Construction of the track began in 1979 under Bud Lunsford, with operations commencing in 1982. The facility started life as a dirt oval before being paved in the mid-1980s. Lunsford ran the track until selling it to Donnie Clack in the mid-2000s.
In 2012 Jim Downing, co-inventor of the HANS (Head and Neck Support) device, purchased the property and renamed it Lanier Raceplex. Downing undertook substantial renovations: infield walls and buildings were razed, the entire infield and oval received a fresh "black lake" paving job, and track amenities were upgraded throughout. The circuit reopened in January 2016 offering arrive-and-drive karting alongside oval and drift events.
Weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing ended after the 2011 season, though the facility remained open for larger events. In 2021 the Raceplex hosted a four-race legends car series broadcast on NBC Sports Gold Trackpass alongside a ten-race arrive-and-drive go-kart series.
In January 2022 the property was sold to High Octane Events, the Atlanta-based multimedia motorsports business behind the Caffeine and Octane car show — the largest monthly car show in the world. Under that ownership, the venue was rebranded Caffeine and Octane's Lanier Raceway and weekly events resumed for the first time since 2011, with a particular focus on drifting, burnouts, and open-format car meets. As the only short paved oval within 50 miles of Atlanta, the track became a significant hub for grassroots drifting and competition driving across the Southeast.
In 2025 High Octane Events sold the property to Lanier Speedway LLC, which announced development plans incorporating retail, commercial, residential, hotel, and car condo components while committing to keep and operate the race track as part of the broader site.
The track hosted five NASCAR Busch Grand National Series races between 1988 and 1992, bringing national-level competition to the northeast Atlanta suburbs. It also ran 17 NASCAR Southeast Series events between 1991 and 2004 and two NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races in 2008 and 2009.
The ARCA Re/Max Series held one event at the track in 2005, won by David Ragan. Three ASA National Tour races took place between 2000 and 2004, with Scott Wimmer winning one and Mike Garvey taking the other two. CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series ran a race at the venue in 2009.
The Pro All Stars Series hosted a national super late model event on November 15-16, 2019, which served as the PASS National Championship final.
The track sits within the Metrolina-adjacent zone of northeast Georgia, directly adjacent to Road Atlanta — a juxtaposition that places a grassroots short oval next to one of North America's most storied road courses. That geographic rarity helped sustain the venue through ownership changes and operational gaps, as local racers and drift enthusiasts had few comparable alternatives within the region.
Over more than four decades the track has cycled between active short-track racing, dormancy, karting-focused operations, and drift events, reflecting broader shifts in American grassroots motorsport. Its survival into the 2020s under successive owners underscores the durable demand for accessible oval and competition venues near large population centers, even as many comparable short tracks closed permanently during the same period.