About the Venue

The Packard Proving Grounds 17 acre site is on the National Registry of Historic Places and features rustic, vintage circa 1928 buildings designed by Albert Kahn for the Packard Motor Car Company. In 1925, The Packard Motor Car Company realized that testing their products on Detroit's streets had its limitations and that it was time to build a proper testing facility. It began buying farmland in rural Shelby Township, Michigan and retained renowned industrial architect Albert Kahn to design and oversee the construction of a grand showplace, befitting one of the most prestigious and successful auto companies of the golden-era classic production.

Packard dedicated the $1 million Proving Grounds in 1927 and began a rigorous testing program. It shaped the planted area between two driveways like the famous Packard radiator grille. The driveways led to grand wrought-iron gates that opened onto lavishly landscaped grounds, rich with flowering trees, roses and other ornamental landscaping.

On the right were the Tudor-revival Lodge and Garage buildings, painted a warm cream color that contrasted nicely with the multi-colored slate roof, red brickwork and brown trim. The Lodge was home to the Proving Grounds manager and family and featured three fireplaces, nine bedrooms, four bathrooms, hardwood floors, dormitories for test drivers and garage space for eight cars.

The weather extremes of Michigan's four seasons added to the already challenging testing conditions. In contrast to the rugged test roads, an exceptionally smooth 2.5-mile oval track was built for high-speed testing and so well engineered that drivers could travel around the banked curves more than 100 mph without holding the steering wheel. In 1928 it was hailed as "the world’s fastest speedway" when Leon Duray set a world speed record of 148.7 mph.

Get ready to step back in time and experience this beautiful automotive history site as we celebrate our big day!