LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX ROUNDUP: TORRES VICTORIOUS IN PRO/CELEBRITY RACE.Byline: Daily News LONG BEACH - Saturday was a historic day at the 26th annual 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. for two reasons. Dara Torres Dara Grace Torres (born April 15, 1967, in Los Angeles, California) is an American swimmer. She was the second swimmer from her country (after Jill Sterkel) to compete in four Olympics: 1984, 1988, 1992, and 2000. became the first woman to win the celebrity and overall categories, pulling away from Christopher Kennedy Masterson to finish in 18 minutes, 21.70 seconds, and Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (born March 25, 1982 in Beloit, Wisconsin) is an American auto racing driver competing in the IndyCar Series. She is from an Irish-American family and was raised in Roscoe, Illinois. was the first female professional to earn a victory with a time of 18:28.30. ``I think it's wonderful,'' said Torres, who claimed nine medals in four Olympiads as a swimmer. ``Auto racing is such a male-dominated sport.'' Patrick downplayed the gender aspect of her victory but was happy about the exposure the race gave her as well as Torres and fellow pro Sarah Fisher Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) is an American auto racing driver originally from Commercial Point, Ohio. As of 2007 she competes in the Indy Racing League (IRL) IndyCar Series for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. . ``I don't think (winning) had anything to do with being women,'' Patrick, 20, said. ``The car doesn't know the difference between a guy and a girl.'' Torres earned the pole position pole position Noun 1. (in motor racing) the starting position on the inside of the front row, generally considered the best one 2. an advantageous starting position Noun 1. Friday for the second consecutive year. But unlike last year, when she was caught and passed on the final lap There is also Final Lap (novel), a novel in the Traces series by Malcolm Rose. Final Lap is a video game released by Namco and Atari Games (for the Americas) in 1987 which was the unofficial sequel to the popular Pole Position games. by Tom Rudnai, Torres was in control throughout. By the sixth lap, she led by close to four seconds and continued to increase her advantage over the 10-lap race on the 1.968 Champ Car “CART” redirects here. For other uses, see CART (disambiguation). Champ Car, an abbreviation of "Championship Car", has been the name for a class and specification of cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades. circuit. - David Felton --Toyota-Atlantic series: Joey Hand took the pole for today's 32-lap race with the fastest qualifying lap Saturday. 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. , who had the fastest qualifying time Friday, will be outside of Hand on the front row. Both earned one series championship point. ``I think if I were them, I'd be doubting me,'' said Hand, a 23-year-old from Sacramento. Hand was running behind Hunter-Reay, Michael Valiante, Jon Fogarty, Alex Gurney and Jonathan Macri in time well into the 30-minute qualifying session. He turned in the third- fastest time on his 15th lap and jumped onto the pole a lap later with a time of 1 minute, 18.290 seconds, 90.494 mph. Valiante had the second-fastest qualifying time, 1:18.317, 90.463 mph, but because Hunter-Reay's top Friday time earned him a spot on the front row, Valiante, of Lynx Racing, starts third with Fogarty fourth. - Keith Lair --Trans-Am: To pit stop, or not to pit stop? That's the question That's the Question is an American quiz game show on GSN, hosted by game show veteran and former Entertainment Tonight reporter, Bob Goen, which premiered in October 2006. in front of the racing field for the Johnson Controls 100 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this afternoon. Every one of the 20 Trans-Am teams has an answer, but they weren't about to make their strategy public after the starting grid was set late Saturday afternoon. ``They are optional mandatory,'' said pole-sitter Paul Gentilozzi of the pit stops the Trans-Am series introduced on a regular basis this season. ``You don't have to make one, but you don't have enough fuel not to. ``Everyone is taking a different approach. Do you go short or do you go long? We have a scenario that we think will win, but I can't say what it is.'' Normally, in a race like the Johnson Controls 100 - a 100-mile or 70-minute race, whatever comes first - starting position is usually critical. But what seems to be of the utmost importance today, in the opening race of the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup, will be the pit stop. - Dave Werstine CAPTION(S): map Map: TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH CIRCUIT MAP 2002 |
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