Jim Michaelian, high-profile leader of the Grand Prix of Long Beach for the past quarter-century, died on Saturday, March 21, just a few weeks away from the final event he planned to oversee before his retirement, race officials announced. He was 83.
Last year, Michaelian celebrated the landmark 50th anniversary of the race, now the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Michaelian’s last day as president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach was scheduled to be June 30. He will be succeeded by Jim Liaw, the former general manager of Performance Racing Industry, which hosts the largest annual motorsports trade show in the world.
The cause of death had not yet been released by officials as of Saturday and Michaelian family requested privacy after his passing.
“Jim didn’t just lead the Grand Prix — he lived it,” said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson on Saturday. “His passion, warmth, and dedication turned an event into a tradition, and a tradition into a source of pride for generations of Long Beach residents. Under his leadership, the Grand Prix became a global event and a defining part of Long Beach’s identity. He will be remembered not only for what he built, but for the relationships he nurtured and the pride he inspired.”
Related: Rich Archbold: Jim Michaelian has loved racing since his hot rod days
“More than anything, Jim was someone who led by example,” said a statement from the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, director of communications for the race. “Through his actions, his values, and the way he cared for others, he left a lasting impression on everyone fortunate enough to know him.”
Michaelian was involved in the race since its inception in 1975. He saw it grow from a modest curiosity — with some people initially calling founder Chris Pook’s idea for a downtown street race “crazy” — to an iconic motorsports event that draws around 200,000 people annually and is widely considered the second-most prestigious IndyCar Series race, behind only the famed Indianapolis 500.
Under his leadership, the Grand Prix became Long Beach’s biggest annual party, enjoyable for everyone from casual fans to diehard motorsports lovers — and even the competitors. He also led the event through some challenging times, notably the COVID-19 pandemic, and got to celebrate his accomplishments last year during the 50th anniversary. Last year, he was inducted into the Motorsports Walk of Fame outside the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.
Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian describes the 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Thursday, February 20, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Grand Prix Association President and CEO Jim Michaelian, left, is joined by Long Beach Grand Prix founder Chris Pook and his wife, Ellen, at a pre-race celebration for the 50th incarnation of the event on Wednesday, Mar. 19, 2025, at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Jim Michaelian is inducted in the Motorsports Walk of Fame during a ceremony at the Long Beach Convention Center on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Jim Michaelian is inducted in the Motorsports Walk of Fame during a ceremony at the Long Beach Convention Center on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association, left, gets a hug from Allen Wolfe Spirit Award recipient Rich Archbold on Saturday, Apr. 20, 2024, in the Grand Prix of Long Beach media center. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
FILE | Grand Prix Association CEO Jim Michaelian and driver Danica Patrick along with her pit crew were on hand to compete in the Pit Stop Competition at the “Tecate “Thunder Thursday on Pine. ” Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram
Then-Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President & CEO Jim Michaelian kick off the first full day of construction for the then-Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach temporary race circuit through the downtown streets of Long Beach. FILE PHOTO
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Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian describes the 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Thursday, February 20, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Michaelian’s tireless efforts to promote — and sometimes defend — the annual event truly paid off, with the Grand Prix’s audience continuing to build over the years. For the past several years since the pandemic, the event’s attendance numbers have increased annually — with the 2025 weekend bringing in a record 197,000 visitors.
The race, since its founding, has also become a crucial cornerstone of the local and regional economy. In 2024, the event generated about $100 million worth of economic impact in Southern California.
“Leading the Grand Prix Association and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach has been the privilege of a lifetime,” Michaelian said in a statement when he announced his retirement. “This event and this community mean a great deal to me, and I’m proud of what our team has built together. Coming off our very successful 50th celebration, I feel this is the right time to make this transition.
Related: Here are some key moments from Jim Michaelian’s Grand Prix of Long Beach career
“For 50 years,” he added, “I have been given the unique opportunity to merge my passion for motorsports with involvement with the longest-running street race in America, which has been a distinct privilege.”
Away from the race, Michaelian was known as a private man who enjoyed spending time with his wife, Mary, and two sons, Bob and Mike.
“A loving and devoted husband, nothing meant more to Jim than his family. He especially treasured the time he spent with his two boys, creating memories that will be carried forever,” said the statement from the race.
