Gerard Hansen, an automotive historian and motorsports professional, has announced a new motorsports facility based in Petal, Mississippi, just outside of Hattiesburg. 

The primary purpose of building the new facility is to develop “tomorrow’s racing champions,” track officials stated. “Mississippi Raceway Park will bring national exposure, provide recreation, and create jobs. [It] has the potential of becoming a major destination for motorsports enthusiasts throughout the Southeast.”

Mississippi Raceway Park will feature several race tracks, including the first 5/8-mile paved asphalt oval in the state, a 1/4-mile drag strip, three road course configurations, a kart track, and a soapbox derby course modeled after the Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. The facility will also offer professional race car driving instruction for drag, oval, road, and kart divisions, in addition to daily driver education for all ages. 

The first phase of the $30 million project will be constructing the arrive-and-drive kart track, followed by the drag strip, with officials eyeing an open date of Memorial Day in 2023, according to Race Pages Digital. Following will be the paved oval and the road courses.

Plans include seating for up to 40,000 fans, hospitality suites, on-track condos, and an RV campground.