When Andy Hillenburg drove to a 32nd-place finish in the 2004 Subway 400 — the last NASCAR Sprint Cup race held at what was then known as North Carolina Speedway — he had no idea that the next time he’d be at the historic track would be as its owner.

Yet just over three years later, Hillenburg was taking possession of the track after buying it from Speedway Motorsports for a reported $4.4 million.

Hillenburg — in one of his first acts as owner of the soon-to-be-renamed Rockingham Speedway — promised that the reborn racetrack would hold a race within 13 months.

As it turned out, race-starved fans didn’t even have to wait that long: The Carolina 500 — an ARCA RE/MAX series race — ran at the speedway on May 4, 2008.

The first major race in nearly four years at the racetrack affectionately known as “The Rock” was won by up-and-coming driver Joey Logano, who had a very short stay in that series before moving on to NASCAR, where he now drives for Joe Gibbs Racing.

It’s been a hectic three years for Hillenburg, who has moved his family to Rockingham, and also established his Fast Track High Performance Driving School at the speedway.

The past three years have seen the return of high-level auto racing to Richmond County, with races in both ARCA and the USAR Series.

In addition, the Frank Kimmell Street Stock Series has ushered in the new year for the past few years, with the new Polar Bear 150 race on New Year’s Day.

According to Hillenburg, the past three years are only a preview of his drive to return racing to The Rock.

“There’s been a little more elbow grease involved in getting the track back operational,” Hillenburg said this week. “But we’re getting there.”

After four years in mothballs, the first order of business has been to get the word out that The Rock is back, Hillenburg said. Hillenburg’s passion for the historic racing venue is very apparent, however, and he tries to share that everywhere he goes to promote The Rock.

Hillenburg is coming to the end of his first three-year business plan, which he said leaned more toward the nuts-anmd-bolts of getting the racetrack back up and running, as well as re-establishing racing and luring fans back to the speedway.

That, Hillenburg said, has been a tough road, because there were a lot of angry race fans when NASCAR left in 2004.

Four years of no racing caused the racetrack to fade from most fans’ minds.

But that’s starting to change, Hillenburg said. With the USAR races in May, as well as the ARCA championship race in October, racing fans are slowly coming back.

Hillenburg wants to start planning three-race weekends, to give racing fans as much value for their ticket as possible. The upcoming USAR event, set for May 14, will see both races run on Saturday. That will give the speedway a Sunday rain date, in case unpredictable spring weather comes into play.

In October, Hillenburg will take a good, hard look at the next three years, and come up with a new three-year plan.

Could the return of NASCAR in some capacity be part of that plan?

Perhaps, Hillenburg said. But for now, he has to plan for a future without NASCAR.

“If NASCAR were to come back, it would have to be a good fit for them,” Hillenburg said. “We need to keep rebuilding our fan base, and show that we can run a race.”

The past three years have seen not just races at the main speedway, but the construction of a half-mile facility called “Little Rock” that is designed to simulate the dimensions of NASCAR’s Martinsville Speedway track. The new facility, in addition to hosting Legends and Bandolero races on its own, also attracts NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers for testing and practice.

Since Rockingham is no longer on the NASCAR schedule, drivers can test here as much as they want.

That, Hillenburg said, keeps the track on NASCAR drivers’ minds, as well as providing some income for the speedway.

What will the next three years bring? Hillenburg plans to stick to the business model, which has been to take small steps in gettng The Rock back in the news and in the national auto racing conversation.

Hillenburg said local officials have been very supportive of his efforts so far.

“I’m very proud of our staff and what we have been able to accomplish here so far,” Hillenburg said.

“But we’re not satisfied.”

Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14 or via email at dvantress@yourdailyjournal.com.