For many of us, 2020 will go down as “The Year of the Cancellation.” It seemed anything and everything that could be canceled eventually got canceled.
One of the few major Atlanta race events to survive this year is the rescheduled November 2020 Road Atlanta Grand Prix in Braselton, Ga.
We thought we’d check in with the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) to get an update on the event. Toni Strollo, the Vice President of Marketing for SVRA, was gracious enough to field our questions and share her considerable insights with us.
What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation with Toni. Enjoy!
And for those looking for racing action, we recommend our series: From the Paddock: The Roar of Corvette & Vintage Racing.
Big Weekend Coming
ROD WORLEY – Editor – Toni, this year’s Road Atlanta Grand Prix is just around the corner. We’re thankful you were able to reschedule and not cancel like so many events this year.
You’ve got Thursday, November 19th set aside for drivers only, while Friday, November 20th, through Sunday the 22nd is open to the public.
How is this year’s weekend shaping up in terms of public events over these three days?
TONI STROLLO – VP of Marketing at SVRA – Rod, It’s turning out to be a great event! Our attendance is really picking up.
I think people want to get out and have some fun right now. For the car show itself, we’re looking at roughly 150 cars.
I’ve got quite a few Corvette clubs that’ll be joining. We’re also going to have the Bandit Run gathering, so there will be a makeshift Smokey and the Bandit event going on at the same time.
We will have Trans Am joining us as well as our SVRA drivers.
COVID-19 Safety
ROD WORLEY – Editor – COVID-19 caused the earlier rescheduling of this event. What steps is SVRA taking to keep drivers and fans as safe as possible?
TONI STROLLO – VP of Marketing at SVRA – As far as the car show, we will be parking them six feet apart. We’ll also have hand sanitizer stations set up.
We request that you have a mask on if you are within six feet of an SVRA or Trans Am staff member. We don’t mandate that because we are not the law.
But we do ask that you take personal safety measures. We have a no-touch registration.
And as far as the car show awards, I don’t plan on having a big presentation. I’ll get the winners, go around, and put awards on the individual cars, in an effort to maintain social distancing.
Breaking Down The Racing
ROD WORLEY – Editor – The intense competitive racing is at the heart of every SVRA event. Can you take a moment and share a brief overview of the weekend’s racing format and class breakdown for us?
TONI STROLLO – VP of Marketing at SVRA – Rod, let me give you the simplified class breakdown. There are 12 groups of cars. The grouping is by engine size, and the original factory make.
In some cases, we have three groups racing in one race. We’ll be on the race track starting at 8 am every morning until around 5 pm.
During the day, we do share the track time with the Trans Am race series. I believe they’re doing a doubleheader that weekend. Which means they will have two back-to-back races.
This event is also unique because we will have the Radical Cup series joining us. Those are prototype cars, and we’ll have anywhere from 20 to 30 of them racing that weekend.
So a whole lot will be going on at the track at the same time.
The Fan Experience
ROD WORLEY – Editor – The fan experience is an integral part of the SVRA events. What experiences do you have lined up this year for attendees?
TONI STROLLO – VP of Marketing at SVRA – The fan experience is very important to us, and starts with full access to the paddock area. While in the paddock area, they can look at the various cars and talk to the mechanics and drivers.
The stands will be open, so there will be many different viewing spots for spectators to watch the racing. The concession stands will be available for their convenience.
At the top of the hill, there will be a huge car show going on as well.
As I mentioned earlier, we’ll have a Bandit Run event going on that weekend too. They’re planning on having a Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed lookalikes attend.
Usually, they have a replica of the iconic Coors hauling semi and trailer. Oh, and of course, countless black Trans Am Firebirds.
We’re working on a few other surprises as well.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to do our popular VROC series or hold our driver’s dinner this year due to COVID. As you know, this fun series is where we bring in pro drivers to share our amateur cars and raise money for charity.
We hope to bring it back next year.
Spring Tickets Still Good
ROD WORLEY – Editor – Due to COVID, the original Road Atlanta date had to be moved to November. For those who purchased tickets for the Spring event, how will they redeem those tickets?
TONI STROLLO – VP of Marketing at SVRA – Everyone who already purchased spectator or car show tickets will receive full credit.
Their name is already on the list for this event. There is no action they need to take except to show up.
If it is a spectator ticket, go to the ticket gate, and they will give you your passes. For car show entry, once again, you will receive full credit for the event.
Just show up and get checked in.
Plan To Have Fun!
ROD WORLEY – Editor – Toni, we’ve covered a lot of ground today, but is there one question I should have asked you but didn’t.
TONI STROLLO – VP of Marketing at SVRA – Well, the only question that comes to mind is, “Are we going to have fun?”
We are absolutely going to make this a great experience for our drivers, our spectators, and our staff.
So once again, everybody’s ready to get out into the world and have some fun. And I think we’ve covered as many bases as we can for entertainment.
Where To Get Tickets
ROD WORLEY – Editor – Toni, before we let you go, if people wanted more event information or to pre-order tickets for the upcoming Road Atlanta Grand Prix, where should they go?
TONI STROLLO – VP of Marketing at SVRA – They can go to SVRA.com and click on “Upcoming Race Events.” Scroll down until you find the “2020 Road Atlanta Grand Prix.”
The link for ticket sales is on the right-hand side just after “Car Show Registration.”
There is a schedule for the weekend posted on that page. If they have any other questions, they can always reach out to me personally.
I’m Toni Strollo, and my email address is [email protected]. My phone number is 863-698-8620.
The event will be open to the public Friday, November 20th, Saturday the 21st, and Sunday the 22nd.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Special Thanks To Toni
In the time leading up to a significant race event, there are more than a few fires to put out. Special thanks to Toni Strollo for carving out some time to share her valuable insights with all of us.
In the early Spring, I didn’t think I would get a chance to say these words this year, but it’s true, “Competitive SVRA racing is coming to Atlanta!”
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