On a sunny Saturday morning in the state of Georgia, you can find the motorsports community in a lot of places at once. Some fans are driving toward a big oval for a NASCAR weekend. Others are loading a trailer for a local autocross. Plenty others are heading to a road course for a track day, chasing cleaner lines instead of bigger crowds. The details are different, but the pattern stays the same: motorsports keeps growing roots here, and it does it through people who treat driving as a skill and a culture.
David Vepraskas from Lakemont is one of those people. He is an avid collector of off-road vehicles and regularly participates in local motorsports activities and events. “Motorsports is fun, but it teaches you patience. If you rush the learning part, the car will humble you fast,” says Vepraskas.
That mindset fits a state where motorsports is more than weekend entertainment. In 2024, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta generated $80 million in economic impact in Georgia, according to an economic impact study shared by the track. The same release notes almost $2 million in state taxes, with close to $1 million linked to Hall County. Those numbers are specific to one facility, but they hint at a larger network that includes hotels, restaurants, local vendors, and stable seasonal work.
Nationally, the motorsports industry is also being measured in dollars and jobs. A study by the Performance Racing Industry put the yearly U.S. economic impact at $69.2 billion, with more than 318,000 jobs supported, and $8.2 billion in tax revenue. Georgia’s impact in that bigger picture is helped by its broader car economy.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation estimates Georgia has 285.9K total auto jobs and $33.57B in gross state product tied to the auto industry, with 486.3K new cars sold in 2024. Motorsports does not equal the auto industry, but the overlap is real. More car knowledge, more skilled labor, and more fan culture can feed the same ecosystem.
Vepraskas believes the most interesting part happens below the headline events. “People assume motorsports only include the big races. In reality, a lot of the energy comes from track days, autocross, karting, and small events where you see the same people over and over.”
That grassroots layer also connects to a topic Georgia has been forced to talk about recently: speed on public roads. Georgia’s Highway Safety Office overview for 2022 reports 1,797 traffic accidents and notes increases in various categories, including speed-related accidents. Nationwide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said speeding accidents reached a 14-year high in 2021 and account for almost 33% of traffic accidents. Those numbers are hard to ignore, and they form how motorsports fans talk about where speed belongs.
For some drivers, a controlled motorsports setting becomes part of a safety discussion. The logic is there: if you want to try your hand at performance driving, you are better off doing it where there are rules, run groups, tech inspections, and people watching out for each other. That does not fix every issue, and it does not reach every driver. It does, however, create a place where speed is paired with structure.
Additionally, it creates a place where beginners can start without feeling shut out. Many track-day groups now include classroom sessions, instructor ride-alongs, and clear passing standards. Autocross is one of the most approachable entry points because it is lower speed and lower cost, with a focus on vehicle control. Karting is still a common gateway for younger drivers, and Georgia has several places for families to spend a full afternoon on a karting track.
The social aspect of motorsports is another reason why it’s so big in Georgia. People trade tires, tools, and advice. They share videos, data, and setup notes. They turn a long drive into an event into a small road trip. The sport can be loud and flashy, but the community often feels practical and tight-knit.
Vepraskas returns to that concept of learning. “You can spend as much money as you want on parts all day, but the biggest upgrade is time behind the wheel with someone who is experienced,” he says.
Georgia’s motorsports scene will keep changing. Big events will attract headlines, and local tracks will keep doing the work of hosting communities that show up early and leave late. The numbers tell part of the story, from local economic impact to national industry scale. The rest is found in the quieter moments, when a driver takes a cleaner corner, a novice gets quality coaching, and a hobby turns into a long-term passion.
