[PICS] Callaway Reunion at the 2023 American Speed Festival Held at M1 Concourse

Oct 18, 2023

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[PICS] Callaway Reunion at the 2023 American Speed Festival Held at M1 Concourse

Photo Credits: Chris Chessnoe

The M1 Concourse in Metro Detroit recently hosted the American Speed Festival that attracted all kinds of Corvettes from legendary concepts to those who made their mark on racetracks around the world. One of the highlights of the festival was the reunion of Callaway Corvettes which included “Frieda”, the 1994 Callaway Le Mans racer.

Our friend Chris Chessnoe was there to help honor the memory of his longtime friend and former employer Reeves Callaway, and he provided us with these fantastic photos as well as a write-up of the event which is below.

Highlights of the Event at the M1 Concourse
By Chris Chessnoe

Heading to Michigan, I drove 550 miles to this event, the American Festival of Speed. A component of the event would be a celebration of the work by Reeves Callaway, highlighting Callaway Corvettes constructed for the street – and competition.

Arriving Thursday in anticipation of the weekend event, the competition cars were already in the paddock. While some cars might be familiar to Callaway Competition fans, the big news was the return of Frieda to the track. Frieda, the 1994 Callaway LM which brought Corvette back to Le Mans after an 18-year hiatus.

In addition to the 1994 LM, the Callaway C7R was brought to the venue along with the C12R, Callaway C6 GT3, Callaway C6 GT4 (EX VIN cars built by GM for Callaway as a basis for the program – first time something like this was done since the 5 Grand Sports of 1963!), and Callaway C7 GT3. This was a spectacular lineup!

Aside from the cars, the Callaway Team was there to support this event – including Callaway’s President, Pete Callaway, Managing Director, Mike Zoner, Ernst Woehr from Callaway Competition, Paul Deutschman of Deutschman Designs (who has designed every Callaway since the Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette in 1988), Matt Long who handles Callaway’s sales and distribution, and Wayne Church (former Callaway fabricator).

On Friday, Callaway street cars were given pole position for display, front and center on the plaza out front of the main building of the M1 Concourse. Eight Callaway street cars were present, including: Red 1987 Callaway Twin Turbo (Sold new by Cauley Chevrolet of Michigan – won in a radio contest when new, and still with the same family all these years, Black Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette, White 1988 35th Anniversary Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette (one of 7 built), Callaway C8 Convertible with CamAero Body, 2009 Callaway SC580 GT1 Corvette Convertible, 2012 RPO B2K 25th Anniversary Callaway Corvette #01/25. Callaway SC627 Corvette with HD Cooling option, and a Callaway SC757 Z06 coupe.

After the morning display, the Callaway competition cars took to the track and made many laps around the 1.5 mile long road course. Afterwards, the road cars lined-up for parade laps, which were a sight to see. That afternoon, a scramble to replace the throttle cable on Frieda meant Team Callaway thrashed in unison to not only source the proper part from a hot rod shop in Detroit but reassemble the car in advance of the next day. They were successful, getting the car back in order in 3 hours. In the meantime, the balance of competition cars went out again on the track for more, which rounded-out the day.

Saturday, the competition cars went out on the road course again, then to the infield for a line-up where we were able to grab several pictures in the sun. However, prior to the photo shoot of these iconic racecars, Frieda took to the track that morning for the first time on a road course in decades. Fresh from dry storage, the car’s return to the track was something to behold. With Pete Callaway behind the wheel wearing his father, Reeves Callaway’s racing suit from Le Mans, Pete piloted Frieda for lap after lap to the excitement of all around.

As we celebrated the work of Reeves Callaway and the legacy he’s left behind, the owners of all the cars – both street and competition, remarked how “Cool” these cars are, and the ownership experiences had by all. Reeves Callaway not only built something special for the automotive world but left behind so much to remember him by – and for that, the automotive world is fortunate for not only his legacy – but for the future which he’s paved.

Thanks again to Chris Chessnoe for providing these photos from the M1 Concourse and the American Speed Festival. You can see some of the legendary “regular” Corvettes that were invited as well as some additional Callaway Corvette pics in the photo gallery below: