Annual Dinner Events
Dinner Events are typically held three times per year concurrent with the vintage race weekends in May, July, and September in Elkhart Lake. All three dinner events include a pre-dinner reception, and a full course sit down dinner followed by a Program featuring luminaries from sports car racing past and present.
Remember, HRC members receive a discount on the dinner reservation. If you would like to become a member, please click on the “Become an HRC Member – Sign Up Today” page.
Summer HRC Dinner Event
Welcome to the second event of 2025 for the Elkhart Lake Race Circuits Preservation Society, as we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Road Racing in Elkhart Lake. This event, The Summer Dinner Program will be held at The Throttlestop in Elkhart Lake, Thursday, July 17 preceding the WeatherTech International Challenge with Brian Redman at Road America.
The evening begins with a Social Gathering (cash bar) at 5:30 PM followed at 7:00PM by a fabulous “Surf & Turf” buffet dinner served by Three Guys & a Grill.
Following the dinner will be our outstanding Program:
“Legacy – The Story of Clara and Henry Ford” Presented by Edsel B. Ford II, Member (Retired), Ford Motor Company Board of Directors.
“Pick a good model and stay with it,” Henry Ford famously said – advice that applied as much to life as to business. Married just shy of 59 years, Clara and Henry Ford built more than an iconic company – they built a legacy rooted in shared vision, resilience, and family values.
In this program, Edsel B. Ford II, the fourth generation of ‘Ford Leadership’, will share with HRC stories of his great-grandparents Henry and Clara Ford. Leaders are made, not born. Henry and Clara established a precedent of sound decision making, extraordinary results in manufacturing processes, and guidance in community involvement, that succeeding generations of Fords have followed. Edsel was not able to witness his great-grandfather’s winning effort in the 1901 Sweepstakes race that established FORD as a dominate car manufacturer, but he was present in 1966 with his father Henry II (‘The Duce’), when FORD earned their spectacular 1-2-3 finish in the FORD GT 40 at Le Mans. From Le Mans to Road America, and Darlington to Daytona, Edsel has continued to provide leadership in all of FORD’s racing endeavors.
In January 2020, Edsel Ford II became the ‘NASCAR Hall of Fame Landmark Award Winner’ for his lifetime contributions to racing. Edsel and his wife Cynthia have four sons who, without a doubt, will continue the legacy started by Henry and Clara.
The following is a brief bio of Edsel B. Ford II:
Edsel B. Ford II is a retired member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company. He served on the finance committee and the sustainability and innovation committee. He was elected to the Board in 1988. As a consultant to Ford, Mr. Ford is active in dealer relations, customer advocacy, motor sports, and the corporate history. Mr. Ford is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company. His grandfather is Edsel B. Ford, company president from 1919 to 1943. His father, Henry Ford II, was president of the company from 1945 to 1960 and chairman from 1960 to 1980.
Mr. Ford is the owner of Pentastar Aviation. Mr. Ford was the former chairman of the Detroit Branch of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank and also former Board Director of the International Speedway Corporation. He is also a Trustee Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Babson College in 1973 and completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School in 1981.
This promises to be an outstanding, interesting, and informative evening, so make your reservations early because seating is limited.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you on July 17.
Make your reservations online at www.historicracecircuits.com or download the
reservation form and mail it in to HRC, PO Box 51, Elkhart Lake, WI, 53020.
