CONFIRMED: Trucks To Rockingham In 2012

It's official. Rockingham Speedway President Andy Hillenburg announced today what Sirius Speedway first reported on August 16; that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will return to historic North Carolina oval on Sunday, April 15, 2012 for the "Good Sam Roadside Assistance Carolina 200 presented by Cheerwine."

"In 2007, we set a goal to return Rockingham Speedway to its roots,” said Hillenburg today. "The introduction of the Truck Series to Rockingham Speedway is representative of years of hard work and the support of the county, city and state government officials who understood the positive economic impact a NASCAR-sanctioned race could offer to the Piedmont region.”

Hillenburg was joined by North Carolina Governor Bev Purdue in announcing the return of NASCAR to "The Rock" in a mid-afternoon press conference at the speedway. He said the 200-mile race will be the showpiece of a two-day event featuring the UARA Late Model and Frank Kimmel Street Stock Series. The former ARCA champion and Indianapolis 500 competitor said today's announcement was the culmination of years of work, adding, "We've got a lot of friends in the sport, a lot of supporters who want to see Rockingham Speedway work. It's been a building and learning process over the last four years, and we want to be able to do this correctly the first time out of the box."

He said discussions with NASCAR about a Camping World Truck Series race were underway "well before" Nashville Superspeedway and Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis announced plans to relinquish their series dates next season. "We've been lining up these dominos... for a very long time," said Hillenburg. "We've had 10 different sanctioning bodies run here in the last four years; all so I could learn quickly. I have great love and respect for this sport, and the responsibility to do this sport justice is something I do not take lightly. I'm going to make sure that April 14-15, 2012 is the greatest experience ever for our fans."

Hillenburg said Gov. Purdue was "absolutely phenomenal" in her efforts to help the speedway secure a return of NASCAR racing. "I was really, really impressed," he said. "I had never gotten to talk with her one-on-one before, and it was a privilege and a pleasure to have her here today. Governor Purdue is a race fan, and that's a great thing for the state of North Carolina."

The Rockingham President said getting the right date was critical in the negotiation. "Open weekends are few and far between in NASCAR, so we wanted to make sure the Sprint Cup Series was racing west of the Mississippi. A majority of our fans will come from the east coast, so I really didn't want a weekend where the Cup Series was racing within three or four states of North Carolina.

"With the Cup Series racing Saturday night in Texas, I will hopefully have an opportunity to talk with some of my friends in the garage and twist their arms to come here on Sunday and try to get their name engraved on The Rock."

Despite poor turnouts for the track's final Cup Series races in 2003 and 2004, Hillenburg said he is confident fans will embrace next year's race in numbers sufficient to make it viable financially. "There were four different owners (at Rockingham) in a 10-year span," he said. "More than a lack of fan support, that was the thing that caused the landscape to shift. The fans are doing the best they can these days, and I think they will be here for us. I've got the Red Carpet out for them and we are going to make it a great experience that becomes an annual stop for the fans."

Asked about the possibility of a Nationwide or Sprint Cup race at Rockingham in the future, Hillenburg said, "We've got a lot to learn right now. I don't think about those possibilities at the moment, because I want to concentrate on what we have to do (to host a Truck race).

"This business goes in circles," he said. "If you go back to the late `90s, Rockingham hosted two Cup races and two Nationwide races each year. Everything was going full speed ahead, and it was great. Just 10 short years later, the track had gone through four owners -- five counting me -- and there was no racing activity whatsoever. Now it's come full circle. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is coming back to Rockingham Speedway, and who knows what could happen in the next 10 years? If we work hard and do our jobs, anything in the world is possible.

"Rockingham is a track with a great history," said Hillenburg. "Now, its also a track with a great future. That's a wonderful situation to have."