Long Beach Grand Prix is ready to turn corner: event will become part of Indy Racing League in 2009.

WHEN drivers speed through Long Beach next month, it will be the last time the race is run in the Champ Car series. The Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix, along with other Champ Car races, will join the Indy Racing League in 2009.

What's the difference? The Champ Car series ran primarily on streets and the cars were built with turbocharged engines. The IRL is mostly run on oval tracks with Honda racing engines. Its biggest race is the Indianapolis 500.

Organizers didn't have time to make major plans for the last race, as the decision was made only a few weeks ago.

"This will be a celebration of 25 years of Champ Car racing in Long Beach," said Jim Michaelian, chief executive and president of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. Winning cars will be on display and drivers from past races will be on hand to offer some reminisces.

Twelve years ago, there was a split in open wheel racing among league owners who favored oval tracks and those that favored road and street races, including the Long Beach Grand Prix. The result was two different leagues that split the allegiances of fans and sponsors.

Last month, organizers unified the two to form an Indy Racing League, which organizers hope will draw bigger crowds and attract more sponsors as the sport competes with its larger rival NASCAR

"In the long term, this will be beneficial for fans and supporters of open wheel racing in America," Michaelian said.

Long Beach organizers wanted to join the IRL for this year's race, but there was a scheduling conflict with a race in Japan. Rather than scrub the one in Long Beach, it was decided to keep it in the Champ Car series. Drivers in both races will be awarded points for the standings in the unified league.

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Some events had to be scrubbed entirely due to the merger. Champ Car races in Houston, Cleveland and Toronto were canceled for this year because they could not be scheduled into the IRL season.

The league expects IRL races to have fields of approximately 25 drivers, compared with two fields of 15-20 that used to race in separate series.

The economic impact of changing series could force some Champ Car teams to close up shop, however.

That's because Champ Car vehicles have Cosworth engines while IRL cars are powered by ones built by Honda. Champ Car teams must now replace engines and chassis that they all bought as part of a package deal just one year ago. Costs to retool the cars could run into the millions per team, as some teams run several cars.

To help offset costs, the league will provide one engine and chassis to teams converting from Champ Car to IRL vehicles. Smaller teams might not be able to sustain themselves even with that assistance, and the cars that they've purchased and raced for one year can't be resold easily.

Staff reporter David Nusbaum can be reached at [phone], ext. 236, or at [e-mail].