“One of the ways he brought everyone together was through Sunday family dinners, which became a cherished tradition,” the statement added. “Around that table were lively and passionate discussions about motorsports, finance, and politics – topics Jim loved and brought to life with insight and enthusiasm. He was an avid reader, a thoughtful man, and someone people naturally turned to for advice and guidance.”
After this year’s Grand Prix, the GPALB said, Michaelian was scheduled to transition into a new role with Penske Entertainment, which acquired the Long Beach street race in November 2024 from its longtime owner Gerald R. Forsythe.
Michaelian was in the midst of what he aimed to be a seamless transition to the race’s new leader, he said. “I, of course, initially will be helping Jim Liaw in his transition to the presidency of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Jim is an excellent choice.”
Penske owns a three-car team in the IndyCar Series, with Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin as drivers. Penske teams have won 17 IndyCar Series championships and five NASCAR championships. The company’s teams have won the Indianapolis 500 a record 20 times — and it owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After Penske acquired the Grand Prix, the company said it intended to preserve the event’s core attributes — while working to enhance and bolster race weekends offerings for fans of all kinds.
“What’s really important to note,” Mayor Richardson said earlier this year, “is that he ensured that the race was in good hands under the new ownership of Penske Entertainment, ensuring that the race is positioned for continued growth on the world stage.”
Liaw was Michaelian’s first choice to succeed him, he said earlier this year.
“I know him well. He was my first choice to move into my position. He’s been involved in our event for years,” Michaelian said. “I want to remain active and involved in racing. I love the sport.”
Liaw took on the temporary role of general manager for the upcoming Grand Prix of Long Beach, and was working closely with Michaelian to make sure the leadership transition went smoothly.
Truly a household name in Long Beach, Michaelian was well known for his passion for auto racing — a love he stoked ever since he was a child, learning how to drive a car on the backroads of his grandmother’s vineyard in Fresno during summers.
As a teenager back at his home in Alhambra, he graduated to driving hot rods. His love of fast cars brought with it speeding tickets through his college days at UCLA and his early years working at different jobs.
“Driving around Southern California, I got my fair share of tickets,” Michaelian told Press-Telegram columnist Rich Archbold in an interview a few years ago. In fact, instead of driving a car to a key meeting in 1975 to hear about a proposal to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix race on Long Beach streets, Michaelian, then 32, rode a bike. It’s not that he didn’t want to drive a car to the meeting at the Port of Long Beach. He couldn’t because his license had been suspended because of the speeding tickets.
But, nothing was going to keep him from hearing about this proposed race, the brainchild of Pook, an Englishman who had come to the United States and was running a travel agency in downtown Long Beach.
In a book by Gordon Kirby, “Chris Pook & the History of the Long Beach GP,” Pook rode up with two colleagues in an elevator to the sixth floor of the port building for a meeting of the Coastal Commission.
“They were joined at the last minute by a short man with long dark hair,” Kirby wrote. “He arrived on his bicycle and stood it up on its rear wheel as he joined them in the elevator.”
That man with a bike was Michaelian who didn’t know Pook then, but he interviewed with Pook two days later and asked Pook if there was anything he could do to help the race project move forward.
Michaelian had a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in business administration. It was a time when many young men were going into engineering because of the U.S. space race with Russia, which had launched Sputnik.
Michaelian decided he wasn’t cut out to save the world as a space engineer. He tried different jobs, including working for a motor supplier and operating some bookstores.
Nothing really interested him until he heard about Pook’s Grand Prix proposal. Pook was looking for a chief financial officer to manage the financial operations of the hoped for first Grand Prix.
Michaelian eventually became CEO and president of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach when Pook left to take a racing job in Indianapolis, Indiana.
During a recent interview, Michaelian acknowledged the impact the race has had on the city over five decades. “Looking back, the race changed the image of Long Beach. Back then, as a Navy town, it was in the shadow of Los Angeles. The Grand Prix created a new vitality in the city which has grown where we had more than 200,000 attendants last year.”
Michaelian was fiercely proud the event and how it evolved over the decades. “We wanted to provide an exciting racing event and one that was also entertaining and safe for everyone,” he said earlier this year.
“It’s been a genuine thrill to have this opportunity I’ve had,” he said. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I have no regrets.”
He added: “I love racing.”
Staff writer Christina Merino contributed to this report.