Story byIHRA and Atlanta Dragway: what’s real, what’s rumor, and what the public record actually shows (as of January 20, 2026)Shawn HenryTue, January 20, 2026 at 2:52 PM UTC·8 min readRumors that the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is “buying Atlanta Dragway” in Commerce, Georgia keep resurfacing for one simple reason: there are now multiple, verifiable public breadcrumbs that suggest the door is open for racing to return on that property — even though there is still no confirmed sale to IHRA. What follows is a fact-only, layered breakdown of (1) who owns the property today, (2) what Banks County has actually voted on, (3) what is scheduled next in the approval process, (4) what IHRA has confirmed elsewhere that fuels the speculation, and (5) the specific gaps that remain unproven.1) The most important clarification: “Buying Atlanta Dragway” can mean three different thingsWhen people say “IHRA is buying Atlanta Dragway,” they may be talking about:AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBuying the land (the real estate)Buying/operating the facility under a lease or management agreement (without owning the dirt)Sanctioning an event there (which can happen even if another party owns/operates the track)As of today, the only one of those that would justify “IHRA bought Atlanta Dragway” in the literal sense is #1, and there is no public confirmation that IHRA has purchased the Commerce property. The confirmed record points the other direction: the property has been in private development hands since 2021.2) What is confirmed about Atlanta Dragway’s sale and current ownershipNHRA sold the Atlanta Dragway property in 2021NHRA publicly confirmed the sale and stated that proceeds would be reinvested into its remaining facilities (per coverage at the time). Who bought it, and what they tried to do with itLocal reporting identifies the buyer as VPD/Terra Commerce Development, and documents the redevelopment pitch as a large planned mixed-use project. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNow Habersham/NowGeorgia reporting provides unusually concrete detail, including:the project site size (~318 acres)the requested zoning change (from C-2 / general commercial to a Planned Unit Development)the residential and retail scale (reported as 1,193 dwellings and 336,000 square feet of commercial space)and a reported sale price from county public records ($9,405,000)Redevelopment was denied (this matters for the “dragstrip return” narrative)In February 2025, the Banks County Commission denied the requested planned development rezoning after a public hearing and a unanimous recommendation to deny. That denial didn’t “reopen the track,” but it did something crucial: it stalled the clearest path to converting the former facility into a non-motorsports project. That’s one of the structural reasons the rumor keeps coming back.3) What’s happening right now in Banks County: conditional use for a racetrack is on the calendarIn mid-January 2026, multiple outlets circulated a public notice stating an application had been filed seeking conditional use approval for a racetrack on property zoned C2 General Commercial, with two public hearings scheduled:AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPlanning Commission: February 3, 2026Board of Commissioners: February 10, 2026Separately, Banks County’s own calendar shows Planning Commission meetings continuing into January 2026 (the county site links agendas and an HTML agenda portal).