It was at this time every year – give or take a few days – that NASCAR fans and media would descend upon Rockingham Speedway for its fall NASCAR Cup Series race.
To most, the racetrack was better known as “The Rock.” It was a 1.017-mile track that staged 500-mile races, which meant drivers, who often ran at speeds slightly higher than 100 mph, had to complete around 492 laps to run the entire distance.
Of course, that took some time.
Except for Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 600-miler on Memorial Day weekend, many of Rockingham’s races were the longest of any season. They earned their oft-repeated nickname, “The Five Hours of Rockingham.”
That didn’t lessen the speedway’s popularity. When it came to racing, many fans felt they surely got their money’s worth at Rockingham. And there wasn’t a bad seat in the house.
After I joined the Roanoke Times in 1972, one of the first NASCAR races I covered was at Rockingham. Compared to what it became in later years, it was pretty spartan. But then, so were many other speedways at the time.
I enjoyed covering races at Rockingham. True, they sometimes seemed ungodly long but what was more important was the simplicity of gathering news and information.
Like fans and media, drivers also enjoyed races at Rockingham. They liked its short-track challenges on a larger speedway.
Additionally, the spring event followed the Daytona 500 and the fall race was near the end of the season. For most competitors, this meant less pressure.
Gone was the stress of competing in NASCAR’s most well-known and prestigious race in February. In the fall, there was little pressure for any driver not involved in the scrap for the championship – and that was the majority of them.
As a result, competitors were more relaxed and open. Getting interviews wasn’t difficult. Acquiring the answers that make for entertaining, informative stories was easy.
For the media, so was covering a Rockingham race. For them, the track became a favorite.
Years ago, it seemed drivers and the media were closer and more personal than they are today – just one man’s opinion, of course.
At many tracks, news folks and competitors would stay at the same motels (no one owned a motorhome), eat at the same restaurants and share drinks at the same clubs or bars, where they would swap stories that most assuredly would never be printed.
So it was in Rockingham, or, rather, nearby Southern…
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