"The Rock: a North Carolina oval that hosted the NASCAR Cup Series from 1965 to 2004, came back to NASCAR in 2025, and gave William Sawalich his first O'Reilly Series win in 2026."
Location: Rockingham, North Carolina Track Type: Paved oval Length: 0.94 miles Surface: Asphalt Nickname: The Rock First NASCAR Cup Series Race: October 31, 1965 Most Recent NASCAR Cup Series Race: 2004 NASCAR Return: April 2025 (NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series)
Quick Answers
How big is Rockingham Speedway? NASCAR's official 2026 race results list the oval at 0.94 miles.
Where is Rockingham Speedway? In Rockingham, North Carolina.
Does the Cup Series race at Rockingham? Not since 2004. The first Cup Series race at the track was held on October 31, 1965.
When did NASCAR come back to Rockingham? In April 2025, when the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR's two national series below the Cup Series, returned.
Who won at Rockingham in 2026? Corey Heim won the Truck Series race on April 3, and William Sawalich won the O'Reilly Series race on April 4 for his first career series win.
Does NASCAR race at Rockingham in 2027? Not in its three national series. Rockingham does not appear on the 2027 Cup Series, O'Reilly Series or Truck Series schedules NASCAR announced on August 26, 2026.
Rockingham Speedway Schedule: 2027 NASCAR Dates
Rockingham is not on NASCAR's 2027 national series schedules. The most recent NASCAR weekend at the track was April 3 and 4, 2026, with the results below. Check nascar.com for future schedule announcements.
Overview
Rockingham Speedway, known as "The Rock," is a paved oval in Rockingham, North Carolina. NASCAR's 2026 race results list it at 0.94 miles.
The track hosted the NASCAR Cup Series from 1965 through 2004. After that, NASCAR's national series stayed away until April 2025, when the O'Reilly Series and the Truck Series returned. Both series raced there again on the first weekend of April 2026: the Truck Series on Friday, April 3, and the O'Reilly Series on Saturday, April 4.
The 2026 O'Reilly race showed how quickly a long run can turn at The Rock. Corey Day led 118 laps, all of them before Lap 125, and won both stages, the scored segments that split each race, but finished 10th. Brent Crews, days after turning 18, led 30 laps before a tire problem dropped him to 26th, and William Sawalich took the lead for good on Lap 172 of 250 and won.
History
The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Rockingham was held on Halloween, October 31, 1965. The Cup Series raced there until 2004, when it left the track.
For more than two decades after that, the track hosted no NASCAR national series races. NASCAR's O'Reilly Series and Truck Series returned for a race weekend in April 2025 and came back for a second straight year in April 2026.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1965 | First NASCAR Cup Series race, October 31 |
| 2004 | Last NASCAR Cup Series race at the track |
| 2025 | O'Reilly Series and Truck Series return in April |
| 2026 | Corey Heim wins the Truck race April 3; William Sawalich wins the O'Reilly race April 4 for his first series win |
| 2027 | Not on NASCAR's national series schedules |
Key Drivers
William Sawalich, winner of the 2026 O'Reilly Series race, his first career win in the series. He started 14th and led 80 laps in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Corey Heim, winner of the 2026 Truck Series race.
Corey Day, who won his first career O'Reilly Series pole at Rockingham in 2026, swept both stages and led 118 laps.
Brent Crews, who led 30 laps in the 2026 O'Reilly race days after turning 18 before a tire problem ended his run at the front.
2026 at Rockingham Speedway
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Black's Tire 200 (Friday, April 3): Corey Heim won the 200-lap race. Chandler Smith finished fourth on the track but was disqualified after post-race inspection found his truck's rear body height outside the rules, and he was scored last.
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, North Carolina Education Lottery 250 (Saturday, April 4): William Sawalich won from the 14th starting spot, taking the lead from Brent Crews on Lap 172 of 250 and beating Brandon Jones by 0.863 seconds. It was Sawalich's first career O'Reilly Series win. Pole winner Corey Day led 118 laps and won both stages but finished 10th. Crews led 30 laps and finished 26th after a tire problem.