{"id":135104,"date":"2026-01-15T20:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/135104\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:33:09","slug":"longtime-ceo-of-long-beach-grand-prix-will-step-down-in-july-long-beach-post-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/135104\/","title":{"rendered":"Longtime CEO of Long Beach Grand Prix will step down in July \u2022 Long Beach Post News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jim Michaelian, who has run the annual Grand Prix of Long Beach race since 2001, said Thursday that he will retire from his role as chief executive in July \u2014 perhaps the biggest change announced since the race came under new ownership.<\/p>\n

The race\u2019s organization said in a statement that Jim Liaw, a longtime motorsports administrator and enthusiast, will become the new president and CEO. Liaw will assume a temporary title of general manager in February, ahead of the 2026 race, before the formal transition in July.<\/p>\n

Michaelian, 82, first joined the Grand Prix Association in 1975 as a controller and later as chief operating officer. He did not offer a specific reason for his retirement, saying in a statement that, following the race\u2019s 50th anniversary, it was \u201cthe right time to make this transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his departure, Michaelian will assume a new role at Penske Entertainment, which purchased the race series<\/a> from its longtime owner, Gerald Forsythe, in 2024.<\/p>\n

Penske Entertainment is contracted to run the Long Beach race through at least 2028.<\/p>\n

In his past, Michaelian was a race car driver himself, with a 25-year career that put him on tracks in Le Mans, France, Daytona, Fla., and N\u00fcrburgring in Germany.<\/p>\n

In a statement, he called the Grand Prix role \u201cthe privilege of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian and Indy car driver Oriol Servia stands on the racetrack ahead of the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach Thursday, Feb.17, 2022. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event and this community mean a great deal to me, and I\u2019m proud of what our team has built together,\u201d Michaelian said. \u201cFor 50 years, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting this summer, the Grand Prix will be run by Liaw, a businessman who in 2003 co-founded Formula Drift, an international drifting competition. He\u2019s also served on several local and regional boards related to sports and tourism.<\/p>\n

Since 2021, he has served as general manager of Performance Racing Industry, a pro-racing business publication<\/a> that also hosts a long-running motorsports trade show in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jim Liaw<\/p>\n

According to Liaw, the city\u2019s grand prix race was the first he ever witnessed in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helped spark a lifelong connection to motorsports,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cSouthern California has been home since I was six, so it\u2019s truly an honor to represent Long Beach and the region while leading such a special event.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will take place April 17 to 19. For more information, visit here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jim Michaelian, who has run the annual Grand Prix of Long Beach race since 2001, said Thursday that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-135104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}