Star Racing Proposes Huge Georgia Motorsports Complex

February 10th, 2011 by Drag Illustrated

George and Jackie Bryce

George and Jackie Bryce of Star Racing Inc. revealed a proposal Feb. 9, to bring a world-class motorsports racing facility to Americus, Georgia, not far from Plains, Georgia, home to former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. The $12-million facility is expected to attract as much as $75 million annually for the community and to create more than 200 full-time and part-time job positions over a five-year span.

The facility, which would be located across from South Georgia Technical College (SGTC), is expected to include a quarter-mile concrete drag strip, 2.5-mile road racing circuit (similar to Road Atlanta), a motorsports related technology park, a training facility for drivers education and law enforcement training, and a national motorcycle drag racing museum.

George Bryce said the original idea for the motorsports facility “came from right here; just me and Jackie and our friends.” He explains he and his wife travel all over the world, including trips to Asia, Australia and Europe, for various racing events at a cost of “$50,000 to $100,000 — that’s what Star spends every year renting race tracks for us to do our business,” he said.

It is for this reason that the idea developed to build a one-of-a-kind racing facility right here at home. The Bryces don’t want to build a facility that benefits only their business, though.

“We want to put more ‘water’ in the ‘lake’ so everyone’s boat floats,” Bryce said. “The idea is to get 40 (motorsports-related) companies to move to Americus to put their shops on the race track … where they can test, race … their own products right in their own backyard. There’s not one of these in the world where there’s an airport and a technical school (right next door) and 450 acres of available farmland.”

The planned technology park will be “the destination for participants, fabricators, suppliers in the motorsports market and other major players within the industry,” Bryce said.

He is hoping to receive similar responses to a letter received from a West Coast company that produces 170 replica Porsche road race cars each year and ships them worldwide, stating if the Americus facility is completed the company will move it’s operation there to take advantage of the close proximity of the track to the business’ building facility.

“I don’t want to put the cart in front of the horse,” Bryce said. “(This) is not really an announcement of what’s coming, it’s what will happen if all the stars line up.”

Among the “stars” he refers to are several key events that must happen prior to the project getting underway. The first of these “stars” aligned on Tuesday as the Sumter County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to rezone the proposed site, 449 acres across from SGTC, from R-R (Rural Residential District) to C-3 (Commercial Recreation District).

Following this approval, one significant step remains in the initial process: the finalization of a contract with the Americus-Sumter County Payroll Development Authority (PDA) for the land acquisition.

“We’ve been working with the PDA for about nine months,” Bryce said.

The next steps in the planning process are to develop a master site plan with engineering and architectural drawings, in addition to an artist’s rendering of the completed project that can be featured in sales brochures for the facility. The plan is to have a professional road racer design the facility’s road course.

The final step in this process involves funding for the construction of the facility. Bryce plans to take the project plans and other information to various motorsports businesses in neighboring states to elicit their participation and draw them to the new facility.

“I feel like we can get all that done within the next eight or nine months,” he said. He hopes to be able to break ground on the proposed facility before the end of 2011, if all goes according to plan.

“Eventually we will develop a private investor opportunity, but we don’t have that done yet. We are looking for everyone in our community to be on board. Our goal for the project is to benefit Americus-Sumter County, so we want to benefit everyone who wants to get involved,” Bryce said. “The first thing I did was approach (SGTC President) Sparky Reeves and (SGTC director of Economic Development) Wally Summers (with the idea.)”

Bryce said the two men practically “fell on the floor” in approval for the new facility and its potential for the school.

The potential for community growth from this proposed facility is not only from the new motorsports-related businesses moving to the area, but also from an enormous increase in local tourism. The events planned for the facility (ranging from local community events, national car clubs, car shows and training groups) will draw huge numbers of visitors to the Americus area that will, in turn, contribute money to the local economy through lodging and restaurants, as well as adding to the sales tax revenue of the area.

“We want to do something for the community that has been so good to us. We love Americus and want others to love it here, too,: said Bryce, who opened Star Racing in Americus more than 30 years ago.

“We have three goals: 1. To bring hundreds of jobs  2. To bring millions of dollars into Americus and Sumter County  3. To lower our millage tax rate for all citizens. Through the increase of sales tax revenue to the city and county, this will lessen the need for property taxes. We believe this is the shot in the arm we need here to continue to have a great place to live and work.”