Cameron Bebeau

Less than a month after the announcement of Fayetteville Motor Speedway’s upcoming closure, the Fayetteville racing scene faces yet another blow – Rockfish Speedway, located in the Raeford/Hope Mills area, has suspended operations effective immediately.

As both a reporter and a race fan, I can’t say I’m surprised. When I interviewed people familiar with the local racing scene for my early story on Fayetteville Motor Speedway, I could sense uncertainty in their voices. When you factor in declining attendance, a struggling economy, and plans for highway development that, as the owner said, would’ve cut right through the property, it makes sense.

That doesn’t make it sting any less though.

I’m not from North Carolina, but I grew up around racing. I remember summer nights at Tri- City Motor Speedway, a clay oval in Auburn, Michigan. My grandfather would take me and my siblings to the track, about a 30-minute drive from where we lived, to watch demolition derbies, monster trucks, and anything I thought sounded cool. As a kid, I dreamed of one day racing “bomber stocks” there, the kind of street cars that have been transformed into actual racecars.

That’s why these two closures hit so hard. Racing isn’t just a pastime; it’s a family bond. I think about the parents and grandparents here in North Carolina who would load up their kids and make that same 30-minute drive to one of these two tracks. When the tracks disappear, so can the memories.

What’s more concerning is what these closures signal for the future of grassroots racing in the region. Local tracks, such as Fayetteville and Rockfish, aren’t just Saturday-night entertainment: they’re where the next generation of great drivers, mechanics and fans are born. They’re affordable, welcoming spaces that keep the sport accessible to the everyday person. When those spaces vanish, so does one of motorsports’ most important pipelines. Not everyone can – or wants to – start with touring series like NASCAR or IndyCar. Big- league racing is tough, loud, chaotic, and expensive. Local short tracks are where curiosity is turned into passion, just like it did for me.

There’s also a real-world consequence. With fewer sanctioned venues, young drivers looking for an adrenaline rush may turn to public roads instead. Rockfish promoter Bill Dolbier said it best, saying he was proud to have kept some local kids “out of trouble” for as long as he did. I know not everyone will feel this loss. For some, a track’s closure might just mean one less noise on a Saturday night. But for those who grew up around the sport – or found family through it – it’s much deeper than that.

If you’ve never been to a local race, go while you still can. FMS’ final event, the Michael Freeman Memorial Race, will be held on November 29. Even if you don’t consider yourself a racing fan, you might be surprised by what you find.

Image by Marcelo Henrique Dias Abreu from Pixabay. 

Originally Published at: https://www.fsuthevoice.com/thoughts-on-rockfish-speedways-closure/