COLUMN: Rockingham Speedway's Return Was a Smashing Success

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

Rockingham Speedway is officially back. The iconic venue hosted its first NASCAR National Series race weekend since the 2013 season last weekend, and as someone who started following the sport as a fan in the early 1990s, this weekend served as one of the greatest moments of nostalgia for me.

I'll admit, going into the weekend, I was skeptical of how the on-track product would play out as the track had a freshly paved surface. And I wasn't alone. Most of the drivers in the field for the NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races indicated they expected passing to be nearly impossible, but that they cautiously hoped the surface would widen out throughout the weekend.

Boy, did it ever widen out.

The weekend resulted in some incredible on-track action, and at the end of Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the field had recorded the third-highest total of lead changes (17) of the 10 races contested so far this season.

Rockingham Speedway played host to thrills as Tyler Ankrum stretched his fuel tank further than anyone imagined to end a 130-race NASCAR Truck Series losing streak, and spills as several on-track incidents led to some raucous reactions from the crowd in attendance. Overall, Rockingham Speedway's return was a smashing success.

Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series/ARCA Menards Series East double-header race day was held in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 20,000 spectators, and the audience that made the trek to Rockingham for Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event was very, very healthy as well.

The track had great energy all weekend, and Track Enterprises really navigated the weekend as well as could be expected, and in the months leading up to the race, the company did everything in its power to make sure the necessities were all in working order for the race weekend.

The obvious success was apparently able to shine through the television broadcast, and many fans viewing the race from afar on social media expressed their desire for the NASCAR Cup Series to make its first trip to Rockingham Speedway since the 2004 season.

It's hard to argue against a NASCAR Cup Series return to Rockingham after the racing we were treated to over the Easter Weekend, however, there are some infrastructure hurdles that likely persist. For instance, Rockingham Speedway has SAFER barriers nearly all the way around the facility, but the facility lacks a SAFER barrier on the outside wall on the frontstretch of the 0.941-mile speedway.

The exposed concrete wall would likely need to be addressed in order to host a NASCAR Cup Series event.

There are also currently space limitations within the media center and other areas around the facility, which could stand to be upgraded, but at the end of the day, the track presented itself well on Friday and Saturday, and Track Enterprises should be commended for how the Rockingham Speedway return weekend went. Honestly, had I not known the track had been lying dormant for 12 years heading into the race weekend, I would have never guessed.