Rockingham is the county seat of Richmond County in the Sandhills region of North Carolina, named after the Marquis of Rockingham. For nearly 40 years it was known to NASCAR fans as the home of Rockingham Speedway (formerly the North Carolina Speedway), a notoriously tough one-mile oval that hosted Cup Series races from 1965 until 2004. The speedway still hosts smaller events and remains the town's most recognizable landmark.
The town itself is a quiet place of about 9,000 people, with a small downtown centered on Hancock Street. The surrounding Sandhills landscape -- sandy soil, longleaf pine, and mild winters -- gives the area a character distinct from the rest of the Carolina Piedmont. The Hitchcock Creek Greenway offers a pleasant walking trail along the creek through town.
Rockingham sits roughly halfway between Charlotte and Fayetteville on US-74, making it an easy stop on a cross-state drive. Golfers will find that the famous Pinehurst courses are only about 30 miles northeast, and the Pee Dee River provides opportunities for fishing and kayaking nearby.