Carson Hocevar unintentionally announced that NASCAR would be returning to Rockingham Speedway, a 0.94-mile oval located in Rockingham, North Carolina, where NASCAR had not held races since 2013. This revelation came before NASCAR had made any public announcements about the track’s comeback in the 2025 season, highlighting how the driver’s comments stirred early excitement about the event.
Hocevar had frequently expressed interest in seeing NASCAR races return to Rockingham Speedway, which had hosted NASCAR Truck Series events until its 2013 hiatus. When he mentioned the track’s return during a stream, it quickly sparked wide discussion across the racing community.
Have I heard anything about next year’s schedule? Rockingham’s coming back. Really cool,
Hocevar said, confirming the news before NASCAR’s official introduction of the Xfinity and Truck Series events scheduled there for 2025.
NASCAR Responds to Hocevar’s Premature Disclosure
The early leak did not sit well with NASCAR officials, who promptly contacted Hocevar’s team after the unexpected disclosure. Reflecting on the incident, Hocevar acknowledged how the situation unfolded unexpectedly and caught him off guard.
I leaked Rockingham. Like, full-blown leaked it. But, I didn’t know it. I had no idea,
Hocevar admitted this week while discussing the leak from the previous year.
He explained how he casually mentioned the comeback as a joke without any inside knowledge, only to receive a call from NASCAR questioning how he knew the information.
“I just picked something that I thought would be cool, for like, a joke. And I showed up at the shop, NASCAR called my team and was like, ‘What and the hell are you doing?!’ I’m just like, ‘What? I don’t know what you mean.’”
I had no idea. I just pulled this out of thin air. There wasn’t a rumor, there wasn’t anything.
When asked how he had known about the return, Hocevar responded with surprise.
You wanna know the people bringing Rockingham back? Track Enterprises. Wanna know who owns track enterprises? Spire Motorsports!
As a driver for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series, Hocevar’s association with the team linked him indirectly to the Rockingham Speedway revival effort. However, to clarify, Rockingham Properties LLC, led by Dan Lovenheim, owns the track itself, while Track Enterprises holds a rental agreement facilitating the NASCAR races’ return.
Hocevar humorously noted,
So, I lost some plausible deniability.
Current Status of Rockingham Speedway and Future Prospects
Despite the excitement surrounding NASCAR’s upcoming events at Rockingham Speedway, the venue itself has been listed for sale once again. This development adds a layer of uncertainty about the long-term plans for the historic North Carolina track, even as the 2025 NASCAR season promises renewed action there.
With the return of high-profile races at Rockingham, fans and industry insiders will be watching closely to see how this revival influences NASCAR’s footprint in the region and whether the track’s ownership and operational challenges can be resolved to support sustained competition.