Carolina 500 Returns to Rockingham Speedway
Andy Hillenburg announced on Friday that racing will return to “The Rock” next year as ARCA comes to town on May 4th.
“The Carolina 500 is going to be a cornerstone event for the ARCA schedule,” said Hillenburg, the 1995 ARCA champion who became the speedway’s new owner on Oct. 31. “It’s going to be the longest race in the series and carry the richest purse. It also will have the largest field with 50 cars.”
The ARCA race carries the same name as the inaugural NASCAR Grand National race back in 1965 which was won by Curtis Turner. Practice for the 312-lap race will be May 2 with qualifying set for May 3. The green flag will drop at noon on the 4th.
Personally, I’m really glad to see racing back at the Rock. It was always one of my favorite tracks to watch. I am a little confused about the name. It’s a 1 mile track. It’s a 312 lap race. It’s called the Carolina 500. Shouldn’t they be running 500 laps, or call it the Carolina 312. It’s too late to do the math but maybe it’s 500 kilometers.
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