Michaelian will join Penske Entertainment<\/a>, which purchased the race series from owner Gerald Forsythe two years ago, The Long Beach Post reported.<\/p>\n\u201cPenske Entertainment is contracted to run the Long Beach race through at least 2028,\u201d the outlet reported.<\/p>\n
Jim Liaw has been named as Michaelian\u2019s replacement and will assume the position starting July 1, officials said. <\/p>\n
Since its founding in 1975, Michaelian has been a part of the Grand Prix Association, serving as controller and chief operating officer before being named president and CEO in December 2001, according to officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has served on the boards of the Grand Prix Foundation of Long Beach, Visit Long Beach and the Los Angeles Sports Council over the years,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n
Michaelian is also a competitive sports car racer and, for more than two decades, \u201chas competed at such tracks as LeMans, Daytona, N\u00fcrburgring, and Sebring,\u201d according to officials. <\/p>\n
Michaelian still \u201chopes to be able to participate in a few more events before hanging up his helmet,\u201d officicals sad.<\/p>\n
Michaelian will continue to serve as president and CEO through this year\u2019s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend, working with Liaw to ensure a smooth leadership transition.<\/p>\n
During that time, Liaw will take on the temporary role of general manager, officials said.<\/p>\n
Liaw has \u201cextensive motorsports industry experience and leadership from his position as General Manager of Performance Racing Industry, an organization that supports and advocates for the interests of racers, enthusiasts, builders, tracks, sanctioning bodies, and businesses,\u201d according to officials. <\/p>\n
For Liaw, he said, the event is “incredibly meaningful.” <\/p>\n
“It was the first major race I ever attended nearly 30 years ago, and it helped spark a lifelong connection to motorsports,\u201d Liaw said. \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. I\u2019m excited to be part of this iconic race and to help shape its future for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will take place from April 17 to 19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONG BEACH, CA \u2014 The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach has announced its longtime president and CEO…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-136789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-long-beach","9":"tag-long-beach-headlines","10":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136789","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=136789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}