But the real winners were the spectators who saw a completely revamped Road Atlanta, complete with a new main paddock and upgraded spectator areas and amenities. They also could look forward to 1999 and the first season of the American Le Mans Series, which began in March at Sebring and would feature Petit Le Mans as an annual event on its schedule.
“The success of that first event had everyone talking, ” said Series President and CEO Scott Atherton. “Manufacturers, sponsors, spectators, sportscasters were saying, ‘Don, you can’t create just one race. This is too good. You have to create a series. ’ And obviously we know now that is ultimately what happened. “
“I felt strongly that if you create a good show and provide good entertainment in motorsport and ensure that the fans knew that this was stable, precise racing and the people who really went faster would win, that they would start to come, ” Panoz said. “And that’s what happened. “
As a result, Petit Le Mans has seen increases in fans, grid quality and more importantly world recognition. It also saw the hometown Panoz team take an overall win in the 1999 race when one of the factory BMW prototypes spun into a gravel trap with five minutes remaining to hand David Brabham, Eric Bernard and Andy Wallace an emotional victory.
“I felt so bad for the driver from BMW, and I could imagine the corporate politics; BMW had been beaten by a no-name American manufacturer with the engine in the wrong place in a prototype, ” Panoz chuckled. “All victories are great, and all victories are earned because you can’t win any race without showing up and being prepared. You have to be in a place that when Lady Luck smiles at you or breaks come your way that you can take advantage of it. “
That’s the same philosophy Panoz has used in building Petit Le Mans and American Le Mans Series to the level at which they are now. The number of premium auto manufacturers, elite teams and world-class corporate partners can’t be matched by any other form of motorsport.
Those are just some of the things that Panoz will see when he returns to Road Atlanta. And what are the others?
“I’ll be looking at the physical aspects of the track and comparing that to where we started, ” he said. “The second thing I’ll be looking at are the crowd and fans. It’s like having a child who is five or six years old. He’s cute and starting to be a person, then later you find that he’s grown up and matured. That’s what has happened with the race and track. We started out with a lot of hope and ambition and it has turned into something that really has a lot of meaning and is creating its own history. ”
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