Caffeine and Octane's Lanier Raceway[1] (formerly Lanier Raceplex and Lanier National Speedway) is a 0.375-mile paved oval racetrack located just outside Braselton, Georgia. The track opened in 1982 as a dirt track, and was paved in the mid-1980s. It is currently owned and operated by High Octane, LLC, an auto events & multimedia business conglomerate. The track was under the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series banner with super late models, SuperTrucks, Junkyard Dogs, outlaw late models, mini stocks, INEX RaceCeiver/zMax legends cars and INEX bandolero cars. The track ended weekly racing at the end of the 2011 season, but remained open for larger events. In 2022, High Octane resumed weekly car events at the raceway for the first time since 2011.
| Lanier Raceway | |
|---|---|
 Lanier Raceway in 2019 | |
| Location | Hall County, Braselton, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 34°9′12″N 83°48′45″W / 34.15333°N 83.81250°W |
| Owner | Bruce Piefke |
| Operator | High Octane Trackside, LLC |
| Opened | 1982 |
| Former names | Lanier Raceplex (2012–2021) Lanier National Speedway (1997–2011) Lanier Raceway (1982–1996) |
| Major events | NASCAR Whelen All-American Series |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.375 miles (0.600 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
The Pro All Star Series hosted a national super late model event at Lanier on November 15–16, 2019. This served as the PASS National Championship final.[2] On 1 January 2022 it was reported that the track had been sold to Caffeine and Octane.[3] C&O's Lanier Raceway is located across from the NASCAR owned Road Atlanta motor racing circuit.
History
editIn 2012, Lanier National Speedway was purchased by Jim Downing and renamed "Lanier Raceplex". The new venue was to host concerts and serve as a race track [4] August 12 photos emerged showing the infield walls, buildings, and facilities being razed in preparation for a complete "black lake" paving job of the entire infield and oval. Track amenities also received major renovations. The track reopened January 2016 and features "arrive and drive" karting, as well as hosting oval track (legends series), and drift events.
In 2021, the Lanier Raceplex functioned as an arrive and drive go-kart track and is hosted a four-race legends car series in July that was broadcast on NBC Sports Gold Trackpass. A ten race series was also held for arrive and drive go karts that year.
In 2022, the now-formerly Lanier Raceplex was sold to High Octane Events, a multimedia motorsports event business headquartered in Atlanta, GA who also own the largest monthly car show in the world,[5] Caffeine and Octane. C&O announced upon purchasing stated it intends to create a more actively used event space for drifting, racing, burnouts, car meets, driving competitions and other auto events with all makes and models of cars. Since then, Caffeine and Octane has resumed weekly events at the Lanier Raceway, including Friday Night Drift. As the only short, oval bank, paved track within 50 miles of the city of Atlanta, Caffeine & Octane's Lanier Raceway has become a major hub for grassroots drifting and competition driving within the state of Georgia and across the Southeastern United States.
NASCAR Xfinity Series history
editThe NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now the Xfinity Series) ran five races at the track between 1988 and 1992.[6]
| Season | Winning driver | Car | Laps | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Tommy Houston | Buick | 200 | 84.191 mph (135.492 km/h) |
| 1989 | Ronald Cooper | Buick | 200 | 77.474 mph (124.682 km/h) |
| 1990 | Chuck Bown | Pontiac | 200 | 74.033 mph (119.145 km/h) |
| 1991 | David Green | Oldsmobile | 200 | 73.250 mph (117.884 km/h) |
| 1992 | Bobby Labonte | Chevrolet | 300 | 77.735 mph (125.102 km/h) |
Other major events
editLanier Raceplex hosted weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series races.
The track hosted 17 NASCAR Southeast Series races between 1991 and 2004. The track also hosted 2 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour events: one in 2008 and the other in 2009.
The ARCA Racing Series had run one event at the track, in 2005. The race was won by David Ragan.
The facility hosted three ASA National Tour races between 2000 and 2004. One race was won by Scott Wimmer and the other two events were won by Mike Garvey.
USAR Pro Cup Series ran one race at the track, in 2009.
References
edit- ^ "Caffeine and Octane | Car Show | Exotic Cars| Classic Cars | Custom Cars | Muscle Cars | Performance Cars |". www.caffeineandoctane.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ "Announce for PASS return to lanier". Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ Evans, Connor (February 17, 2022). "Start your engines. Street racing legal this weekend at Lanier Raceplex". Gainesville Times. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
Bruce Piefke of Caffeine and Octane, which took over ownership of the raceplex at the start of the year, said he's excited for the event, and ensured they will have ample security.
- ^ "New Lanier Nat'l Speedway owner applies for two business licenses". AccessWDUN.
- ^ Springs, Jim Ellis Ford Sandy. "Caffeine And Octane Car Show | Jim Ellis Ford". www.jimellisford.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ "Lanier National Speedway". Racing-Reference.info. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
External links
edit- Official site
- Lanier Raceplex race results at Racing-Reference