Despite two successful seasons at Rockingham Speedway with the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck series, NASCAR won’t return to the storied track in 2027 due to uncertainty surrounding the facility’s ownership.
Track Enterprises, which has hosted the NASCAR races, announced that even though it wouldn’t return for a third year, it remained “committed to exploring opportunities that could bring racing back to ‘The Rock’ in future seasons.”
“The response from the fans over the past two years has been nothing short of incredible,” Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent said in a prepared statement. “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.”
When NASCAR returned to the Rockingham track in 2025, it was owned by Dan Lovenheim’s Rockingham Properties LLC. Lovenheim sold it at the end of 2025 to Daryl Cuttell, who had acquired the International Hot Rod Association. Cuttell then embarked on a major expansion, acquiring more than a dozen race tracks in barely a year, the Outlaw Nitro Series, powerboats, a short track racing series, tractor pulls, snowmobiles, rodeo and bull riding, Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, and the World Drag Racing Alliance and its member track network.
Now Cuttell, a Hamilton, Ohio, electrical contractor, is the defendant in a federal lawsuit that alleges the money he used in the expansion was never his. The companies that filed the suit against Darana Hybrid Inc., Cuttell Motorsports LLC doing business as the International Hot Rod Association, and Cuttell are owned by Elon Musk. According to Drag Illustrated, the two sides are separated by roughly a billion dollars in competing claims.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.
