If you've ever wante to own a small piece of Nascar history, National Auction Group, Inc. will be selling "The Rock" at absolute auction at a future date.
It would be a great place to hold rallies, bus races, ( I had to get the bus angle in here), or just tear down and sell piece by piece like the Berlin wall.
The Blurb from the National Auction Group Website:
Absolute Auction
"THE ROCK"
North Carolina Speedway
Rockingham, North Carolina
Date: TBA
World Famous 1.017 Mile Oval Race Track on 244± Acres. One of NASCAR'S most revered Race Tracks from 1965 to 2004, "The Rock" will be Sold Regardless of Price.
http://www.national-auction.com/default.aspx?id=21 (http://www.national-auction.com/default.aspx?id=21)
I saw Dale Earnhart race there once. Short track, but fun to watch. Said to see such an icon of NASCAR History going, going, gone. Rockingham will never be the same. All of this because they thought that because of its age, and needing other races in other parts of the country, that they thought to shut it down.
Progress I guess!
Paul
Unfotunately, the two yearly races in Rokingham provided +50% of the economy for the county.
Then Nascar decided, in it's infinite wisdom, that the Rock wasn't a large enough venue and that they could make more money by moving one race to California. Then they decided to take the second race and killed any chance of the area joining the 21st century.
The Owners, in an effort to keep at least one race ploughed millions of dollars into upgrades and remodelling to no avail.
The Rock is no more.
Next was the Lady in Black... Darlington Raceway in Darlington, SC.
Of the two races that use to be there, one is already gone and the second one is scheduled to be taken away also. Before long, Darlington will go the way of Rockingham, and after that, you can look for other tracks like Talledega and Daytona to lose what they have.
Nascar seems to have forgotten it's roots stem from the boot leggers of the 20's and 30's. When 239CID Ford Flathead V-8's were top dog and putting 3 Stromberg Carbs on top of a offy manifold would put you in the running for a trophy.
Now it takes millions in R&D just to field a car with no potential to win for years. The little guy doesn't have a chance on anything but the small dirt tracks around the country anymore.
I hope someone can do something to bring back some of the fun of racing for racing's sake. It sure as heck won't be NASCAR.
OK, I'm off my box of Tide now. Back to your regularly sheduled bussing.
Dallas
Dallas you can bet that Talledega and Daytona will not lose any races as they are owned by the France family or NASCAR.
I grew up 15 minutes north of the Rockingham Speedway and then lived for years about 15 minutes south of it. I am not a race fan but it really hurts to see that track being sold. One of the reasons for doing away with the races there is so that more people can attend races. Odd thing is.....the races at Rockingham were always sold out and the race that replaced it doesn't have that distinction. Too bad the people that own the dragstrip across from "The Rock" can't use it. The tax books in Rockingham say the track is valued at $30 million. Wonder how much it will bring
Quote from: bubbaqgal on June 23, 2007, 12:25:42 PM
The tax books in Rockingham say the track is valued at $30 million. Wonder how much it will bring?
The tax books said it was worth $30 million while it was in operation, and had races there! It's only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it, no matter what kinda price someone assumes it's worth! FWIW BK ;D