McLaren Racing’s Zak Brown to Receive IMRRC’s 10th Annual Cameron R. Argetsinger Award on September 12, 2024, in Corning, New York
Presenting Sponsors: Sahlen’s, NASCAR, Watkins Glen International
Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing, will receive the 10th annual IMRRC Cameron R. Argetsinger Award at a gala presented by Sahlen’s, NASCAR, Watkins Glen International and IMSA, on Thursday, September 12, 2024. The dinner and presentation will be held prior to the running of the NASCAR Go Bowling at The Glen event, September 11-15, at Watkins Glen International.
The International Motor Racing Research Center returns to the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, to present the award to Brown, in recognition of his universal contributions to help advance and improve the sport of motor racing.
Established in 2014, the CRA Award had been presented at gala events at the CMOG through 2019, honoring such legends of the sport as Chip Ganassi, Roger Penske, Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, the France Family and Bobby Rahal. When the pandemic hit, the event moved first to Watkins Glen International, then to the Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen, recognizing Lyn St. James, Mike Helton and Richard Childress through 2023.
“We are thrilled to be returning to the Corning Museum of Glass, where the IMRRC launched the CRA Award galas in 2014, initially honoring Chip Ganassi,” said Mark Steigerwald, Executive Director of the IMRRC. “We expect a significant turnout for this year’s event, based on the huge growth of popularity of Formula 1 racing in recent years, and McLaren’s progress in performance since Brown came on board with the team. The CMOG’s facility can easily accommodate a large number of attendees.”
Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indy 500 winner and current NTT INDYCAR SERIES team owner, will introduce Brown at the gala and will interview the honoree on stage.
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As CEO of McLaren Racing, Zak Brown has overall responsibility for the business, including strategic direction, operational performance, marketing and commercial development. Since joining the team in 2016, he has led the transformation of the brand and culture of the McLaren Formula 1 team and put in place the people, resources, infrastructure and mindset that has enabled McLaren to return to racing at the front of the F1 grid. Brown has taken McLaren Racing onto a global motorsport stage, with McLaren teams now racing in IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E, Esports, F1 Academy, with the World Endurance Championship joining the line up in 2024.
Born and raised in California, Brown raced professionally around the world for 10 years before developing his skills in motorsport’s business and commercial worlds. In 1995, he founded JMI, which grew to become the largest and most successful motorsport marketing agency in the world. JMI was acquired in 2013 by CSM, a division of Chime Communications.
Brown is a racer and renowned for his energy, his relentless work ethic and his knowledge of the business and history of motorsport. He’s been unafraid to publicly address some of the issues facing the world of motorsport and has been the lead protagonist around the budget cap, sustainability and diversity in the sport, as well as champion of fans interests. He has demonstrated the ability to take the tough decisions needed to make an F1 team successful.
Brown co-founded and co-owns United Autosports, a leading racing team competing in international sportscar racing, the Supercars Championship in Australia, and various historic racing events around the world. Outside of work, Zak is an avid collector of historical documents, baseball and ice hockey memorabilia, and both road and racing cars. He lives in Surrey in the U.K.
Register for the 2024 Awards Dinner.
The gala is open to the public. Tickets may be purchased at the IMRRC Store. All proceeds benefit the IMRRC, a 501(c)(3 organization.
AWARDS DINNER AUCTION. The auction ends on the evening of September 12th at 6:30PM, coinciding with the IMRRC Cameron R. Argetsinger Award gala honoring Zak Brown, where items will be on display. The winning bidder need not be present to win Examples of items up for bid include: Ayrton Senna by Gary Dausch, Can-Am Reunion Poster by Michael Turner, Michael Andretti Helmet and many others! New items will be added weekly so check back often.
MCLAREN OWNERS: There will be designated parking at the event for McLaren owners who bring their cars, plus a reduced ticket price of $225. Please enter code ZAKAWARD in the ‘Add coupon or gift card’ line and email Brenda Neville, brenda@racingarchives.org , with the color and model of your car.
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Previous Award Recipients
The Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports honors a person in the motorsports industry who is recognized universally for having advanced and improved the sport, in roles that may include, but are not limited to, driver, team owner, sponsor, race promoter, journalist or official of a sponsoring or sanctioning organization. The honoree brings prestige to motorsports and demonstrates commitment to the future of racing.
2022 Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Mike Helton
About the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports
Established in 2014, the inaugural award recipient was Chip Ganassi, who at the time fielded teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Verizon INDYCAR and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series. Richard Petty, the winningest driver in NASCAR history, was the 2015 honoree. The 2016 recipient was Roger Penske, who was celebrating more than 50 years involved in motorsports as a driver and team owner. Mario Andretti, considered by many to be the greatest race car driver in the history of the sport, was the 2017 recipient. Jim France, Chairman of ISC and IMSA and NASCAR Vice Chairman/Executive Vice President; Lesa France Kennedy, ISC CEO/Vice Chairperson and NASCAR Vice Chairperson; and Ben Kennedy, General Manager of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, were honored on June 28th of 2018. Team owner and famed driver Bobby Rahal was honored in 2019. In 2021, a pioneer for women in motor racing, Lyn St. James, received the award.
The award memorializes Cameron R. Argetsinger, often referred to as the father of American road racing. Argetsinger was a visionary who, in 1948, conceived, organized, and drove in the first post-war road race in America through the roads of Watkins Glen. He brought Formula One to Watkins Glen International in 1961 and the circuit hosted the United States Grand Prix for 20 years. He was president of the IMRRC for five years, until his death in 2008.