GRIDLIFE Drivers Gear Up for Return to Road Atlanta with Formula Drift

Eric Kutil (#82) leads Mike Taylor (#39), Rob Manouchehri (#325), Julien Drennan, and Chris Tuttell through turns 10A and 10B in GLTC at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in 2019.

Braselton, GA - A packed grid is set to compete at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta next weekend in collaboration with Formula Drift, with representation from all of GRIDLIFE’s series. Nearly ninety cars will fight for track records in the GRIDLIFE TrackBattle Time Attack Championship, over fifty in Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup, almost thirty in the GRIDLIFE RUSH Series, and a stacked field of drift drivers returning to full course drift at the 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course north of Atlanta.

Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup Championship is Back at Road Atlanta

It’s been six years since Eibach GLTC has raced at Road Atlanta, last competing in August 2019 in what was the first-ever season of GRIDLIFE wheel-to-wheel competition. Though many names, faces, and cars, have changed - there are some present that raced in the 2019 event. Current points leader Eric Kutil won Race 3 back in 2019, and sails into Round 2 of the 2025 season carrying a wave of momentum from a trip to Carolina Motorsports Park in April, where he won three of four races en route to the weekend title. Robert McDaniels, who scored a weekend best of 18th in 2019 at Road Atlanta, is also signed up for the event next week. 

The long back straightaway at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta provides ample overtaking opportunities, and with a field more heavily leaning towards large-displacement motors than six years ago, drivers like Eric Magnussen and Eric Jensen hope to carry their momentum from South Carolina in a more literal sense into turn 10A next week. Reigning champion Matan Rosenberg, in his #484 Falken-sponsored Chevrolet Corvette, also expressed excitement about the straightaways, despite racking up four consecutive podiums at the more technical Carolina Motorsports Park. Matt Waldbaum and James Houghton, championship contenders from previous seasons in Eibach GLTC, also will make their first starts of the year at Road Atlanta. The Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup Championship features four races throughout the race weekend, with a whopping 56-car grid set to take the green flag.

Drift Returns to Full Course at Road Atlanta

GRIDLIFE’s special sauce at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for several years was the introduction of full course drift, utilizing the fast downhill esses and the long run down the backstraight as part of the spectacle. In addition to the Formula Drift portion of the weekend, GRIDLIFE will run its own drift sessions on the entirety of the 2.54-mile circuit. Grammy award winning artist T-Pain will join the field with Nappy Boy Automotive, at the place where his drifting journey began in 2018. He’ll be alongside stars and staples from Formula Drift: Chris Forseberg, Matt Field, and Vaughn Gittin Jr. Evan Shanks, who competed at GRIDLIFE South Carolina in the GRIDLIFE RUSH Series, joins the drift field for Road Atlanta. Nearly two dozen other drivers are registered to drift at one of the most storied road courses in North America.

GRIDLIFE’s non-competitive drift format allows for single runs, tandems, and trains - creating a unique spectacle around the full course at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

GRIDLIFE TrackBattle Field Aims to Reset Aging Track Records

The GRIDLIFE TrackBattle Time Attack grid will feature 87 entries split across seven classes at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Feras Qartoumy is set to tackle the standing GRIDLIFE Unlimited RWD record, which was set by Brian Faessler in 2017, with a time of 1:23.418. Qartoumy has run significantly faster than this in other series since then, and will likely be able to eclipse the overall Unlimited record, which was a 1:19.962, set by Will Au-Yeung, in 2019. GRIDLIFE’s last trip to Road Atlanta predates the introduction of the Falken Club TR category, as well as the contemporary ruleset for the re-developed Track Mod rules in 2023 - so both classes will not have track record points available at this round while the benchmarks are set.

Street Mod, Street GT, Street, and Club SC will all very likely see track records broken as well, with heavy hitters like Michael Aumick, Josh Halka, Kal Fortner, Eric Fleming, and Sam Deuling on the entry lists for TrackBattle’s second round of 2025. Deuling, in particular, will battle standing record holder Matt Williams for the Club SC record, a 1:55.185, set in 2018. GRIDLIFE TrackBattle at Road Atlanta will not feature a Podium Sprint at this round, and will revert to the traditional format, where a driver’s best weekend lap is the scored time. 

GRIDLIFE RUSH Series Sees Introduction of SRX, Multi-Class Racing, at Road Atlanta

The GRIDLIFE RUSH Series roars into Road Atlanta sporting another category - the RUSH SRX, which will create GRIDLIFE’s first multi-class wheel-to-wheel racing environment. Though the RUSH Series regularly features over 30 entrants piloting the RUSH SR, the SRX is an evolution and advancement of the technologies that made the SR popular, and in a package that delivers more power and excitement. A handful of the new cars are expected to compete, with more in production and on order. The SRX features over 100 more horsepower than the SR, and is complete with a DRS and Push-to-Pass system, pushing the car north of 270 horsepower in an 1,100-pound chassis. 

Ryan Leach, who swept all four races at GRIDLIFE South Carolina, will try to repeat his successes and extend his points advantage over Andy Voelkel, who finished 2nd in all four races in Round 1. Nico Bratz, who scored four podiums in that same event, sits 28 points out of the lead. Many of the same names who competed in April in South Carolina are returning, including Ethan Alexander and James French, who spent much of the weekend in Kershaw trading positions. The pairing rushes into Road Atlanta separated by eight points, advantage French.

The introduction of the SRX, and its strategic use of Push-to-Pass, will be a key feature of the event for the GRIDLIFE RUSH Series. With more of the new car on the way, it is sure to be a thrilling addition to an already exciting series and format. The GRIDLIFE RUSH Series, like Eibach GLTC, competes four times at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta next weekend.

While the next GRIDLIFE Live broadcast will take place at GRIDLIFE Festival in June, fans of GRIDLIFE can follow along on GRIDLIFE’s social networks for updates, and on the GRIDLIFE website for daily highlights.