Road Atlanta announced today that the newly-crowned Miss America 2016, Betty Cantrell from Warner Robins, Ga., will serve as the Grand Marshal for the 18th Annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda on October 3rd.

Betty Cantrell rose to take the 2016 Miss America title after serving as Miss Georgia in 2015. The 21-year old is the first Miss Georgia to be crowned the Miss America title since 1953, and stands for a platform of healthy children, strong America.

Betty is thrilled with the opportunity to not only represent Miss America at Petit Le Mans, but to also add Grand Marshal of the event to her quickly-growing list of honors.

“I’m honored and thrilled to have been invited by Road Atlanta to serve as the Grand Marshal of the Petit Le Mans,” said Betty Cantrell, who stood out amongst the other Miss America contestants by singing opera. “I’m looking forward to coming back to Georgia and enjoying the race.”

As a hometown hero of sorts, Betty’s role as Petit Le Mans Grand Marshal especially appeals to the local fans that supported her throughout the Miss America competition. Now, America’s sweetheart will become entrenched in the racing world and can bring the two together.

This year marks the 18th annual Petit Le Mans, which started in 1998 with the Professional SportsCar Racing series and has evolved into one of the premier international motorsports events and has a huge local and regional draw, in addition to the national and international crowd. This family-friendly festival of speed annually attracts upwards of 100,000 spectators to come watch one of the greatest shows in motorsports, where a field of 35+ sportscars will battle for the championship over the course of 10 hours at Road Atlanta.

“We’re honored to have Miss America Betty Cantrell serve as Grand Marshal for this edition of Petit Le Mans,” said Geoff Lee, president and general manager of Road Atlanta. “Having Miss America fill this role is a great reminder of the scale to which Petit Le Mans has grown. This event takes both a national and international stage, and we’re honored to have such an esteemed representative from Georgia to bring this full-circle.”

See Miss America and the exciting 10-hour Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta on October 3rd. Visit roadatlanta.com for more details.