Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Joins Project Motor Racing's V8 Power Pack
Project Motor Racing has added one of America's most storied road courses to its lineup: Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta now joins the game's V8 Power Pack.
An Unlikely Beginning
The track's story goes back to 1969, when three amateur racers — Earl Walker, David Sloyer, and Arthur Montgomery — set out to build a world-class road-racing circuit on farmland in Hall County, Georgia, right in the heart of stock-car country. At the time, few believed the plan could actually come together.
Walker, a former aeronautical engineer who had worked on Chrysler's contribution to NASA's Saturn I/IB program, teamed up with fellow racer Sloyer to design the track, with Montgomery rounding out the trio behind the ambitious project.
A Lucky Break
The circuit's fortunes changed in 1970, when flood damage at Bridgehampton Race Circuit on Long Island left the Can-Am series scrambling for a replacement venue. Road Atlanta, still under construction at the time, stepped in — a huge opportunity to put the new circuit on the international map.
With only about six months to finish the job, the team pushed through an accelerated build covering excavation, paving, restrooms, spectator areas, and even a makeshift ticket building. After a preliminary SCCA event in August 1970, Road Atlanta hosted its first major race on September 13, 1970, with Vic Elford taking pole in a Chaparral 2J and Tony Dean winning the Can-Am race in a Porsche 908/02.
Carved Into the Landscape
From the outset, Road Atlanta earned a reputation as a demanding, technical circuit, with blind corners and constant elevation changes setting it apart from many American tracks of the era. Rather than being built on flat ground, the course follows the natural contours of the rolling north Georgia terrain, giving it steep gradients, compressions, and crests that create a distinctive driving challenge. Vic Elford, who took pole for that first race, praised the layout, saying that for once someone had really used their head in designing it.
That layout also made the track remarkably versatile over the years, hosting everything from sports cars and Can-Am machines to touring cars, motorcycles, drift cars, and GT3 competition. NASCAR's Grand American division even raced there starting in 1973.
Hard Times and a Turnaround
Road Atlanta changed hands several times after 1978, and limited investment through the 1980s and early 1990s left parts of the track increasingly dated and, in some areas, unsafe as speeds rose. The circuit eventually went bankrupt in 1993 before new owners stepped in to carry out repairs.
The real turning point came in November 1996, when motorsport entrepreneur Don Panoz bought the facility and launched a major redevelopment. Changes included new club and school layouts, the removal of a dangerous section known as the Dip, a new infield tunnel, upgraded barriers and gravel traps, and an expanded paddock and pit complex.
Birth of Petit Le Mans
Beyond physical upgrades, Panoz partnered with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest to launch Petit Le Mans, first held at Road Atlanta in 1998, bringing Le Mans-style endurance racing to the United States over a 1,000-mile or 10-hour format. The inaugural event was a success, leading Panoz to found the American Le Mans Series the following year, with Road Atlanta as one of its marquee venues. Petit Le Mans has since grown into one of North America's premier endurance races and remains a fixture at the track today.
Continued Evolution
The track has kept evolving over the decades: the late-1990s redevelopment reshaped the end of the back straight into the modern 10A/10B complex, further motorcycle-focused changes followed in the 2000s, and the full surface was repaved ahead of the 2007 Petit Le Mans. NASCAR Holdings acquired the circuit in 2012 as part of its purchase of the Panoz Motorsports group, and in 2019 Michelin became its first entitlement partner, giving the venue its current name, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The circuit has also been credited as the birthplace of Formula Drift.
Now Available in Project Motor Racing
More than fifty years after that first Can-Am race, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta remains a demanding, character-filled road course carved into the Georgia hills — and it's now ready to be driven as part of the V8 Power Pack in Project Motor Racing.
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