NASCAR President Breaks Silence on Cup Series Return to Rockingham
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Following the huge success of NASCAR's Easter weekend at Rockingham Speedway, NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell has teased a possible Cup Series return to the North Carolina track.
The doubleheader saw both the Xfinity and Truck Series return to the iconic track, 'The Rock,' after several years, and this saw tremendous ticket sales and a fanfare response. With this, questions were of course being asked about a Cup Series return.
O'Donnell, only recently promoted to the role of NASCAR president, is enthusiastic about the sport's return after "an unbelievable turnout." He however confirmed to The Charlotte Observer that he'd like to keep it to just Xfinity and Trucks for now while bringing in more Cup Series drivers, but "you never know what the future holds beyond that."
These comments are carefully worded, hinting at a potential Cup Series return if the hype around the 0.94-mile track is sustained. It hasn't been since 2004 that the track has hosted the series.
Jesse Love, driver of the #2 Whelen Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black's Tire at Rockingham Speedway on April 19, 2025 in...
Jesse Love, driver of the #2 Whelen Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black's Tire at Rockingham Speedway on April 19, 2025 in Rockingham, North Carolina. MoreEaster weekend saw a sellout crowd of 25,000 fans on the Saturday and 16,000 on the Friday. Tyler Ankrum won the Truck Series race, but drama surrounding Jesse Love saw his car being disqualified following the Xfinity Series race, making Sammy Smith the eventual winner of the North Carolina Education Lottery 250. The race saw 17 lead changes between eight drivers.
Talking to the media following the race, Ankrum said the following to the media:
"It's really, really cool. When we get to bring back these old tracks, it's really, really cool. You can tell the fans are really excited. Even on pit road, the fans are going crazy all the time, and they're talking so loudly you can hear 'em from pit road."
"You kind of get the feeling of what I imagine as a kid what Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon felt like. They're here for us - they're not here for the Cup guys. It's really, really cool to see racing like this come back to North Carolina..."
Kasey Kahne added: "I think a Cup event would be fantastic here. I used to enjoy watching it and being a part of it the one year I was.
"It could make a great race."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
NASCAR's Viewership Reveals Worrying Trend For American Stock Car Racing
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. NASCAR viewership numbers from last weekend's race at Richmond Raceway reveal a worrying trend, as it was the fourth-lowest since 2020. The sport averaged 1.39 million viewers for the Cup Series race on Saturday night, a departure from the traditional Sunday race format that may have contributed to the drop in viewers. A report states that compared to the race at Richmond last year, which attracted 2.22 million viewers, the viewership has dropped by 38%. Richmond marked the year's second-to-last race, which experienced a 60% drop from last year's penultimate round at Daytona International Speedway. This, despite NASCAR not clashing with any other form of motorsport on the same weekend. The 2025 NASCAR regular season averages 2.64 million viewers, the lowest regular season average ever recorded. NASCAR's popularity peaked in the early 2000s, but fell significantly after the 2008 economic crisis. NASCAR veteran Kyle Busch has acknowledged a decrease in the sport's popularity by pointing to the drop in audience numbers at race venues. Newsweek Sports reported his comments: "I think it's a culture problem, and I say that in regard to the world culture. In the '80s and '90s, you had a bunch of Hot Rod guys who were cool with souping up their 1970s, 1980s street rods. A lot of those guys are aged out. A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on August 16, 2025 in Richmond, Virginia. A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on August 16, 2025 in Richmond, Virginia."I just think the problem we're running into is there's not a lot of race fans anymore. People would always bring their kids to the track, but now there are just so many other things people can do otherwise. Going to the lake, taking your kids to a bounce house. "No offense, but we just stood outside, right? It's 90-something degrees outside. Who wants to sit in metal bleachers under the sun for three hours? If you're out there, God bless you. More power to you. I appreciate that. We need to do more for those people who are here and who give us their time and their money. But you're not going to find me out there." NASCAR partnered with Netflix for two seasons of the NASCAR: Full Speed docuseries in an attempt to increase fan following, with Season 2 having been released in May 2025. Rumors also suggest that a Days of Thunder sequel is in the pipeline, starring Tom Cruise, which could help boost NASCAR's popularity. However, the extent of its effects on the sport's viewership is difficult to predict. Related: Kyle Larson Blames Talladega Nights For Making NASCAR a 'Joke'
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Denny Hamlin Drops Surprising Verdict on Richmond NASCAR Cup Series Race
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin revealed that Richmond Raceway produced some great racing last weekend on a short track that is otherwise difficult to pass on. He also praised the Goodyear tires that showed signs of wear and contributed to the exciting racing spectacle. Hamlin stressed that the quality of racing at Richmond hadn't been witnessed for many years, and thus, it was expected to be a "boring" race. However, the race impressed him greatly, leading him to give due credit to the tires for making such a big difference. Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin said: "It was good to see a great short-track race. Some great tire fall-off. Thank you Goodyear, for bringing a tire that had over two to two-and-a-half seconds of fall-off. Fantastic. Richmond was kind of one of the very first short-tracks that was getting the, 'Oh man, this is kind of boring' type-feel, right? It's good to see that the tires do matter. "I think the fans on TV and in the stands, they got to see drivers make moves and pass. ... I thought it was a good race. I can speak about this, because I participate in the race. I drive the cars. I know how difficult it is to pass during this race versus the previous, versus the previous, versus 10 years ago, versus 20 years ago. I know because I did it." Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Bob's Discount Furniture Toyota, walks the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway on August 02, 2025 in Newton,... Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Bob's Discount Furniture Toyota, walks the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway on August 02, 2025 in Newton, Iowa. MoreHamlin then compared the race to last year's round, highlighting the vast difference between the two events, all because of the tires. He added: "This was more like — I don't wanna overstep here, but a Generation Five Cup car. After about 15, 20 laps, you could make passes on people. The speed started to separate enough to create the passes. "When they had the harder tire last year, you had to sit behind somebody for 30 to 40 laps, and then hell, you're going to be pitting in 15 laps. So, the window of passes was really, really small last year. If you look at the lines, the ranks and positions, everyone just is stagnant." He added: "Then right before the pit, there's some changing of positions, and then people start pitting. This one was more stagnant at the beginning to be expected. Everyone had a lot of grip, because the tires had a lot of grip. Then, all of a sudden, people start passing. It's like, that's what we wanted to see." The 44-year-old driver revealed that this tire could be made NASCAR's official short-track tire, which would be a "good thing" for the sport. He said: "That puts it back into the driver's hands, and hopefully this is something that — this will be our Loudon tire, as well. Something to look forward to there. It seems like they're trying to make this our standard short-track tire. "I believe it's the same as Martinsville. Now Richmond, Loudon. I'm sure there's another in there. But we've softened up the tires. It's really a good thing."
NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- NBC Sports
The best NASCAR Playoff bubble-busting wins
Look back on the most thrilling NASCAR wins that propelled racers into the NASCAR Playoffs.
