{"id":48086,"date":"2024-09-14T17:16:06","date_gmt":"2024-09-14T22:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=48086"},"modified":"2024-09-14T17:16:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T22:16:06","slug":"mclaren-racing-ceo-brown-receives-imrrcs-argetsinger-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/14\/mclaren-racing-ceo-brown-receives-imrrcs-argetsinger-award\/","title":{"rendered":"McLaren Racing CEO Brown receives IMRRC’s Argetsinger Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Zak Brown, left, with J.C. Argetsinger, holding the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award. (Chris Walters image)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

by <\/em>racedaysaeditor <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

CORNING, N.Y. _ Native Californian Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing\u2019s globe-trotting empire, is the latest recipient of the International Motor Racing Research Center\u2019s prestigious Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for outstanding contributions to motorsports.<\/p>\n

Brown was honored Thursday during the 10th annual IMRRC gala on its return to the Corning Museum of Glass, site of the inaugural award presentation to multi-race team-owner Chip Ganassi in 2014.<\/p>\n

Brown _ whose full legal name is Zakary Challen Brown _ was presented an etched glass trophy by J.C. Argetsinger, founding member and past president of the IMRRC. Motorsports TV broadcaster Dr. Jerry Punch served as Master of Ceremonies, a role \u201cDoc\u201d has held for nine of 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is such a wonderful thing that Zak has brought back the Formula 1 McLaren team to its pre-eminence in racing,\u201d said Argetsinger, Cameron\u2019s eldest son and a retired Schuyler (N.Y.) county judge. \u201cFor that alone, he is so well-deserving of this award. There were other great constructors and owners (in the early days of F1), along with Bruce McLaren, John Cooper, Colin Chapman, Jack Brabham _ all giants. Zak is filling the same role today. He\u2019s a businessman and leader. We are thrilled that Zak would take time out of his busy schedule to be with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

A series of video shout-outs were shown, sharing congratulatory and often humorous messages from racing and entertainment industry celebrities including David Hobbs, Al Unser Jr., Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, IMSA\u2019s John Doonan, Emerson Fittipaldi, United Autosport\u2019s Richard Dean and musicians John Oates and Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band.<\/p>\n

Also acknowledging Brown\u2019s accomplishments as a businessman and a race-car driver were INDYCAR Arrow McLaren\u2019s Sam Schmidt, along with INDYCAR and F1 McLaren Racing drivers Pato O\u2019Ward, Nolan Siegel, Alexander Rossi, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. O\u2019Ward is a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas.<\/p>\n

Bobby Rahal, winner of the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and former chairman of the IMRRC Governing Council, conducted a spirited interview with Brown while also fielding questions from the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my honor and privilege to introduce all of you to my friend Zak Brown,\u201d said Rahal, who as co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing competes against Brown and Arrow McLaren in the NTT IndyCar Series. \u201cThe thing that first struck me about Zak is that he\u2019s a racer. There is no doubt of that. That\u2019s what drives the energy of his commitment, which is unbelievable. I don\u2019t know how he does it. It\u2019s really amazing to have witnessed what he\u2019s done over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown was touched by the kudos he received during the evening. \u201cIt’s unbelievable to be with all of you here to watch the videos with all those legends and to be hanging out with Bobby,\u201d said Brown, 52, born and raised in Los Angeles and currently residing in England. \u201cI appreciate everyone showing up tonight and thank you so very much. It\u2019s an honor and privilege and a surprise to win this very prestigious award. The legends that have won this award are some of my heroes growing up. I\u2019m so happy to be able to work in this awesome sport of ours and with McLaren specifically.”<\/p>\n

Located in Watkins Glen, N.Y., the International Motor Racing Research Center collects, shares and preserves the history of motorsports. Spanning continents, eras and race series, the Center\u2019s extensive historical collection embodies the speed, drama and camaraderie of amateur and professional motor racing throughout the world. The Center welcomes serious researchers and casual fans alike to share the stories captured on its shelves and walls, and brought to life through a regular calendar of public lectures and special events. Further information is available online at www.racingarchives.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

