On this particular weekend , which ironically , I was celebrating my 49th birthday , I was explaining to Steve that I felt certain I could retire in peace someday if I were able to visit 200 different dragstrips , pointing out that I ’ ve stepped foot on 157 to date . “ Oh , I bet you ’ ll retire in peace regardless ,” Steve chuckles .

If the natural progression of life continues as it should , Earwood will be retiring much sooner than me . Amazingly , at 73 years of age he will have been making his living from motorsports in some capacity for 50 years in 2022 , which is , of course , exactly how old I will be next year .

Earwood ’ s retirement is squarely in sight , as news broke last year that he has signed papers and taken a substantial deposit from a pair of investors , who by all accounts will be the next owners of this iconic dragstrip . “ The new owners are set to take over on October 31 , 2022 ,” says Earwood , who will continue day-to-day operations at the track until then .

When it comes to the aforementioned list of 157 tracks I ’ ve visited , Rockingham comes in at number 4 , so we ’ ve had a lengthy history , with my earliest memory being from 1990 . It was at Rockingham 31 years ago that I first witnessed a door car crack the magical 200 mph barrier in the quarter mile . I was near the finish line , standing on someone ’ s gooseneck trailer snapping pictures with a 35mm film camera . I even wrote about the experience in a little newspaper column I penned for a sports paper in my hometown of Lenoir . I was 18 years old then . Earwood entered the picture two years later in 1992 , when he bought the fabled dragstrip .

If there ’ s one thing I can always count on from Steve , it ’ s his eternally positive outlook that ’ s always half full , never half empty . I ’ m reminded of the time I dropped by to visit with Steve early in the 2010 season , back when the effects of the housing market crash and ensuing financial crisis were both still casting a dark cloud over most of the country , although Steve ’ s worldview is always brighter as I ’ ve come to realize . “ We ’ re doing just fine here at Rockingham , I wouldn ’ t even know there was a problem if I didn ’ t turn on CNN !” he told me during that interview . These days , he only glances at the mainstream news to make sure America isn ’ t at

war with anybody , after which , he goes back to tending to his business .

Earwood has seen some monumental moments unfold during his near three-decade tenure at Rockingham . His knowledge of the track goes far beyond the years that he ’ s been at the helm . Interestingly enough , Rockingham held its first race in 1970 as an AHRA facility , before ultimately hosting national events from IHRA as well as the NHRA Winston Invitational during the 1990s . On the sportsman front , Earwood was among the first in the area to offer a free-entry bracket race to kick off the new season , and

he once had 700 cars show up for the occasion .

It ’ s not often that this veteran of motorsports ever found himself woefully unprepared , although he does speak of his first ADRL Dragstock event with a certain gleam in his eyes and astonishment still in his voice . “ Kenny Nowling rolls in here and tells me he wants to give away free tickets to the event ... that ’ s where that whole thing started was Rockingham ,” recalls Earwood . “ I told him I thought he was crazy , but let ’ s do it ... and boy , we did it !

“ We have a staff meeting every Tuesday at 10:00 a . m . and I remember telling the staff that we ’ d probably have 2,000 to 2,400 people this

weekend ,” Earwood continues . “ I think at 27,000 was when we closed the gate ! It was a massive , massive crowd ... we had people standing on top of buildings ! You had to wait in line an hour to get a Coke ! I ’ ve never prayed so hard in my life .”

Of course , I wanted details . “ What was the prayer ?” I eagerly inquire . “ Safety and to get it over with ,” he replies . Earwood spoke of the downtime in the latter rounds , and how it could have presented a big problem with no filler between rounds to keep the crowd from getting restless . “ It ’ s not that we had few security , we had no security !”

he recalls . “ Would you believe those people sat there as if they were in church , because if you got up you lost your seat . The crowd was as calm as they could be ! I ’ m not sure we ’ ll ever see anything like ADRL again ,” he says .

The essence of the ADRL series at its peak has never been captured any better than when fearless photographer Gary Rowe climbed a military communication tower , which is located on the property of Rockingham Dragway , and snapped the photo that appears in this month ’ s column . The race was temporarily brought to a halt over this stunt , as officials feared they may have had a jumper on their hands . Rowe was reprimanded by a long list of people , including Earwood , although he still wanted a copy of the photo to hang in his office !

And so it goes , Steve ’ s retirement date is marching forward and soon the curtain will close an epic 30- year chapter of owning Rockingham Dragway . “ I ’ ve bought some property in the north Georgia mountains , and I want to build a house that faces the west on top of that mountain ,” he tells me .

Earwood assures me he will miss nothing in his retirement , because he ’ s not the “ miss it ” type . He merely begins a new chapter and embraces it to the fullest . “ I try to stay real level – I don ’ t get down that much and I don ’ t get up that much – I ’ m thankful to God for every day and live in that moment ,” Earwood says . “ We waste so many todays with regrets from yesterday and let our anxieties ruin our tomorrows , while meanwhile today is happening .”

With every interview , every candid conversation , every time I ’ ve been in the man ’ s presence , I usually leave the room feeling smarter than when I entered . Steve always made time for an interview and gave me exactly what I needed for a story , along with some profound truths to ponder on my ride home . That ’ s what I ’ ll miss most when Steve ’ s retirement finally arrives and his next chapter begins . Those interviews over the years have provided so much more knowledge than was needed for the task at hand , and for that I ’ ll be forever grateful . DI

PHOTO : GARY ROWE