When Your Backyard is a Racetrack
A new luxury residential development plans to offer the ultimate amenity for motorsport enthusiasts ? an on-site race course.
by Jesse Will
ForbesAutos.com
Published on 12/27/2006
A map of Victory Lane shows the 4.5-mile racetrack at the center of the development.
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While most new-home shoppers might prize a quiet lot far from the roadway, there?s another breed of buyers looking to be as close to the asphalt as possible. Andrew Goggin thinks he has their number.

Goggin is the president of Unlimited Speed, a real estate development company currently selling plots of land in Victory Lane, a 3,000-acre, first-of-its-kind development located outside Savannah, Ga., where the wealthiest gearheads will get one premier perk ? a private 4.5-mile race course built solely for their use.

Goggin says most residents will have a net worth between $40 million and $70 million, and their homes here will most likely be their second, third or fourth. Most households will be headed by a high-end car collector who likes to test his or her car?s performance firsthand. ?The people who build here ? and drive here ? will be former professional drivers, current drivers and amateurs to semi-professionals,? says Goggin. ?These guys know how to race.?

Victory Lane developers say that 28 of the lots have been sold, in sizes ranging from three to 30 acres and at prices starting from $675,000. The developers plan to break ground on the track in late February.

The road course, which occupies 40 acres at the center of the property, was planned by Australian Bob Barnard, a track designer who had a hand in a recent rework of Daytona International Speedway. The course will have two parts: a winding technical two-mile portion and a more undulating 2.5-mile section that includes a 5,400-foot straightaway that will double as a runway for private aircraft.

The track?s curves will follow the site?s natural topography, and there won?t be guard rails or artificial barriers, which Goggin says will result in a track that?s safely drivable for even the rarest and priciest cars. ?We?re building it this way so that if your vintage Ferrari goes off the track, you aren?t likely to smash it into a wall,? he says.

The racetrack?s straightaway, seen at the top of this diagram, will double as an aircraft runway.
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Only the 120 Victory Lane homeowners will have rights to drive on the road course, and the track will only be in operation during daylight hours. Goggin says the relaxed atmosphere will be far removed from that of public motorsport courses. ?We?re going to adhere to a certain gentleman?s ethics code to racing. When you?re out on the track with a vintage Ferrari that?s worth between $10 million and $18 million, you don?t want to be jammed up in track traffic,? Goggin says.

The track site is surrounded by pine trees and Southern Oaks, which Goggin says will mitigate the noise concerns to Victory Lane?s residents. An earthen berm will surround the course, as well.

Other amenities slated for the development include a climate-controlled and security-monitored paddock for car storage, a links-style golf course, lakes, a spa and fitness facility as well as a nature preserve with equestrian capabilities.

Racing legend Phil Hill?s name will be attached to the motorsports center. Hill is the only American-born driver to win the Formula One championship. He did so in 1961 with a Ferrari.

Goggin says the primary concept of Victory Lane is to enable racing enthusiasts to enjoy motorsports and remain close to their families instead of having to leave for the weekend. ?Much of racing centers around families,? he says. ?Think of the Andrettis, the Unsers, the Foyts. We think our concept helps foster a family racing culture.?

I want a drag strip in my backyard.

That would be cool,but i vote for a 1/4 mile track.

Well they have a runway there so you could probably set something up.