Rockingham Dragway Switches To NHRA Sanction For 2015 Season – Track Had Long And Illustrious IHRA Run


Rockingham Dragway Switches To NHRA Sanction For 2015 Season – Track Had Long And Illustrious IHRA Run

After a long stint operating under the IHRA sanction, historic Rockingham Dragway will open the 2015 season as an NHRA track according to news reports from the NHRA and various other sources. We were a little surprised by this news because Rockingham has been one of the cornerstone tracks for the IHRA since the late 1990s and this is a big shift for track owner Steve Earwood who has never been afraid to do the right thing for his business. Rockingham Dragway has had an interesting history. Early in its life the track was the center of a big dustup between Larry Carrier and AHRA President Jim Tice. That legal battle over Rockingham is basically what spurred Carrier to start the IHRA to compete with Tice and the NHRA. This was long before Earwood’s time as he took possession of the track in the early 1990s but it is an interesting part of the track’s history and the various ties to sanctioning bodies it has had over the years. Another Rockingham related sanctioning body series came up a few short years ago during the salad days of the ADRL. There was some talk of the ADRL actually considering sanctioning race tracks and Rockingham found itself right in the center of that. Was there ever a plan to sanction tracks with the ADRL name? We’re guessing probably not. Did it get a ton of attention and massive buzz for the facility? You’re damned right it did.

The first IHRA national event I announced was at Rockingham more than a decade ago now. My first impression of the place was formed by the tall fence that runs the length of the track on the left hand side. I asked one of the IHRA guys is that fence was to keep us in or the people in the stands out. He didn’t know. Rockingham was the scene of the cool Winston Invitational NHRA race back in the day which was an all-star style event with big cash payouts that dwarfed the other national events at the time. Steve Earwood worked for NHRA in a media capacity during the golden years so he knows how to promote, build excitement, and get a crowd. To once again reference the ADRL, Rockingham Dragway kind of served as the “canary in the coal mine” for that organization because when things were good, Rockingham would be blown out with people. When things slowed down the crowds showed it and it was not soon after that the whole ADRL operation smashed into the financial rocks.

We feel that this switch lands a blow to the IHRA, which has been adding tracks left, right, and center as of late. It was one of their biggest tracks and it could certainly be considered a “legacy” facility in today’s world of near constant upheaval. There’s no question that when people think of Rockingham, they think IHRA. After the announcement that was just made, they’d be thinking wrong.

Here’s the statement from Rockingham Dragway:

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Nov. 6, 2014) – Rockingham Dragway, one of the most iconic drag racing facilities in the country, will operate under the sanction of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) beginning Jan. 1, and will host one of the Southeast Division races in that organization’s Lucas Oil Series, Track Owner Steve Earwood announced today.

“I think it is the right thing to do for our racers and our track at this time,” Earwood said. “I take great pride in what we achieved during our association with the IHRA and I wish Jason Rittenberry and his people nothing but continued success moving forward.

“However, we think the timing is right to host one of the NHRA’s Southeast Division Lucas Oil Racing Series events,” Earwood said. “Many of our Carolina Sportsman racers are tied to construction in some manner, whether they be contractors, electricians, or carpenters, and we have learned that with the uptick in the economy, particularly in the North Carolina housing industry, more and more racers are back competing for NHRA Divisional titles.

“The NHRA Sportsman program historically has been the very foundation of drag racing,” Earwood said, “and we believe it is trending upward right now.”

“I’m sure Sportsman racers throughout the Southeast are thrilled by this announcement,” said NHRA Division Director Rich Schaefer, “because it gives them a chance to race at a great facility with lots of heritage.”

Earwood added, “I got hooked on NHRA drag racing reading Wally Parks’ column in Hot Rod when I was 13 years old. Plus, I was NHRA’s public relations director during one of the most exciting times in the sport’s history (1975-1982). As a result, the NHRA has been a big part of my professional and personal life.”

Rockingham Dragway also has an NHRA past. From 1989 through 1998, it hosted the biggest NHRA event outside of the national championship series. That race, the NHRA Winston Invitational, paid a bigger pro purse than the national events which is why the list of past champions includes drivers like John Force, Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, Joe Amato and Connie Kalitta.

When it was built in 1971, The Rock was a drag racing showplace, one of the first of a new breed of racing-specific tracks that slowly began to replace facilities that were built around abandoned airstrips with runways that provided ready-made racing surfaces.

Initially sanctioned by the now inoperative American Hot Rod Association, it became one of the anchors of the newly-founded IHRA and operated as an IHRA flagship from 1972 until 1989 when it became the new home of the NHRA Winston Invitational.

Earwood, one-time co-owner and general manager of Atlanta Dragway as well as NHRA’s PR head, bought the track in 1992 and transformed the Invitational into one of the most popular events in the sport.

When the NHRA opted in 1999 to move the race from Rockingham to Bristol, Tenn., Earwood decided to return the track to IHRA sanction and, for 10 seasons, it played host to two events in the IHRA series including the season-ending World Finals.

“We get an enormous amount of satisfaction from doing what we think is right for our racers and fans,” Earwood said. “Rockingham has been successful with the AHRA, the NHRA and the IHRA and we’re anxious to get started on an exciting new chapter in our history with the world’s top drag racing sanctioning body, the NHRA.”

rockingham1

 


  • Share This
  • Pinterest
  • 0

2 thoughts on “Rockingham Dragway Switches To NHRA Sanction For 2015 Season – Track Had Long And Illustrious IHRA Run

  1. Russell

    Brian does this mean you will be at the Rock? Let me know if you are going to be the tower I will try to ride down.

Comments are closed.