LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX: CART, GRAND PRIX REBOUND LONG BEACH RACE TO FEATURE LARGE, MOSTLY ROOKIE FIELD.Byline: A.J. Perez Staff Writer LONG BEACH - In October, Chris Pook, who was put in charge of saving CART, was asked whether the racing series had a future after two years of defections by many of its top drivers. Pook, who was previously head of the Long Beach Grand Prix
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is the premier circuit in the Champ Car World Series. It is an open-wheel race held on a temporary road course in Long Beach, California. Association, reminded that many predicted the demise of that event after it left Formula One for CART in 1984. The Long Beach Grand Prix not only survived the changeover, but the race's most successful days would come with CART cars racing its 1.97-mile circuit. This year's 29th edition will be at 1 p.m. Sunday. And it might not be a good idea to bet against Pook in regard to CART, either. The series enters Long Beach with 19 cars, one more than Pook predicted late last year. The series has, for the most part, stabilized and Pook is no longer concerned with 2003 or even 2004. He's looking ahead to 2005, when he'll likely hand over the reigns to CART chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. David Claire. The toughest transition at this year's race will be on the course, not off it. At least eight rookie drivers will compete this weekend and only two of them - Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980 in Dallas, Texas) is an American auto racing driver, best known for spending three years (2003–2005) in the Champ Car World Series. He drove for three different teams and won two races, but did not compete in the series in 2006. and Rodolfo Lavin - have raced the Long Beach circuit, both in the Toyota Atlantic development series. The only past champ in the field is Paul Tracy Paul Tracy (born December 17, 1968 in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario) is a professional automobile racer in the Champ Car World Series. He also goes by the nickname "The Thrill from West Hill". , who won in 1993 and 2000. The only other time that happened was in 1984. The two most recent winners - Helio Castroneves in 2001 and defending champ Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American retired CART and Formula One driver with Italian heritage. He now co-owns the Andretti Green Racing team in the Indy Racing League. - are competing in the Indy Racing League The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel racing series. The League consists of two series, the premiere IndyCar Series . But Jim Michaelian, Long Beach Grand Prix Association president and chief executive officer, said he's not concerned. ``Fans may miss (Dario) Franchitti), (Tony) Kanaan, Michael (Andretti) and to some degree (Scott) Dixon,'' he said. ``But you have to remember, we built this into an event, not just a motor race. People come back here for the overall experience and hopefully an exciting race will go along with that. The excitement here is not just about cars. ``The new drivers make things more intriguing as you see some of these individuals reveal their talent. Some of that happened at St. Pete with (reigning F3000 champ Sebestian) Bourdais. Some of the other guys will come around and show what they've got. It will make things interesting. There will be new heroes.'' CART LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX SCHEDULE Friday 7 a.m. - Gates open 8:45 a.m. - Toyota Atlantic Series practice 9:30 a.m. - CART practice 11:10 a.m. - CART practice 12:15 p.m. - Toyota Pro/Celebrity practice 1:45 p.m. - Toyota Atlantic qualifying 2:30 p.m. - CART qualifying 3:45 p.m. - Toyota Pro/Celebrity qualifying 4:30 p.m. - Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series was created in 1966 by the SCCA as the Trans-American Sedan Championship. Originally derived from the SCCA's A Sedan (A/S) class, it later featured purpose-built tube-frame race cars competing on road courses. practice 4:30 p.m. - CART drivers autograph session 5:15 p.m. - Historic Grand Prix Grand Prix n. pl. Grand Prix Any of several competitive international road races for sports cars of specific engine size over an exacting, usually risky course. practice 5:30 p.m. - ``Mama's Boys'' concert Saturday 7 a.m. - Gates open 8:15 a.m. - Trans-Am qualifying 9:15 a.m. - Toyota Atlantic practice 10 a.m. - CART practice 11:55 a.m. - Toyota Pro/Celebrity race The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race is an annual 10-lap auto race held each April since 1977 as part of the United States Grand Prix West, and later the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend on the street course at Long Beach, California. 1:45 p.m. - CART qualifying 3 p.m. - Toyota Atlantic qualifying 3:45 p.m. - Historic Grand Prix qualifying 4:30 p.m. - Trans-Am practice 5 p.m. - ``Gin Blossoms'' concert Sunday 7 a.m. - Gates open 9:40 a.m. - Historic Grand Prix race 10:30 a.m. - Toyota Atlantic race 1 p.m. - Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race 3:45 p.m. - Trans-Am race CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Paul Tracy, who won the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1993 and 2000, is the only past champion racing Champion Racing is a sports car racing team based in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA. Founded in 1994 by Dave Maraj as the motorsport wing of the Champion Motors car dealership, the team has campaigned various Porsches and Audis in North American road racing series. in this year's contest. Steve Nesius/Associated Press Box: CART LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX SCHEDULE (see text) |
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