John Saunders, chairman of the IMRRC Governing Council, elaborated on the IMRRC\u2019s mission to help preserve the important legacy of motorsports, while David Suess spoke on behalf of Diamond Sponsor The Esses. Sahlen\u2019s, a continuing supporter of CRA Award dinners since the first year, also was a Diamond Sponsor.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresenting the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award serves the dual purpose of honoring an outstanding contributor to motorsports while also providing an enjoyable evening for guests and sponsors who appreciate the mission of the IMRRC,\u201d said Mark Steigerwald, executive director of the organization. \u201cThey in turn participate in one of the IMRRC\u2019s most significant annual fund-raising events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dinner was a resounding success. Zak Brown\u2019s generosity enhanced the live auction portion of the evening. Many of our event sponsors have been with us since the beginning, a further endorsement of our mission to preserve motorsport history.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 60″x42″ acrylic painting created during the reception by famed motorsports artist Bill Patterson was auctioned at the end of the evening. It depicted the 1991 Monaco-winning McLaren F1 car driven by three-time World Driving Champion Ayrton Senna of Brazil, with a current McLaren F1 car in the background.<\/p>\n

Also auctioned was a specially-commissioned Corning Museum of Glass-created glass sculpture of a McLaren racing car, plus a driving suit worn by Piastri during practice at Saudi Arabia in 2024 (donated by McLaren Racing). An on-line silent auction also was conducted, with all proceeds going to the IMRRC, a 501(c)(3) organization.<\/p>\n

Two vintage McLaren race cars were on display at the entry _ a restored 1975 McLaren M23 now owned by Greg Galdi, the F1 car driven to victory in the Argentinian Grand Prix that year by two-time World Driving Champion Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil. Also on display was Rob Dyson\u2019s 1974 McLaren M16C\/D Indy-car that Hobbs, David \u201cSalt\u201d Walther and Jerry Karl raced domestically. Three \u201cstreet\u201d McLarens, driven by event guests, also were featured at the entry.<\/p>\n

Established in 2014, the CRA Award has been presented to motorsports legends Ganassi, Roger Penske, Mario Andretti, \u201cKing\u201d Richard Petty, the France Family, Rahal, Lyn St. James, Mike Helton and Richard Childress. Lesa Kennedy and Ben Kennedy of the France family were present, along with Rahal, St. James and Childress.<\/p>\n

The award memorializes Cameron R. Argetsinger, who often is referred to as \u201cThe Father of American Road-Racing.\u201d Argetsinger was a visionary who, in 1948, conceived, organized and drove in the first post-World War II road-race in America through the narrow streets of the Village of Watkins Glen. Argetsinger also brought the FIA Formula 1 World Championship to WGI in 1961. The famed Finger Lakes circuit hosted the United States Grand Prix for 20 years. Argetsinger served as president of the IMRRC for five years, until his death in 2008.<\/p>\n

Sponsors and supporters of the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award dinner included Sahlen’s, The Esses, NASCAR\/WGI\/IMSA, SCCA Inc., SCCA Foundation, Hilliard Corporation, Hendrick Motorsports, The Gorsline Company Inc., Larry and Karen Kessler, Williams Toyota of Elmira, Richard Childress Racing, Team Penske, Global Prairie, Charles W. Grimm Construction Inc., Glenora Wine Cellars, Greg Galdi, Welliver and Women in Motorsports North America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  by racedaysaeditor  CORNING, N.Y. _ Native Californian Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing\u2019s globe-trotting empire, is the latest recipient of the International Motor Racing Research Center\u2019s prestigious Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for outstanding contributions to motorsports. Brown was honored Thursday during the 10th annual IMRRC gala on its return to the Corning Museum of Glass, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":48089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12,27],"tags":[22,959,672],"class_list":["post-48086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indycar","category-motorsports","tag-indycar","tag-mclaren-racing","tag-ntt-indycar-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ZakBrown.jpg?fit=1200%2C800","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-cvA","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48086"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48090,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48086\/revisions\/48090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}