Bank seeks ‘immediate and exclusive custody’ of Rockingham
The famed NASCAR oval could be facing foreclosure.
Photo by: Dan Hamilton/Vantage Point
Rockingham Speedway, which has been around for nearly half a century, is now caught in the middle of a legal dispute.
The track hosted its final NASCAR Sprint Cup race back in 2004 and the track went silent for a few years after that. In 2007, 1995 ARCA champion Andy Hillenburg purchased the one mile race track in an auction and made it his mission to restore the facility.
Hillenburg and Bill Silas bought the track for four million dollars and proceeded to upgrade it, bringing it back to life. After the addition of SAFER Barriers, NASCAR returned to the 'Rock' in 2012.
NASCAR's Truck division and the regionally run K&N Series ran events there in 2012, but the plug was pulled following the 2013 Truck race, won by Kyle Larson. NASCAR cited that the track 'failed to meet its obligations,' which is why they terminated their agreement.
Legal issues
The Farmers and Merchant Bank claims that the two owners have defaulted on a $4.5 million dollar loan. The courts issued a temporary restraining order against Hillenburg and Silas, preventing them from accessing the property at this time.
The owners are pursuing an agreement that would allow them to sell the speedway at an auction, rather than have it be foreclosed upon. Nonetheless, this is a sad and unfortunate conclusion to a story that had such a promising outlook when Hillenburg first took ownership of the speedway.
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