ROCKINGHAM, N.C., May 21 (UPI) -- The North Carolina Speedway, for decades one of the foremost stops on the NASCAR circuit, may be in its final season of major stock car racing.
NASCAR plans to abandon the historic Rockingham track, known simply as The Rock, in its push to build a national following, the New York Times reported Friday.
North Carolina Speedway, which has held NASCAR races since 1965, will no longer be host to a Nextel Cup event after this season. The date was transferred to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
So, the Rock -- and there really is a rock, an 8-foot-tall monument emblazoned with names of legends Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough -- will go the way of other events in North Carolina, once the cradle of the sport with 21 races every year.
Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, which hosts three races, is the only one in the state still on the NASCAR circuit.
