Rockingham Speedway, which has recently undergone a $12 million refurbishment, has gone up for sale with CBRE Group.

This comes after The Rock returned to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the first time in over a decade, and the Xfinity Series in more than 20 years. The current owner of the 250+ acre plot, Dan Lovenheim, acquired the property in August 2018 and has worked to develop certain areas of the track to bring it up to standard expected for modern NASCAR racing. 

Rockingham Speedway’s $12 million renovation

According to the sales listing, Rockingham Speedway has had a $12 million renovation, completed ahead of NASCAR’s return in April 2025. Included in these renovations is a repaved main track, which cost $3.3 million, a modernised media center, and improvements to the permanent bleachers to bring them up to the current code. 

Over $10 million of the $12 million invested came from the state government budget. The listing states:

“Between 2022-2025, The Rock was the recipient of over 10M in grants and appropriations from the State of North Carolina. These grants were used to improve the track and the surrounding infrastructure.

“In 2025, The Rock has requested an additional 12M in appropriations from the NC General Assembly for additional track and infrastructure improvements to get The Rock ‘cup ready’ for a potential NASCAR Cup Race in 2026 or 2027.”

Discussing the renovations with The Richmond Observer, Lovenheim explained in 2024:

“Weeds were growing out of the track surfaces, weeds were growing out of every single piece of pavement. The place was overgrown and the water damage from the rain coming off the grandstands nearly rendered this place unusable.

“Luckily we got in and started doing renovations very quickly.”

Jesse Love, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet; Sammy Smith, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Getty Images

He added:

“We’re in the process of creating a new hybridized form of entertainment. Gone are the days of sitting in grandstands like packed sardines. People these days want to go and experience the fun and the amenities, whether it’s experiencing the races from various viewpoints; having some food, maybe a beverage; or even letting their kids play in the bouncy house.”

Rockingham Speedway hits the market

The property is available with an open offering period before the buyer is chosen on July 1. 

During an interview with The Charlotte Observer, Lovenheim explained his reason for selling: 

“We’ve basically taken it in first gear as far as we can go, building it out, getting it ready for bigger and better hands. And the time is right to pass the baton to someone who can take it farther than we can.”

Now, of course, we have to talk about the Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition. A Streamliner with a screen. From afar, it might look like many a mechanical Moser — the distinctive shape of the steel Streamliner case, small Funky Blue fumé dial at 12 o’clock, and bright blue rubber strap are very similar traits to the Alpine Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon released last year. But that’s as far as resemblance goes. Instead of an intricately skeletonized movement with a giant tourbillon, the rest of the dial for this Alpine Mechanics Edition is all black. 

Until you take the watch out of standby mode, when a screen lights up to reveal its hidden digital complications — a GMT function, split seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar, and a “F1 Mode” with countdown functionality and notifications for team alerts. Moser has certainly never produced a smartwatch before, and so it partners with Sequent for this hybrid analogue-digital caliber with a “power reserve” of 12 months for the time indication and “6 Grands Prix” worth of power for the digital display when continuously lit. You’ll need to charge this watch using the included charging cable.

Did the Team Penske fallout in IndyCar prevent a scenario in NASCAR where CEO Jim France would field a car in the Cup Series? According to a new report, that appears to be the case.

Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck of The Athletic have put out an article detailing the potential deal Jim France had set up and the reasons for the fallout. There was reporting last year that France wanted to change the charter agreement to allow his family, who owns NASCAR, to buy into a chartered team.

This deal that Bianchi and Gluck sniffed out would have been an open entry for the Sonoma Raceway Cup Series race later this summer. France was set to work with Spire Motorsports to put Jack Aitken, a 29-year-old IMSA driver, in the race. Aitken races for a France-owned team in the sports car series.

While Bianchi and Gluck report that NASCAR and Jim France declined to comment, Spire Motorsports owner Jeff Dickerson was open about the deal. It apparently didn’t seem like a problem to Dickerson,

“I didn’t really even think it was that big of a deal,” the Spire co-owner said. “I didn’t even think it was that deep.”

The NASCAR garage wants to prevent a Team Penske-IndyCar situation. Given the controversy that plagued that series and the Indianapolis 500 earlier this month, when it was found that Penske had been using illegally modified parts dating back to 2024, it may be for the best.

Between this report from The Athletic and reports from last year about Jim France wanting to buy into a NASCAR charter, it is clear that the CEO wants to get involved in the sport. However, pushback from the garage has stopped those plans, for now.

NASCAR CEO Jim France wants to field a car – why?

This is where we get into the real issues with a privately owned sports league. What happens when the CEO and owner, Jim France, wants to get involved in competition? On top of the obvious conflict of interest, it couldn’t be a worse time to attempt this, as NASCAR and France are knee-deep in a legal battle with two Cup Series organizations.

Bianchi and Gluck reported that the original plan was to field a Hendrick Motorsports car. However, the four-car limit prevents Hendrick from fielding a fifth car, even an open car. Spire Motorsports has a Hendrick alliance and appeared to be the next best thing.

Many NASCAR fans already believe Hendrick is given special consideration. They are seen as the favorite child in the garage. Whether or not that is true, the perception is already there. Now, if the teams were equal partners in the sport, maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal. If there were a Competition Committee like there is in the NFL, the discussion could be had.

Right now, NASCAR is owned directly by Jim France and his family. And there are many objections to how the sport is being run. Attempting to enter the Cup Series as a team owner rightfully raises questions. The garage doesn’t sound like it wants a Penske-IndyCar deal. For now, it isn’t happening. However, France keeps trying to make it happen. After all, it is his world.