ROCKINGHAM — Gearing up for its open house this weekend, Richmond County’s legendary racetrack on Wednesday released the itinerary and a previously unannounced guest.
Former car builder and owner Will Cronkite, author of “I Was a NASCAR Redneck,” will join former driver Donnie Allison at Rockingham Speedway for a meet-and-greet from 9:30-11 a.m. Saturday, after the gates open at 9.
Cronkite worked with many racing legends throughout the years, including L.G. DeWitt and Benny Parsons. He also provided cars for Hal Needham’s 1983 film “Stroker Ace,” starring Burt Reynolds as the titular character.
Singer Brandon Hartt, who last month released a video shot at the track for his song “Good Years,” will perform an acoustic concert at noon.
Then at 1 p.m., the FASS Big Rig Series will run exhibition laps around the oval.
The series was at Rockingham last October as part of the Trucks Gone Wild East Coast Truck Jeep and Offroad Festival, with Oklahoman Justin Ball taking the checkered flag.
The FASS series also has a race at the Rock scheduled for Sept. 24.
Motorsport 4the Masses will be offering ride-alongs and leading hot laps for attendees to take their own vehicles on the infamous track. The cost is $35 in advance and $50 the day of the event. The last chance to sign up is 1:30 p.m.
Allison Legacy Racing will have a race on the track’s infield road course starting at 2:30 p.m.
According to the series’ website, this will be the kick-off for its 2022 season, which will also feature: nine races at Florence Motor Speedway; two each at Dillon Motor Speedway and Caraway Speedway; and one each at Carteret Speedway, Southern National Motorsports Park and Orange County Speedway.
Following that will be the M4TheM CARBS Series Happy Hour at 3:30.
The Classic American Racing Barnstormer Series will open at Rockingham Speedway April 23 and close out Oct. 1. M4theM owner Rob Bolling said CARBS events will feature vintage stock cars and include practice laps, qualifying and an exhibition race for “a living history experience.”
Bolling said the CARBS and Allison Legacy drivers will be running test and practice laps off and on throughout the day, adding that the garage will also be open all day for fans to see the old stock cars.
Justin Jones, vice president of operations, previously said there will also be bounce houses, food trucks and track merchandise — including a limited supply of vintage items.
Parking and admission to the open house are free.
Seat Time Racing School will be at the speedway on Sunday, March 6 for its first of five events scheduled for this year.
The Charlotte-based school, founded in 1980 by Buck Baker — NASCAR’s first back-to-back champion — used to hold 20-30 events per year at the speedway, driving instructor Walt Young told the RO last year.
NOTE: This story was updated at 12:37 a.m. 3-3-22.
