ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Board of Commissioners, in a split vote, approved a grant payment of $375,000 to a vendor for Rockingham Speedway during a special meeting Thursday at the Richmond County Airport.
The money will be going directly to the company that installed the SAFER barriers at the track prior to the NASCAR races this past April, according to county leaders.
Three commissioners — Jamie Gathings, Justin Dawkins and Jason Gainey — voted against the measure.
Dawkins said his biggest issue was “the process” in which the situation was handled — which included Chairman Dr. Rick Watkins signing an agreement over the weekend on behalf of the board.
Watkins said the county was aware of ongoing negotiations between Rockingham Properties and Track Enterprises regarding the sale of the track.
“Due to the current financial standing of Rockingham Properties, NASCAR would not allow the current ownership to sign the race-ready guarantee, and such would become the responsibility of the proposed purchaser,” Watkins said.
“So while Track Enterprises agreed to pick up other outstanding expenses incurred and unpaid…the county was asked to assist in this effort by covering the cost of the SAFER barriers with a direct vendor payment.”
After polling the other board members by phone, Watkins said he "conditionally authorized” the financial commitment from the county until the board could meet for a vote.
“While there might be some risk and frustrations with that, there was a guarantee: … a lack of quick action on our part would result in losing the race at Rockingham,” Watkins said.
The chairman added that NASCAR delayed releasing the schedule for the O’Reilly Auto Parts (currently Xfinity), Craftsman Truck and Arca series to allow the parties to reach an agreement.
“Without our involvement … in moving the deal forward, the April race would be moved to another venue,” Watkins said.
That schedule was released Wednesday, with the Rock slated to host races April 3-4, 2026.
Watkins said the action on Saturday saved NASCAR racing at the track next spring “and in the future, because NASCAR has expressed a real commitment to Rockingham and I believe that there exists an opportunity for a Cup race in the very near future.”
The chairman said the county has helped local industries in the past and is doing so currently — including the incentives package approved earlier this year for Amazon.
Watkins went on to point out that this year’s race resulted in a reported economic impact of nearly $40 million for the region, with neighboring Moore County seeing the lion’s share.
“It’s not uncommon for municipalities to get involved … and invest in professional sports facilities to boost economic impact,” Watkins said, pointing to the football and basketball venues in Charlotte.
Watkins added that trust is an important part of the economic development equation, “and our ability to develop this type of relationship with NASCAR and Track Enterprises is going to yield dividends for us moving forward…and our work will impact the economic prosperity in Richmond County for years to come.”
Land said that the speedway has been the county’s “crown jewel” since it opened in 1965. The track hosted Cup series races until 2004, when both race dates were moved to other tracks while under the ownership of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. — which still owns Charlotte Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway, in addition to other tracks on the circuit.
“You can go anywhere in the world and mention you’re from Rockingham, North Carolina, and the first response you hear is, ‘That’s where the Rock, that NASCAR track, is at,” Land said, recalling a personal experience with that during his honeymoon in Tahiti.
Land went on to talk about how the community came together to support NASCAR’s return to the speedway in over a decade for the truck series and more than 20 years for the Xfinity series.
“The energy was phenomenal,” Land said. “I would hate to see all that energy lost just because of a political battle.”
According to Land, the track property is on the tax books with a value of $5 million, with an annual tax bill of around $38,000, with utility expenses around $2,000 per month.
The county manager said the county should be able to recoup the $375,000 within two years.
Referring back to the economic impact from the April race, Land said a Cup race could bring in “considerably more,” as seen in North Wilkesboro.
Land said the number can grow exponentially with the addition of other large-scale events like concerts, music festivals and car shows, benefiting hotels and other businesses in the county.
The county, according to Land, has used some of the “same tools and incentives” to help local businesses “survive, expand, and later thrive” including Vista Products, Cortek, Page Plantation Shutters and Discovery Place Kids.
“That is what we do guys, that is the business we’re in,” Land said. “It is crucial that we support our crown jewel and our largest tourism-related attraction in our county.”
Without helping to pay for the SAFER barriers, Land said Rockingham would not be able to host the races in 2026 and the potential sale of the speedway to Track Enterprises “would not proceed.”
“The track, more than likely, would revert back to a ghost town,” Land continued, referring to the condition it was in when Rockingham Properties purchased it for $2.8 million in August of 2018. “Jobs would be lost, zero in taxes would be paid.”
Land said he felt that the request “is a minimal amount of investment…for a massive potential gain for the future of Richmond County.”
