It was good to get a communication this week from longtime associate Tim McGrane, a genuine mover in the world of collector cars whose personal CV boasts stints at the helm of the Blackhawk Collection in California and as head of the famed road circuit, Laguna Seca, on the Monterey Peninsula. Tim’s moved east for a new position as CEO of M1 Concourse, a motoring country club for enthusiasts who really like to use fast cars as properly intended, located in Pontiac, Michigan. Cognoscenti from the Wolverine State will immediately get that the facility’s name is a takeoff on a famous local highway designation, namely the immortal Woodward Avenue. M1 Concourse, under Tim’s leadership, has a cool array of forthcoming events that includes a matter of personal significance.
This Motown country club for car people includes 250 private garage condominiums, related amenities and Champion Motor Speedway, the 1.5-mile driving circuit that’s the centerpiece of the complex, opened in 2016 on the former site of General Motors’ Pontiac West assembly plant. M1 Concourse has three major weekends slated for its 2021 schedule, post-pandemic. The Woodward Dream Show, August 19th-21st, is an adjunct to the famed Woodward Dream Cruise. The facility’s signature 2021 event will be the inaugural American Speed Festival, set for September 30th-October 3rd, a combination of vintage races on the course with a limited car show honoring the Chaparral race cars of Jim Hall. The American Speed Festival will also host the induction ceremonies for both the 2020 and 2021 classes of inductees to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, which was located for a long time in nearby Novi, Michigan, before moving to Daytona International Speedway. Full disclosure, I’m an elector to the hall, which was forced to postpone both programs due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 