The new owners of Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina expect racing to return under their business model.

Dan Lovenheim, majority owner of Rockingham Properties LLC, told the Richmond County Daily Journal over the weekend that motorsports is an “integral part” of what he and his co-owners have planned for the soon to be renamed the Rock Entertainment Complex.

"It’s not an ‘either/or,’ it’s an ‘and,’" he said in reference to racing and entertainment. "We’re going to pay tribute to the past with the future."

Lovenheim did not specifically address if NASCAR was under consideration, but the track has previously hosted the ARCA Racing Series and regional Late Model tours.

The Rock Entertainment Complex will be thematically based on the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, located around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The EDC welcomes hundreds of thousands of attendees for weekends of music, art and other live performances alongside carnival rides.

"This is in the process of becoming the largest contiguous event site in the U.S.," he said.

Lovenheim hopes a more encompassing schedule of racing events and entertainment programs will make the facility more economically viable than when it simply hosted a handful of stock events per year.

Rockingham Properties finalized the deal to purchase the track from BK Rock Holdings for $2.8 million on last week. The company does plan to renovate and upgrade the facility in order to become as flexible as intended.

The Richmond County Board of Commissioners issued a joint statement on Friday, celebrating the deal. They see Lovenheim as a savior for the facility and visionary for the prestige of the region.

"This new venture will help strengthen not only Richmond County but regional economies by generating opportunities for local businesses to expand and thrive. We are anticipating a multimillion-dollar impact to our local economy."

The Rock opened in 1965 and hosted NASCAR Cup Series events until the 2004 season. It enjoyed a two-year comeback from 2012-2013, hosting the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series but faced financial difficulties shortly afterward.

Rockingham joins Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville and Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana as famous classic NASCAR facilities that will see some upgrades over the next three years and could be viable enough to earn a date on one of the three national tours by 2021.

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