A beautiful new track and facility at Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts its first Invitational

Read Design

Ten Tenths Motor Club Debuts With The Heritage Invitational

A beautiful new track and facility at Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts its first Invitational

Andrew Maness

8 May 2025

Rolling up to the newly constructed Ten Tenths Motor Club, we’re immediately impressed by the property’s design choices. Shou Sugi Ban treated wood and black brick, giving the exterior an elevated, modern look that we haven’t seen in the increasingly robust “country-club” motorsport community. Stepping inside, the use of Shou Sugi Ban treated wood continues, as well as some un-charred red cedar that’s bathed in a lot of natural light. Walk straight through the lobby of the facility out onto the landscaped veranda and sections of the track come into view. Step up to the railing and you’re right above the track; this is about as close as one can get to the action without being in the car.

This 100-acre automotive paradise is the result of a joint effort between Marcus Smith and Rick Hendrick. It features a multi-circuit road course and impressive 20,000-square-foot clubhouse, already making it a dream destination for automotive enthusiasts, manufacturers and racers from around the world. Designed by former F1 driver and two time 24 Hours Le Mans winner Alex Wurz, the track is quick and technical, as we found out firsthand from the right seat of a 2025 McLaren 750S. Walking around the track wherever possible to watch the early 1970s Trans-Am cars practice and race we also found it to be very photogenic, largely thanks to a great deal of elevation change. “I wanted it to be picturesque, to feel like you’ve entered somewhere new and completely different once you come through the tunnel” Smith shared with us. He continues, “Ten Tenths needed to be that place that transports you somewhere else. From the track to the clubhouse everything was elevated in a way that should make people say, ‘wow, this is more than I thought it would be!’ We had a great architect in DLR and we actually worked with Restoration Hardware’s commercial division to help us with the interior design. The fact that our contractor and construction team was able to pull this off in six months is incredible, so all credit to them really.”

There’s more to come, as Smith shared with us in conversation during the grand opening weekend. “I’m really excited about the new garages that’ll be part of the Ten Tenths village and we’ve got some other things on the board too. There’s the members garage, a collective garage area with the bar, grill and other amenities. That’ll be the communal spot where you can go and hang out, and a locker room where people can shower and change after a day on the track. There will be the option to keep your cars there if you want to, or for those that decide “boy, I’d like to have my own spot” we’ve got some amazing designs to start with that will fit with the overall design language of the whole property. Member’s can pick how big of a space they want, what kind of feel they want and we can give people a good starting point or a member could say, “I want exactly that one” and we can make it happen,”  he adds.

That’s all coming in the near future, but we were in North Carolina to enjoy the present. At the heart of the grand opening celebration of Ten Tenths was the third iteration of the Heritage Invitational. Having previously been part of the long running “Auto Fair” inside Charlotte Motor Speedway, the upstart concours now has a new home on the track at Ten Tenths. Showcasing over 70 rare automobiles with a combined value of more than $500 million, the threads of speed, innovation, and artistry ran consistently through the carefully selected vehicles on display. 

Adding a human dimension to the mechanical masterpieces, influential figures in Porsche’s racing history casually mingled with attendees. Alwin Springer, Bruce Meyer, Bill Warner, and Bruce Canepa, each contributing to Porsche’s legacy in their own way, shared insights and memories against the backdrop of the “Porsche Racing History” category curated by Rory Ingram. We went on a journey  through nearly 70 years of racing evolution from the 1955 550 RS Spyder, to the 1971 Porsche 917K, 1987 Porsche 962 “Löwenbräu Special”, and 2023 Penske Porsche Motorsport 963. From within that category came the recipient of the Chairman’s Choice Sport award, a 1979 Kremer Porsche 935 K3 under the stewardship of Bruce Meyer. “This has been really a religious experience,” Meyer confided to Marcus Smith after receiving his award. “It’s so great to see what you have created here.” Meyer, who co-founded the Petersen Automotive Museum, humbly described himself as “just a custodian” of his Le Mans-winning Porsche, restored by Bruce Canepa and displayed at tracks worldwide.

Joining Meyer’s 935 K3 on a victory lap around the track at the end of the day was Fredrick Fischer’s elegant 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France, recipient of the Chairman’s Choice d’Elegance award. Fischer’s Ferrari carries a deeply personal and rich history having raced in the 1957 Tour de France and multiple prestigious events under driver Francois Picard. Purchased by Fischer’s father in 1970, the car enjoyed casual driving before entering storage in 1973. “It wasn’t in this sort of condition back then; it was a driver,” Fischer recalled. After a lengthy restoration process that began in 2006 and concluded in 2012, the Ferrari now stands as a gleaming testament to the passion for preservation.

Reflecting on our two-day experience at Ten Tenths we’re confident in saying this place and this event are going to grow exponentially in the coming years. Being on hand for the grand opening of the facility and the first year of the Concours, trading a traditional show-field for the track itself, it feels like we got to experience what the Goodwood Festival of Speed was like in its early years. There is no substitute for the authentic connection between performance cars and their natural habitat, which isn’t well manicured grass, but asphalt. This thoughtful arrangement perfectly embodies the club’s mission to celebrate automotive spirit in its purest form and blend historical appreciation with forward-looking innovation.