NASCAR via IMSA Holdings, LLC (September 2012–present) Don Panoz (November 1996–August 2012) Frank Drendel, Jim Kanely, Eddie Edwards, George Nuse, and Bill Waddell (1993–October 1996) Whittington Brothers (1978–1992) David Sloyer, Earl Walker, and Arthur Montgomery (1969–1977)
Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons asMichelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a 2.540 mi (4.088 km) road course located just north ofBraselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams. The track has 12 turns, including the famous "esses" between turns three and five; and Turn 12, a downhill, diving turn. The track is owned byIMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Road Atlanta, LLC, and is the home to thePetit Le Mans, as well asAMA motorcycle racing, and smaller events throughout the year.Michelin acquired naming rights to the facility in 2018.[1]
In 1969, David Sloyer, Earl Walker, and Arthur Montgomery purchased a 750 acres (300 ha) plot of farmland inBraselton, Georgia, with the intent to build a world-class road racing facility. When aCan-Am race had to be canceled due to flood damage, the series organizers chose Road Atlanta to replace it. The track then began to take form quickly, taking only six months to excavate, grade, and pave the road course.
The track was sold in 1978, and was passed from one owner to the next—culminating in bankruptcy in 1993 under the Whittington Brothers (Don andBill). Business executives Frank Drendel, Jim Kanely, Eddie Edwards, George Nuse, and Bill Waddell formed a partnership to purchase the track. They spent the next three years making gradual improvements to the facility. New buildings were constructed, others were renovated, the track was widened and resurfaced and the grounds were landscaped.
In November 1996,Don Panoz purchased the track and madeBraselton the base of operations for his motorsports-related ventures. Panoz introduced the first major changes to the track, removing the Dip and creating achicane at the end of the long back straight. These changes brought the track up toFIA standards, so that international events could be held. A new pit and paddock area was also constructed on the infield side of the track, allowing for larger events, and a 10,000-seat terrace area was constructed around the new Turn 10 complex.
A Porsche 911 going airborne
In 1998, major racing resumed at Road Atlanta with the first edition of thePetit Le Mansendurance race. The race attracted worldwide attention, and included entries from theLe Mans-winningPorsche factory team. The race would be the first race of theAmerican Le Mans Series and included a spectacular "blowover" accident where aPorsche 911 GT1 lifted its front while driving over the hump, backflipped in mid air, and flew into the side barriers. A similar incident had occurred there in the1972 Can-Am season to theMcLaren M20 of Denny Hulme, and again in the 2000 race to one of the open topBMW V12 LMR that had won the 1999 Le Mans in whichMercedes-Benz CLR somersaulted no less than three times.
Petit has continued to be an annual event at Road Atlanta, and a marquee event in the ALMS. Prior to the 2007 Petit Le Mans, the entire track surface was repaved. The works also included moving the walls in the esses away from the track, with the intention of improved driver safety and better sight lines for spectators.[5] In the late winter of 2007–2008, the circuit was again modified with the reconfiguration of turns 4 and 12, for the ostensible safety benefit of motorcycle racers (the racing line for cars remained essentially unchanged).
In April 2008, Road Atlanta hosted the 4th stage of theTour de Georgia, one of the largest cycling stage races in the United States. The stage was run using standard racing bikes instead of the more aerodynamic time trial bikes.Slipstream Chipotle won the stage with a time of 19:38.86, whileAstana andTeam High Road finished second and third respectively. Used in local cycling events, the circuit is run counterclockwise (in reverse), owing to safety issues from the downhill Turn 11 to Turn 12, creating a steep climb from Turn 12 to Turn 11, and a much safer route for cycling.
The October 2008 Petit Le Mans had a four-day crowd of 113,000 people with an average weekend crowd of nearly 80,000 fans.[6] The race entry list includes a number of new and returning cars.
In September 2012, the track was purchased by IMSA Holdings as part of its acquisition of Panoz Motor Sports Group. The intention was to combine the Grand AM and American Le Mans Series. NASCAR K&N series has announced a return to the track in October 2013 as part of theNASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
In December 2017, the track hosted its first24 Hours of LeMons event, the Kim Harmon Scrotium 500. The series is also scheduled to return in 2018.[7]
In 2019, the track becameMichelin Raceway Road Atlanta afterMichelin and IMSA Holdings announced the naming rights agreement.[8]
In November 2022, the track was added to thePlayStation gameGran Turismo 7. The track was added to the game as part of update 1.26, which was released to mark the series' 25th anniversary.[12]
The outright unofficial all-time track record is 1:01.200, set byMarc Gené in aFerrari F2003-GA, during a 2018 Ferrari Corsa Clienti event.[13][14][15] As of October 2025, the fastest official race lap records at Road Atlanta for different classes are listed as:
^Ingram, Jonathan (7 September 1989). "Plainly Smith (Bosch / VW Super Vee Round 7/ Road Atlanta)". No. On Track Magazine. On Track.Qualifying for pole effectively ended in the first session when Mark Smith clicked off what would prove the fastest lap at the outset. His time of 121.023 eclipsed Geoff Brabham's 10-year-old record of 122.430
† – Centennial Olympic Stadium was rebuilt in 1997 as Turner Field. Turner Field was subsequently rebuilt in 2017 as Center Parc Stadium. See also:|Atlanta landmarks
Christian Klien,Peugeot 908 HDi FAP,2008,LMP1)
Jake Gagne,Yamaha YZF-R1,2023,SBK)
Mat Mladin,Suzuki GSX-R1000,2007,SBK)
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