TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH PREVIEW: GRAND (PRIX) TIME IN LONG BEACH PRACTICE ROUNDS, CELEB RACE TO PRECEDE SUNDAY'S EVENT.Byline: Paul Young
Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English pop musician. He is not to be confused with the late singer Paul Young who was in Sad Café and Mike & The Mechanics. Staff Writer LONG BEACH - The buildup has reached maximum capacity. After a three-day binge of street racing heads into high gear today, activity - and anxiety - will come to a head with the start of Sunday's Toyota 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. of Long Beach. ``Everything is business as usual until about an hour before the race,'' said Gary Michalak, a mechanic for Herdez Competition. ``That's when you start getting the race jitters jitters 'Butterflies' Psychology An episode of nervousness or anxiety that often precedes a public event; jitters is a type of performance anxiety which may affect actors in a stage production–stage fright or soloist musicians; it may respond to anxiolytics .'' While race crews balanced tires and tweaked engines Thursday, others lifted and moved crates of water, soda and food into trailers and tents. Throngs of people walked the race grounds with walkie-talkies and cellular phones, directing scooters and golf carts to where they needed to go. Dwight Tanaka, operations manager See datacenter manager. for the Grand Prix, was putting the finishing touches finishing touches finish npl the finishing touches → der letzte Schliff finishing touches npl → ultimi ritocchi mpl on his ``miniature city,'' which will accommodate an estimated 225,000 spectators this weekend. He begins planning each race 18 months in advance to ensure he has essentially every minute of the race weekend planned out. He is also responsible for the 20 miles of telephone cable, three miles of fencing, 17,920 tires and 14,580,000 tons of concrete blocks that have to accommodate the racers and large crowd. ``Basically, we are building a city within a city,'' said Tanaka, who typically works about 20 hours a day during race weekend. ``I have to be ready by 8 a.m. (today), and if I'm not ready, we're in a world of hurt.'' That's because the racing action on the 1.968-mile track is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. today with practice rounds. One of the most popular events today will be the first CART qualifying round at 1:40 p.m. That race is followed by another crowd favorite at 3:30 p.m., when celebrities and professional drivers face off to determine their position in the 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. . The showdown will include West Wing actor Dule Hill, nine-time Olympic swimming medalist 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. , who went to Westlake High, and former WCW WCW World Championship Wrestling WCW Wellesley Centers for Women WCW West Coast Watchers champion Bill Goldberg
Bill Goldberg (born William Scott Goldberg on December 27, 1966) better known by his ring name Goldberg . On Saturday, the Pro/Celebrity Race begins at noon, then a second and final, CART qualifying round begins at 1:45 p.m. The driver with the best lap time from Friday and Saturday races will win 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. . Sunday will be the 177.12-mile Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race that can reach speeds of up to 140 mph on the Shoreline Drive straightaway straight·a·way adj. 1. Extending in a straight line or course without a curve or turn. 2. Unhesitating; immediate: a straightaway denial. n. can be seen on Channel 11 from 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m. Those who want to watch it live will need tickets, which can be purchased by calling (888) 82SPEED or by stopping by the Long Beach ticket office at 430 E. First St. Budget race-goers - who don't mind watching the cars through a chain-link fence - can get a three-day general admission pass for $48. Attending Sunday only will cost $40. Friday and Saturday are $30 each day. Grandstand seating costs between $72 and $108. While it is considerably more expensive than general admission, holders have a better view. Any ticket holder who wants to splurge can also purchase a $20 pass - $50 for three days - for entrance to the Bosch CART Garage, which gives visitors a close-up view of Champ cars and, sometimes, drivers in the race. Veteran racegoers recommend bringing sunscreen sunscreen /sun·screen/ (-skren) a substance applied to the skin to protect it from the effects of the sun's rays. sun·screen n. , drinking plenty of water, wearing a good pair of walking shoes walking shoes walk npl → chaussures fpl de marche walking shoes walk npl → Wanderschuhe pl walking shoes npl and a hat. Food isn't cheap there, either. So those who plan on eating at the race should remember to bring plenty of money. Many also prefer to wear ear plugs since the track can get noisy. Tanaka also has created what he calls a ``no fun'' list of things people aren't allowed to bring to the track. These include glass bottles, cans, guns, mace, knives, bicycles, skateboards, roller skates roller skates npl → patines mpl de rueda roller skates roll npl → patins mpl à roulettes roller skates roll npl , alcoholic beverages
Another tip: Hard-core fans should plan to arrive at the Grand Prix more than an hour before the event they want to see. On any given day, as many as 70,000 people can jam the place, making it difficult to get around. It gets so crowded, in fact, that bridges leading people from one side of the track to another get so packed that the crowd can be left unable to move forward for several minutes. Parking can also be difficult. Some tickets come with parking passes, but most people will pay between $10 and $30 to park in a private lot. (Free street parking is virtually impossible to find). Usually, the more expensive the parking spot, the closer it is to the track. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Friday 7 a.m.: Gates open to public 8:30 a.m.: Atlantic practice 9:30 a.m.: Grand Prix practice 11:15a.m.: Pro/Celebrity practice 12:45 p.m.: Atlantic qualifying 1:40 p.m.: Grand Prix qualifying 3:30 p.m.: Pro/Celebrity qualifying 4:15 p.m.: Trans-Am practice 5:30 p.m.: Pioneer Rock-N-Roar Concert Series Saturday 7 a.m.: Gates open to public 8 a.m.: Trans-Am qualifying 9 a.m.: Atlantic practice 10 a.m.: Grand Prix practice Noon: Pro/Celebrity race (10 laps) 1 p.m.: Atlantic qualifying 1:45 p.m.: Grand Prix qualifying 4:15 p.m.: Trans-Am Series qualifying 5:15 p.m.: Pioneer Rock-N-Roar Concert Series - Goo Goo Dolls Sunday 7 a.m.: Gates open to public 10 a.m.: Chevron Challenge Toyota Atlantic race (32 laps) 12:30 p.m.: CART Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 3:45 p.m.: Johnson Controls 100 Trans-Am race Toyota Grand Prix Site: Long Beach Schedule: Today, qualifying, 1:40 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 1:45 p.m.; Sunday, race (FOX, 12:30 p.m.). Track: Long Beach Street Circuit (temporary road course, 1.968 miles, 11 turns). Race Distance: 90 laps, 177.12 miles. Last race: Cristiano Da Matta Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born September 19, 1973, in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil) is an auto racing driver, winner of the American CART Championship in 2002, and former Toyota Formula One driver. ran a nearly flawless race to successfully defend his Monterrey Grand Prix title on March 10. The Brazilian has three straight CART victories. Last year: Helio Castroneves fought off Cristiano da Matta to win the Toyota Grand Prix. The two Brazilians put on a sensational show in the last half of the race, with Castroneves holding off da Matta by 0.534 seconds. Next race: Bridgestone Potenza 500, April 27, Motegi, Japan. On the net: www.cart.com CAPTION(S): 2 boxes, map Box: (1) SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (see text) (2) Toyota Grand Prix (see text) Map: (color) TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH CIRCUIT MAP 2002 |
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