VIDEO | Echoes of history: Racers test tires at Speedway

ROCKINGHAM — The Rockingham Speedway is special to Timothy Peters. He remembers racing on the infield road course at the track in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and his father raced go-carts on the big track as well.

“Rockingham is still Rockingham, it’s a great race track,” the CARS Tour driver said. “This place is a big part of history. It’s what built NASCAR. It’s so cool to be on it, regardless if it’s with a bicycle or any type of automobile — regardless of the wheels. I’m glad it’s been brought back to life today.”

In early November, the CARS Tour announced the season opener of its annual racing series would be held at Rockingham Speedway on March 6 — about eight years since the last competitive stock car racing event at the track in 2013.

In preparation for the race, several CARS Tour racing teams took turns making runs around the track at Rockingham Speedway to test the track’s surface and see how their tires faired.

CARS Tour owner Jack McNelly said each of the stock cars would run one at a time in 10-lap segments so that the racing teams could monitor the tires and the heat they generate, and to check if there’s any rub between the fender and the wheels. He added that the goal of this “fact-finding exercise” was to figure out which tires would be able to go between 50-70 laps on the track for race day.

“For us, the history of racing at Rockingham is just — to bring cars back here is just amazing for us,” said CARS Tour co-promoter Charlie Hansen. “We think for the people of Richmond County, Rockingham, Hamlet, the surrounding areas it’s a huge economic impact for these guys. They need events at this place to help fuel the economy.”

Hansen said that the feedback from the drivers after their test runs was all positive. Hoosier Racing Tires, the company leading the tests, wasn’t able to determine which tires will work best Tuesday, and will have to come back with harder tires at a later date, according to Hansen.

“Being that the track hasn’t been raced on in seven years, or whatever it’s been, the track is really, really abrasive right now,” Hansen said. “As far as the facility and the track itself, (the drivers) are all excited about it.”

McNelly is no stranger to the Speedway. A NASCAR Nationwide Series (now known as the Xfinity Series) racing team that he owned ran in a race at the Speedway in 2003, according to McNelly.

The nostalgia of being back at the track again hit him as soon as he arrived in the pit area.

“I just look around and I remember how it used to be,” McNelly said. “Maybe with any kind of luck — we may not get it back to the way it was, but at least we’ll bring some life back to her.”

Work has already begun to restore parts of the track back to be able to host a racing event. Logos and insignias have been repainted along the outside barrier of the track. McNelly said that the track itself is still “remarkably” in great shape, also noting that the aluminum grandstands are also in great shape with the exception of the grandstands on turns one and two.

Co-promoter Mike Stodder said the grandstand on turns one and two currently has structural problems, so they plan to open the main front grandstand when they have the races in March. He adds that grandstand still has plenty of space to allow for COVID-19 social distancing for spectators. All of the work that needs to be done to make the venue ready for March is “small,” “cosmetic” stuff, that includes things like weed eating and cleaning up bathrooms, Stodder said.

“The track, remarkably, is in great shape — the surface. It just needs some TLC,” McNelly said. “I was walking in the press box and the suite areas and remarkably the suites are in great shape — great shape. So all-in-all you’ve got some buildings that are in pretty bad shape but certainly nothing that’s going to stop us from racing.”

There will be open practices at the track for any team that wants to participate on Jan. 23 and Feb. 20. These events will be much larger scale, with as many as 30 cars running laps throughout the day.