NASCAR and Local Racing
NASCAR races were held at North Carolina Speedway, a 1-mile oval near Rockingham, from 1965-2004. The track, now known as Rockingham Speedway, reopened in May 2008 with a race sanctioned by the Auto Racing Club of America and will host the USAR Hooters Pro Cup championship finale Nov. 1. NASCAR events are held within a few hours' drive at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte (May and October) and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (May).
loser to home, there's plenty to go around. Stock cars race on dirt from mid-March to early October on Friday nights in Dublin and on Saturdays at Fayetteville, Shannon, and Lake View, S.C., while asphalt action takes place in Raleigh, Kenly and Dillon, S.C. Dragstrips are located in Fayetteville, Harrells, Benson and Rockingham, the last of which hosts two International Hot Rod Association national meets annually. Go-kart events take place in Tar Heel, motocross tracks are located outside Sanford and Raeford, and lawn mowers -- yes, lawn mowers -- compete at a dirt track operated by the Lions Club in Ellerbe.