The first Model Ts rolled off the Ford Motor Company assembly lines in 1908, scarcely 20 years removed from the first class enrolling at Georgia Tech.

As dirt gave way to asphalt, and car culture captured the country’s imagination, young engineers and mechanics in Atlanta’s North Avenue shops and foundries were instantly drawn to automobiles and the pursuit of speed. 

Racing culture blossomed in and around Atlanta, and Georgia Tech was at the epicenter.

This culture would influence the origins of stock car racing and the beginnings of the National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR), the most popular motorsports series in the U.S.