Panoz Motor Sports Group was sold to
NASCAR in 2012. The assets of the sale included the
American Le Mans Series,
Road Atlanta,
Sebring International Raceway and Panoz Racing Schools.
Mosport International Raceway was sold separately to a Canadian consortium led by
Ron Fellows and Carlo Fidani. Panoz, LLC., is an automotive manufacturer that builds and designs street cars and race cars. Élan Motorsports is a company that builds and designs race cars too. Both these two companies are still owned by the Panoz family.
American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created by
Don Panoz in 1999. Panoz also owned the
International Motor Sports Association, the organization that sanctions the
ALMS. It held its inaugural event, the
1998 Petit Le Mans as part of the
Professional Sportscar Racing series. The
ALMS has a partnership with the
Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the organizers of the
24 Hours of Le Mans, to allow teams to compete to the same regulations. In 2012, the
ALMS was sold to
NASCAR and then in 2014, the series merged with the
Rolex Sports Car Series to form
United SportsCar Racing.
Circuits The Panoz group previously owned
Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States as well as previously operated
Sebring International Raceway in
Sebring, Florida, United States. They also previously owned
Mosport International Raceway in
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada but was sold in 2011. The tracks hosted the
American Le Mans Series, now the
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, in addition to other top-level auto and motorcycle racing series.
Élan Motorsport Technologies Élan Motorsports is a company that designs and builds race cars, from top-level professional racing cars through to amateur race cars. The company is owned by the Panoz family. Élan acquired other manufacturers, including famous
Formula Ford builders
Van Diemen and
Indy Racing League constructor
G-Force Technologies. Élan-built cars have raced in the
Indy Racing League,
Champ Car World Series,
American Le Mans Series,
Le Mans Series, and other championships.
Panoz Racing School and series The Panoz Racing School was a driver training school previously operated at Road Atlanta and Sebring International Raceway. Students learned racing techniques in purpose-built Panoz GT-RA cars. Following completion of the course, students were eligible for an
SCCA regional racing license. The school also included programs where customers could receive instruction in their own road cars. The Panoz Racing Series was a one-make series made up of the Panoz School cars, as well as the more powerful Panoz GTS models. The series was designed for amateurs to learn racing in a low-cost environment. == References ==