Rockingham, the moment of truth.

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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They had a wildly successful inaugural Truck race last season @ Rockingham. Fans came to the track for a great show. Do you think the fans are going to show again this year? I'm thinking while we'll never know the true numbers, since they are not publishing them any longer, but it'll be painfully obvious when we catch glimpses of the stands. I hope I am completely off base and they pack the house and make it another successful weekend there. It'd be great to see them get the Nationwide Series back and eventually the Cup Series. That would certainly make for a great success story. Whatever the outcome; here's a flashback to last year.....

 
I think it would depend on the date they got. Late February and Early November were horrible dates for races in North Carolina. I'd drop a Rockingham Cup race in July, around the area they go to Indy/Chicago/Kentucky. That'd be a real sweet time. Of course, NASCAR scheduling is as political as Senate hearings, so who knows what'll happen.
 
KevinWI said:
I think it would depend on the date they got. Late February and Early November were horrible dates for races in North Carolina. I'd drop a Rockingham Cup race in July, around the area they go to Indy/Chicago/Kentucky. That'd be a real sweet time. Of course, NASCAR scheduling is as political as Senate hearings, so who knows what'll happen.
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Chicago's date got moved to September a few years ago and is now the first Chase race

us short track fans would love to see Rockingham, as well as Iowa, get a Cup date
 
Looks like a very strong field for Sunday. In addition to the usual suspects, Harvick, Logano, and Larson are all entered. Has anyone heard how ticket sales are going?
 
quite a few Cup drivers will be in the nationwide it looks like. But Harvick in the tide ride is the only cup driver so far entered in the truck race. he would have to be a favorite to win at Rockingham. Looks like the team he is running for has good stuff.
 
Young Swindell is entered in Nationwide..I like his sponsor..Carrol Shelby Engines.:) Piquet Jr. had the truck race won last year until a bad last pit, not running at Rockingham, but running Texas in a Nationwide.
 
pjmolo said:
Chicago's date got moved to September a few years ago and is now the first Chase race

us short track fans would love to see Rockingham, as well as Iowa, get a Cup date
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I knew that. Jeez, that's the closest Cup race to me. You'd think I'd remember.

Iowa would be a great cup track.
 
Turner Scott has some hot shoes racing in the trucks at Rockingham, Bringing in James Buescher and Kyle Larson over from Nationwide, to run with full timers Jeb Burton, and Migel Paludo. Logano is running Brad's truck at Rockingham.
 
If I was in NC, I'd be there.
 
StandOnIt said:
quite a few Cup drivers will be in the nationwide it looks like. But Harvick in the tide ride is the only cup driver so far entered in the truck race. he would have to be a favorite to win at Rockingham. Looks like the team he is running for has good stuff.
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Read somewhere that he's not racing the trucks this weekend.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Read somewhere that he's not racing the trucks this weekend.
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I don't know what happened there:

NTS released this statement this morning; "NTS Motorsports prides itself in strong relationships and providing accurate information to sponsors, media and NASCAR. Contrary to what the entry list for Rockingham shows, Kevin Harvick will not be running the #24 truck at Rockingham Speedway nor will NTS Motorsports be bringing the #24 to Rockingham this weekend."
 
KevinWI said:
I think it would depend on the date they got. Late February and Early November were horrible dates for races in North Carolina. I'd drop a Rockingham Cup race in July, around the area they go to Indy/Chicago/Kentucky. That'd be a real sweet time. Of course, NASCAR scheduling is as political as Senate hearings, so who knows what'll happen.
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Take out one of the Pocono races. That'd be the best option I'd think. IMO.. Also, Joey Logano is going to win this race. Just sayin...
 
SlicedBread22 said:
Sure..? lol I'm confident he'll do pretty good but I don't know he hasn't run in trucks much. I do know that he has done a lot of cup and NW testing there and won an ARCA Race in his only other start there. Might not win but I think he's got a pretty good shot at it.
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Just figured we could have a little fun with it. :D Logano wins, you pick an avatar for me that I have to use for a week. Logano doesn't win, I pick one for you.
 
StandOnIt said:
he will be #19 in the trucks, harder to read when he is spinning though
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Yeah between the spinning and the smoke from the burnout it may not be easy to see. I'm sure it'll be more visible when they get the shot of him coming out with the steering wheel in victory lane.
 
I don't know why Harvick would run Rockingham. It's not like he likes the track. He always hated that track and he never ran well there.
 
I wish Kahne was running got to work on his 1.25 average truck finish
 
Looked like they had a solid crowd. Not as good as last years but still an outstanding crowd for a stand-alone Truck race. Hell, that would be a great crowd for the Nationwide Series.
 
No way to find out attendence figures now? Too bad, that would be interesting.
 
Honestly, I don't think Sprint Cup is ever coming back to The Rock. Rockingham is a small town in the middle of nowhere. The nearest Interstate is 74 to the Southeast and 73 to the Northwest. Both of those turn into Highways near Rockingham. The nearest city is Fayetteville.

I love races at The Rock, but Rockingham just doesn't have the infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, etc.) needed for a NASCAR weekend. It doesn't make sense to build hotels and restaurants for one race weekend out of the race year.
 
SpeedPagan said:
Honestly, I don't think Sprint Cup is ever coming back to The Rock. Rockingham is a small town in the middle of nowhere. The nearest Interstate is 74 to the Southeast and 73 to the Northwest. Both of those turn into Highways near Rockingham. The nearest city is Fayetteville.

I love races at The Rock, but Rockingham just doesn't have the infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, etc.) needed for a NASCAR weekend. It doesn't make sense to build hotels and restaurants for one race weekend out of the race year.
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I could see Nationwide there but not Cup.
 
To me , the possibility of further truck races( and /or Nationwide races) , hinges on growing attendance figures . If attendance figures are down this year (even a little) it does not bode well for the future.
 
ted@economy said:
To me , the possibility of further truck races( and /or Nationwide races) , hinges on growing attendance figures . If attendance figures are down this year (even a little) it does not bode well for the future.
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It was noticeably down this year. A quick glance at YouTube will show that. I hope that there were still enough to continue to host the trucks in the future.
 
One thing is for sure, the racing is not an issue. The attendance looked down from last year but still decent for a standalone Truck race with the top two series halfway across the country.
 
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