The Classic Motorsports Mitty is a classic automobile race and event held annually at the

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

race track in

Braselton, Georgia Braselton ( ) is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,652. ...

. Since the inaugural event in 1977 it has grown to become one of the largest classic automobile events on the East Coast of the United States.

A brief history of The Mitty

The Mitty began in 1977 with a handful of Atlanta-area road racing enthusiasts who were looking for a safe place to exercise their cars at speed. Road Atlanta offered just the venue. The formula was an immediate success. After observing the enthusiasm for that first event, Martha Turner, then editor of the Jaguar Marque, dubbed the proceedings the great ''Walter Mitty Challenge'' after the

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in ...

short story. Through the years, The Mitty has become a spring tradition in Atlanta. In 2004

Classic Motorsports ''Classic Motorsports'' is an American periodical devoted to classic cars, classic car restoration and vintage racing. It was established in 1986 and is published six times a year. The magazine's parent company, Motorsport Marketing Inc., based in ...

magazine became the title sponsor and event co-promoter. The event is currently{{when, date=October 2018 presented by Hagerty and sanctioned by

Historic Sportscar Racing Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) is an automobile club and sanctioning body that supports historic racing in the United States. The organization traces its roots to the first running of the Walter Mitty Challenge in 1977 at Road Atlanta. HSR conti ...

, an East Coast-based racing series that developed from the first Mitty and now sanctions six to 10 events each year. Motorsport in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic motorsport events Sports competitions in Georgia (U.S. state)