ROCKINGHAM – Tradition took a back seat to the bottom line when NASCAR took away North Carolina Speedway’s fall race earlier this month, a move that will significantly impact the economies of Richmond and Moore counties.

ASHEBORO — A grant from the Duke Endowment is enabling Randolph Community College to expand its Small Business Center to serve the needs of growing companies and Hispanic-owned firms.

SANFORD — Some industries in Sanford will be affected July 7 when the city's public works officials switch the chemical used to keep local water clean.

ASHEBORO — FNB Corp., parent company of First National Bank and Trust Co., Rowan Bank and Dover Mortgage Co., will join the Russell 2000 Index when the broad-market index is reconstituted June 30, according to a preliminary list of additions issued by Frank Russell Co.

RALEIGH — Four Sandhills representatives have been elected to the executive committee of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership.

SOUTHERN PINES — An industrial park jointly developed by several Sandhills counties and catering to a technology-oriented industry could be the key to future economic growth across the region, according to an idea being pitched by a state development group.

FAYETTEVILLE – Officials at the North Carolina Center for Women Business Owners in downtown Fayetteville have been sitting on pins and needles for the past three months waiting to learn if the U.S. Small Business Administration will fund the program again.

SPRING LAKE — Professional golfer Davis Love III is considering selling his stake in the Anderson Creek Golf Club, just as the course and the surrounding upscale residential development are beginning to take off.

ASHEBORO — After almost a century of serving the banking needs of businesses and consumers in small towns across the Sandhills, First National Bank & Trust Co. is knocking on the doors of North Carolina’s major metropolitan areas.