A weekend at the Heritage Invitational

THESE DAYS, IT seems like a shiny new Concours or high-end automotive gathering is popping up on the calendar on a weekly basis. Maybe it’s some bottled-up enthusiasm finally being released in this post-Covid automotive event era, or just die-hard car nuts doing what we do best: Finding a good reason to celebrate the classic automobiles we love. Regardless, we all win when something truly great is born in the process.

The Heritage Invitational is only three years old, but one can already see the potential it has to become one of the best events mixing vintage racing and a Concours d’Elegance on the Eastern Seaboard. Marcus Smith and the Charlotte, N.C.-based team at Speedway Motorsports have taken their inspiration from all the usual suspects: Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pebble Beach, the Audrain, and the Amelia Concours d’Elegance events.

The good news is that the Speedway organization is no stranger to hosting automotive events. Besides Charlotte, Speedway Motorsports owns an additional 10 racing facilities across the U.S., including Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway, Dover Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, Kentucky Speedway and the historic former dirt track, North Wilkesboro Speedway. Even better news is that Smith has partnered with automotive dealer powerhouse and legendary NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick for the entire event.

The Heritage Invitational — which took place from April 3-5, 2025 — relocated this year to the stunning Ten Tenths Motor Club across the road from its original spot within the famed 1.5-mile oval track at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and it’s clear thar the show has now found the perfect venue and it’s forever home here.

Walking into the stunning, ultra-modern and luxurious 10/10ths complex, you would be hard pressed to guess that this entire clubhouse and bespoke road racing circuit was built in a mere six months and opened just a few short weeks before the Invitational this year. Boasting a 20,000 square foot event facility replete with a cigar lounge, bourbon bar, and putting course, the Motor Club was seemingly designed with the Concours entrant in mind.

CMS-HHP Photos

The show’s tagline is as follows: “A collection of some of the most rare and sought-after automobiles from the world’s top collectors, the Heritage Invitational brings together a once-in-a-lifetime assemblage of exclusive vehicles that pays tribute to the history and artistry of all things automotive…”. In truth, the Invitational is a Concours that focuses on quality over quantity, both in cars and in experience, and every person on their staff from Charlotte President Greg Walter down to the greeters made everyone feel extremely valued.

The entire event kicked off on Thursday with a Historic Trans Am Series practice and an exclusive “Hendrick Heritage Dinner,” but the fun really gets going on Friday as the gates open to the public and the Trans Am racing gets underway, followed by a charity Celebrity Pro-Am that evening. NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon highlighted a field of 20 drivers in a spirited race around the 1.1-mile circuit, and the event raised more than $250,000 for Speedway Children’s Charities.

Fast-forward to Saturday morning, Concours day, as over 70 significant show cars are dotted around the edge of the track. Everything from Rick Hendrick’s personal collection of halo supercars — Porsche 918, LaFerrari, Mercedes-AMG ONE (actually two of them!), McLaren Senna GTR, Lamborghini Sián, etc. — to the very best of racing icons like Nick Soprano’s Ford GT40 and the Revs Institute’s Martini racing livery 917K.

So, who took home the top prizes? Much like Amelia Concours, which has always recognized a Best in Show winner for both a “Sport” and an “Elegance” pick, the Heritage Invitational has followed suit. The “Chairman’s Choice Sport” winner this year was Bruce Meyer of Beverly Hills and his Le Mans-winning 1979 Kremer Porsche 935 K3. His car is a fitting choice when you factor in that this automobile won 10 out of the 11 races it entered that year, and beat out the much quicker Porsche factory- backed 936s, earning the first win for a production-based car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans since the 1950s, not to mention the first with a rear engine.

Bruce summed the Heritage Invitational event up best after being presented with his Best in Show Sport award: “This has been, really, a religious experience,” he shared with Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “You have made us an Ultra VIP. It’s been a special day for me, but it’s so great to see what you have created here. This is Ten Tenths — maybe 11 tenths.”

He also went on to humbly explain why his 935 is so special, “This car really walked the walk. It won Le Mans in 1979. It’s restored by Bruce Canepa at his shop. We’ve taken it to various track days. We’ve shown it around the world, and it is worthy of that. I can take no credit for what it’s done; I’m just a custodian.” The “Chairman’s Choice d’Elegance” was awarded to Fredrick Fisher and his 1957 Ferrari Tour De France, which has been in his family for over half a century, after his father purchased the car in 1973. Despite winning for elegance, the Ferrari has actual race history under the previous ownership of driver Francois Picard, who campaigned the TDF at the 1957 Tour de France, where it took second place, as well as the 1958 Buenos Aires 1000 km, the 1958 Clermont Ferrand, Coupe de Vitesse; and the 1958 Auvergne 3hrs.

Fisher explained some of the personal history of his significant Tour De France. “It came into the United States in 1971, when I was about to start my senior year in high school. It wasn’t in this sort of condition back then; it was a driver—and I did [drive it]. I went away to college the next year and there was some discussion about having some restoration work done on it. But that drew out about 12 years. I promised him that I would restore this car if I could have it. We started the restoration in 2006. We finished in 2012 and have been having fun with it ever since. I wish he [my father] could be here today to see it today.” Two very special cars, owned by two very dedicated owners, and each received the highest honor at one very cool show: The Heritage Invitational. Mark your calendar for Spring of next year if you want to be part of this special Concours for 2026.