The NASCAR Cup Series will not take on Rockingham Speedway this season, but that is not stopping Michael McDowell from celebrating the iconic track's return.
The Spire Motorsports driver will head to Martinsville Speedway this weekend with a special scheme on his No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro. This black-and-white scheme will feature The Rock logo on the hood and text listing April 18-19, the dates of the Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series races.
This race weekend will mark the first time in more than a decade that NASCAR competitors will race at the track made famous by Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, Mark Martin, and countless other icons from racing history.
Photo credit: Spire Motorsports
The Rock's return will also continue a trend of NASCAR bringing back classic venues. This includes the revival of North Wilkesboro Speedway for the All-Star Race and the return to Bowman Gray Stadium for the Clash.
"If you look at the revival of North Wilkesboro with the new asphalt but still a legendary and historic feel, Rockingham is no different." McDowell said in a press release.
"It's going to be a great Easter weekend, April 18-19, and tickets are still available. I'm going to be there with my family. It's going to be a lot of fun and I know the racing will not disappoint."
The race weekend at Rockingham Speedway will be the lone off-week for Cup Series competitors, so the expectation is that they will not take part in the festivities from a competition standpoint. Instead, many will watch as the next generation of drivers attempt to join a historic list of winners.
Some current competitors have raced at the 1-mile paved track. 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson won the final Truck race at Rockingham back in 2013. He beat such names as Joey Logano, Jeb Burton, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, and Matt Crafton to lock up this win.
Kasey Kahne, who reutrns to NASCAR for the Xfinity race at Rockingham, won the Truck Series race in 2012. Like Larson, he beat Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Burton, and Ron Hornaday Jr., among many other drivers.
"Rockingham is a historic and iconic racetrack," McDowell said. "Even though I haven't raced at it, I did a lot of testing there. When you're a rookie in the Cup Series in 2008, you did a lot of testing, and Rockingham was one of those places.
"So, I have a lot of laps there - not racing - but a lot of laps. Rockingham is a great racetrack, iconic and historic, and it shows NASCAR's continued effort to get back to its roots."