It promises to be business as usual this weekend at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Perfect weather, beautiful people, engines, exhaust fumes and irreverent banter from public address announcer Bruce Flanders.
The only thing different will be the cars in the main show. The IndyCar Series is taking over from the Champ Car World Series, but few of the estimated 75,000 fans expected to attend Sunday's race will likely notice or care.
Format changes are nothing new for the LBGP. The event was run for Formula 5000 cars in 1975 to prove the city and the street circuit were suitable for Formula One, which took over for an eight-year run from 1976-83. Rising costs prompted race founder Chris Pook to replace F1 with the PPG/CART IndyCar World Series for 1984, and although attendance briefly dipped, by the end of the decade, the crowds were back and Long Beach was established as the crown jewel of American open-wheel road racing.
CART races came and went throughout the 1990s and early 21st century until what became known as the Champ Car World Series was finally put out of its mercy in early 2008. Yet the Long Beach Grand Prix continues to thrive, thanks in part to unabated support from Toyota, the title sponsor of the event since 1981.
It's a sign of the event's strength that Toyota remains on board despite that today's IndyCar Series is effectively "Formula Honda." Now Grand Prix Association of Long Beach president Jim Michaelian is delighted that he can promote his race as featuring the cars and stars of the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 1995.
"It's a refreshing change from what we've been through in the last few years not only to have the names of the stars of the IndyCar Series but also have some assurance they are all coming, they will all compete here and our fans will have a chance to see them," Michaelian told Indycar.com. "There is no doubt there is an added benefit to our race weekend this year. We've seen it reflected in both ticket sales and the overall buzz surrounding the event.
"Our ticket sales are trending ahead of last year with absolutely no price increase, which in this day and age, with unemployment in California in double digits, is a very significant statement in itself. The media and the buzz that has been created around the event and the presence of the IndyCars is much more substantial this year than in the past."
When CART and later Champ Car went into decline beginning in the late 1990s, LBGP management took steps to keep the overall event fresh.
They added high-quality concerts, including shows featuring Latino acts to attract Southern California's large Hispanic population.
AP Photo/Dave Waters
The Long Beach street course can be tricky, as Mario Moraes learned last year.
Drifting exhibitions were a popular addition in the last few years, and this will mark the third year that the American Le Mans Series headlines the Saturday program at Long Beach.
In addition, the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race is a popular annual attraction during the Long Beach weekend. This year, "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek and movie star Keanu Reeves top the celebrity lineup trying to dethrone the defending champion, ESPN/ABC NASCAR pit reporter Jamie Little.
The professional card is topped by NASCAR Truck Series champion Johnny Benson and six-time LBGP winner Al Unser Jr.
Unser, who earned the nickname "King of the Beach" for his unrivaled record during the CART era at Long Beach, is delighted to be back in action on the tricky street course -- even if it is behind the wheel of a 215-horsepower Scion instead of a 650-horsepower IndyCar.
"I'm going to enjoy it," Unser said. "The fans made Long Beach more than just a race. They love the single-seat open-wheel cars, and what I'm really excited about it is now it's back to where they can see the Indy cars that will run the Indy 500 on the streets of Long Beach again, like it used to be back in the 1980s and '90s. That's what made it special."
And it appears that's what will keep the Long Beach Grand Prix special long into the future.
John Oreovicz covers open-wheel racing for National Speed Sport News and ESPN.com.
John Oreovicz
