, and the support we received from race fans, competitors, sponsors, local officials, and the entire community exceeded every expectation.”

He also left the door open for another comeback.

“While we’re disappointed that NASCAR won’t be racing at Rockingham in 2027, we remain optimistic about the future and look forward to exploring opportunities to bring racing back in the future.”

Rockingham has already survived multiple disappearances from NASCAR’s national schedule. The 0.94-mile North Carolina oval opened in 1965 and became a Cup Series fixture for decades, hosting two races annually from 1966 through 2003.

Dale Earnhardt bagged his seventh championship there in 1994, and the track hosted NASCAR’s first Cup event following his death in 2001.

Matt Kenseth won the final Cup race there in February 2004 before NASCAR shifted its calendar toward other markets. The Truck Series briefly returned in 2012 and 2013, but financial obligations again became an issue.

A major revival effort began years later, after North Carolina allocated $9 million in American Rescue Plan funding for improvements, leading to a repaved racing surface, new media facilities, and other renovations that ultimately helped make NASCAR’s 2025 comeback possible.

Hence, its return to the NASCAR schedule will depend more upon whether the facility can maintain the financial and organizational stability required to host national NASCAR events.

Rockingham proved during the past two seasons that people would still show up for NASCAR at one of its historic venues. But whether the business behind the track can become stable enough to give them another chance remains to be seen.