Rockingham Loses Its Big Race, Again
NASCAR's Truck Series won't be back to the track in 2014

“We’ve got a number of issues that have to be resolved before we can host races again,” Hillenburg told The Observer on Thursday. “These issues have been mounting over the last two to three years.
“I’m not giving up on this. My plan is to keep doing it. I want it and NASCAR wants it and I’m determined to have it continue.”
Hillenburg apparently didn't elaborate on what those issues might be, but NASCAR had already canceled another even earlier this year, a K&N Pro Series East event, saying the track hadn't met financial obligations.
It's become fashionable to say the problem with NASCAR is that it grew too big too fast, and expanded away from its regional roots in the south to larger, more metropolitan markets that weren't as race crazy. That's partly the reason why Rockingham lost its cup race in 2004, when Bruton Smith ended up with the track and moved its only race to Texas. But now that NASCAR has returned and left again, it's apparent that a race in a place so rich in history might need more than nostalgia and hard work to succeed.
You can read more about that 2012 Truck Series race in my Charlotte magazine story: "Searching for the Soul of Stock Car Racing"
(Photo by Mark Sluder for Charlotte Magazine)