Commissioner Andy Grooms then moved to approve the request, seconded by Commissioner Robin Roberts — and that’s when the discussion began.
Hamlet City Manager John Terziu — joined by Mayor Amy Guinn, Councilman Tony Clewis and Fire Chief Trey Goodwin — asked to speak, but was denied since there was no public hearing on the issue.
General Statute 158-7.1 allows a municipal government to make grants or loans for the rehabilitation of commercial structures, whether it is publicly or privately owned.
However, the statute goes on to read: “Any appropriation or expenditure for economic development purposes pursuant to this section must be approved by the … governing body after a public hearing.”
Others at the meeting included Dobbins Heights Mayor Antonio Blue, State Rep. Ben Moss, and current track owner Dan Lovenheim. Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent was listening by phone.
The RO will have more on the Hamlet objection in a later story.
Gainey and Dawkins both questioned Watkins’ signing of the agreement prior to the meeting. Watkins explained that his action was conditional on the result of Thursday's meeting.
However, Dawkins pointed out that there didn’t appear to be any language denoting that condition.
Gainey also had Watkins to clarify whether the funding was a loan or a grant. That distinction was ambiguous in the wording on the agenda for the meeting which listed the request as a “loan/grant.”
The county, Gainey said, had already allocated $300,000 for SAFER barriers earlier in the year. However, that decision was not made in open session.
Land said that was a portion of the cost, with Gainey adding that the total was around $1.2 million.
The agreement stipulates that the county would make that payment within five days of the execution of said agreement. However, Watkins said he had asked the owed fencing company if payment could be held until the signing of a purchase agreement for the track.
During a discussion with Finance Director Cary Garner related to a reimbursement grant from the N.C. Department of Commerce, Dawkins harkened back to the way the $9 million —appropriated to the county by the N.C. General Assembly for water and infrastructure improvements at the track — was allocated.
“This is just another situation where we’re doing something outside of a statute and an agreement that is actually in writing, and we’re saying it’s OK,” said Dawkins.
Dawkins then recalled Watkins’ statement earlier about trust being important in economic development: “Absolutely true.”
“I think it’s an important part of how we govern this county,” Dawkins continued. “My biggest issue with this is not anything to do with the speedway — it’s the process. I want nothing more than to see Track Enterprises assume this track and to be successful and NASCAR be a part of this community. I think everybody here wants that.”
But, Dawkins added that there hadn’t been any transparency or accountability throughout the process.
“I requested this agreement twice, in writing, to a B.S. answer and then no answer,” Dawkins said. “There is absolutely no reason that this board should not have this agreement prior to walking into this meeting. That is unacceptable.”
Land said that NASCAR was waiting for the outcome of the meeting and “if it gets denied, they’ve got other plans.”
Gathings and Gainey both questioned why the meeting was held on Thursday and not earlier in the week, before the NASCAR schedule was announced.
It was also clarified that the allocation was coming from a "revolving” fund. Garner said there was about $1.855 million in the fund “to be used …for these purposes.”
When asked by Gathings, Garner estimated the county collected about $137,000 in sales tax revenue related to the race.
Gathings then asked if anyone had reached out to the Moore County tourism board to ask if they wanted to “help donate,” since the economic impact was larger there.
Economic Developer Martie Butler said she doesn't go around soliciting grants, but “they are very supportive of the speedway” and purchased a suite at the race.
“I love NASCAR and I love everything we can do for our county,” said Gathings, however, he was cautious about “taking taxpayer money…to put into something that I don’t really see a guarantee we’re going to get our money back.”
“We’re going to get it back — in one race,” Land said.
Like Dawkins, Gathings said the board needs to be more transparent, bringing up other departments that could use more funding.
“I’ve been as transparent as I can,” said Watkins. “As soon as I got the information Saturday morning, I called everybody.”
When Dawkins again expressed concern about signing the agreement on behalf of the board, Watkins said that under the system of government, in an urgent situation, the chairman and county manager can take action until the board can meet.
After Grooms called for a vote, Dawkins thanked Lovenheim and Sargent for what they’ve done to bring the track back to life and lure NASCAR back, but said that his vote “reflects how our county government is being led” and the process — to which Gathings agreed.
The board later went into a closed session — without Land or County Attorney Michael Newman — with no action taken afterward.
Earlier in the meeting, commissioners approved a contract for child support enforcement. The RO will have more on that in a later story.
NOTE: This article has been updated to remove a renduandacy. 11:16 p.m. 8-21-25.
