Motorsports Past, Present, and Future To Be Celebrated At Inaugural American Speed Festival

From September 30 to October 1, 2021, the first American Speed Festival (ASF) willย be held that showcases excellence in automotive design and engineering,ย along with celebrating driving at speed, and the buzz of motorsport competition.

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The event will be held in the M1 Concourse in Pontiac where it is anticipated more than 200 outstanding automobiles from collections and OEMs around the worldย will be featured. ASF has put together world-class auto exposition and live racing action in the Champion Motor Speedway,ย aย 1.5-mile road courseย in the M1 Concourse.ย 

โ€œWeโ€™ve studied some of the best automotive events around the world, and weโ€™re taking the best elements of all those shows and bringing them here to M1 Concourse with the American Speed Festival. This will truly be a celebration of racing and performance, and we will have experiences and elements that will appeal to everyone from eight to 80 years of age.โ€ย 

PME interim chief executive officer, Dave Sherman

American Speed Festival will have a featured class of cars every year, and they will also honor a legend of the industry.ย For the first American Speed Festival, they will be featuring the legendary Can-Am race cars from the 1960s and 1970s. They have also announced the recipient of the first โ€œMaster of Motorsportโ€ award, and it will go to Jim Hall, Motorsport Hall of Fame racing innovator. He has confirmed his attendance to the event.ย 


Jim Hall. Photo Credit: Pete Lyons/Revs Institute

Photo Credit: Pete Lyons/Revs Institute

โ€œWhatโ€™s so important about having the Can Am cars here and honoring Jim Hall is that it fits right in with how we want to showcase innovation in racing and the automotive world. Jim Hall is truly legendary for the advancements he made to racing in terms of aerodynamics and engineering advancements.โ€ย 

Timย Hartge, chief marketing officer of Pontiac Motorsport Exhibitionย 

An exclusive โ€œDine and Driveโ€ event throughout Metro Detroit will kick off the American Speed Festival on Thursday, September 30 forย behind the scenes look at a few of the Motor Cityโ€™s great automotive history. In the evening, theย  American Speed Festival Canย Am Kick offย reception will beย open to the public.ย 

High-speed on-track activity for past, present, and future race and performance vehicles will be featured on Friday and Saturday, as they use the M1 Concourse โ€œSpeed Ringโ€ for single-car trials. There will also be guest appearances, Q&A sessions, seminars, and autograph sessions.ย ย 

There will be a special โ€œRev Up the Grillโ€ event on Friday evening that will have the drivers, owners, and industry insiders enjoy a light evening of fun and bench racing.ย 

The Checkered Flag Ball will be held on Saturday evening forย the benefitย of the Checkered Flag Challenge, a new 501c3 that supports organizations that change the lives of those who live in Pontiac.ย 

To end the weekend, Sunday will feature the American Speed Festival Exposition. It is a judged competition featuring the best of the best car classes during the weekend. It is a great chance for all car enthusiasts to be able to see and get close to the best cars in North America and the world.ย ย 

Tickets for American Speed Festival are now on sale with the pricing for the dayโ€™s events already inclusive of food and beverages. Admission to evening events is purchased separately. Tickets and a complete schedule of events can be found on the American Speed Festival website.

[Source: American Speed Festival]