AMC is back on familiar ground. Thunder Road, the network’s new stock car racing drama produced in partnership with NASCAR, is currently filming in Georgia with Raleigh Studios Atlanta in Senoia as its home base — the same lot where AMC built Woodbury, Alexandria, and a decade of The Walking Dead. Shooting dates run September 9 through December 18, 2026, and the show is set to premiere on AMC and AMC+ in 2027.
Longtime readers will remember the Senoia lot under its earlier name, Riverwood Studios — and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing crew union IATSE Local 479, was first to report back in June that the production would land there. AMC made it official on September 17 with a press release announcing that production had shifted “into drive” across Georgia.
What the Series Is About
Thunder Road is a multigenerational family saga about the fictional Whitlock family, whose legacy in stock car racing runs as deep as their roots in the Southern hill country that shaped them. At the center is Duane Whitlock, a racing legend nicknamed “The Wrecking Ball” who built an empire out of moonshine runs and dirt tracks — and refuses to let it die. The series is built around family dynamics, a bitter rivalry with the neighboring Farley clan, and the stories NASCAR fans rarely get to see behind the garage door.
The NASCAR partnership is a notable wrinkle. The sanctioning body is co-producing through its NASCAR Studios arm, which means the series gets access to real cars, real tracks, and real archival material — along with, presumably, some say in how the sport is portrayed. Forbes called it potentially the most fitting return to the sport’s storytelling roots, given that NASCAR was quite literally born on the backroads.
The Cast
Dennis Quaid stars as Duane Whitlock. AMC’s content chief Dan McDermott called it “the ultimate dream casting,” and it’s hard to argue — Quaid has been playing weathered, charismatic Southern men for four decades, from The Right Stuff to Far from Heaven to last year’s The Substance. He also has history here: Quaid has filmed at least three movies in metro Atlanta, including Amazon’s On a Wing and a Prayer.
Chase Stokes plays Ronnie Whitlock, described as a rebel with a lead foot and an outlaw’s grin. Stokes is best known as John B on Netflix’s Outer Banks, which wrapped its final season this year, and starred in the Netflix film Uglies.
Maggie Grace plays Laney Whitlock, the oldest and smartest of Duane’s children and the CEO of Whitlock Racing — the one holding the family business together while fighting the instinct to become the same wrecking ball as her father. Grace is a familiar face to AMC viewers from Fear the Walking Dead, and to everyone else from Lost and the Taken films.
Matt Barr plays Calvin Whitlock. Barr starred in Hatfields & McCoys and Blood & Treasure, and Georgia readers may remember him from Walker.
West Duchovny plays Cassie Whitlock, the youngest and most aggressive of the siblings. Duchovny — yes, David’s daughter — broke out in Hulu’s Saint X and Netflix’s Painkiller.
Shane McRae plays Scooter Jakes. McRae has been a standout in Apple’s Silo and Amazon’s Sneaky Pete.
Jake Manley plays Zak Farley, of the rival racing family. Manley is known for Netflix’s My Life with the Walter Boys.
And then there’s Michael Rooker, who recurs as Lucas Farley, patriarch of the Farley family and Duane’s chief rival. Rooker, of course, is Merle Dixon — and he shot those seasons of The Walking Dead on this exact lot. Having him back in Senoia playing a different kind of antagonist is a nice bit of symmetry.
The recurring and guest cast also includes James Wolk (Mad Men) as Jordan Brandt, Laney’s husband and the race team’s general counsel, appearing in six of the eight episodes; Mackenzie Porter (9-1-1: Nashville) as Bonnie Taylor-Whitlock; Aspen Kennedy as Bobby “Breeze” Roberts; Josh Macqueen (Motorheads) as Trey Whitlock; Sandra Ellis Lafferty (The Hunger Games) as Mee-Maw; Haley Dillon; and musician Devon Allman — son of Gregg Allman, which makes him about as Georgia as casting gets.
The Creative Team
Thunder Road was created by John Fusco, the screenwriter behind Young Guns, Hidalgo, The Highwaymen, and Netflix’s Marco Polo. Taylor Elmore is showrunner — Elmore wrote and produced on Justified and Tulsa King, two shows that know exactly how to make Southern crime-adjacent family drama hum. Both executive produce, along with Cliff Roberts of Syndicate Entertainment, and Tim Clark and John Dahl on behalf of NASCAR. AMC Studios is producing, with AMC Global Media holding worldwide rights.
Where It's Filming in Georgia
Senoia is home base, but the production has been getting out to several Coweta and Fayette County locations. Based on casting calls so far, Thunder Road has filmed or is filming in:
- Senoia — stage work at Raleigh Studios Atlanta plus on-location scenes, including a church scene with a featured preacher in September
- Fayetteville — PR and media scenes, October 7 and 27
- Hampton — race team crew scenes on October 12–14, 20, and 26. Hampton is home to EchoPark Speedway (the track most of us still call Atlanta Motor Speedway), so draw your own conclusions
Casting calls have also gone out for bar regulars, automotive enthusiasts, engineers and “intellectual professional types,” reporters and press, and race team athletic crew — which gives a pretty good sketch of the world the show lives in.
Want to Be a Background Extra?
Catrett Casting & Associates is handling background for Thunder Road. Rates on recent calls have been $182 for 12 hours, and the production has been looking for a wide range of types — athletic men for race crew, PR and media assistants ages 18–40, clean-shaven men, bar regulars, car enthusiasts, and featured press. With filming running through December 18, there’s still almost two months of opportunities. Register on Catrett’s site and keep an eye on their social pages for the next call.
When Can We See It?
Thunder Road premieres on AMC and AMC+ in 2027. No specific date has been announced, but with production wrapping just before Christmas, a spring or summer 2027 debut seems likely — and AMC will almost certainly want it on air around a marquee NASCAR weekend. We’ll keep you posted.
