The Lengthy Seashore Grand Prix turns 50 on Sunday, which makes the race six years older than Scott Dixon, the reigning champion.
Regardless of his younger age, Dixon is nicely conscious of the race’s historical past since he has run it 16 occasions — and gained it twice.
“You look at the [Indy] 500 and then the next, by quite a clear way, is the Long Beach Grand Prix,” he stated. “To have that longevity, it’s huge.
“It’s well promoted. It’s well attended. The atmosphere there is fun. It’s one of the greatest races.”
Drivers make their means towards the well-known hairpin nook on the finish of a lap through the Lengthy Seashore Grand Prix on April 21.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Occasions)
It’s additionally beneath new administration, with Roger Penske warding off challenges from NASCAR and Formulation 1 to purchase North America’s longest-running avenue race from Gerald Forsythe final November.
“It’s an iconic race,” stated Penske, who additionally owns the IndyCar sequence and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, residence to the Indy 500. “We’re wide open and we’re in for business. This is not a hang on or something. We want to try to roll over and make it better.”
That will probably be a problem for the reason that three-day occasion drew almost 200,000 folks to the streets of Lengthy Seashore final spring, contributing an estimated $100 million to the area’s economic system. The race will probably be totally different for the drivers, nevertheless. So though Dixon is acquainted with the 1.968-mile scenic seaside course, which circles the Lengthy Seashore Conference Middle 90 occasions, in some methods Sunday’s IndyCar Sequence race will really feel like his first.
“The track surface changes a bit on any street course,” he stated. “You’re going to have seven or eight different kinds of surfaces. Where they build the track can be totally different from the year before. It’s never the same. So you have to do your homework.”
That one thing Dixon, a six-time IndyCar champion, discovered from former teammate Dario Franchitti, stated Mike Hull, managing director of Chip Ganassi Racing.
“The nature of racing is you have to read the road. He was just so good at taking the race track apart and Dixon picked up on that and began to study what Dario was doing,” Hull stated of Dixon, who will stroll the course earlier than the race as a part of that examine. “He learned not necessarily Dario’s secret, but how to put what Dario was doing into practice.
“He separates himself from the competition by understanding how to get the most out of the race car from lap to lap. He understands he cannot have this fixed mindset.”
That’s the way in which Dixon has at all times approached a race that has each enchanted and bedeviled him. Though Dixon has a document 143 podium finishes in his profession, he has simply 5 top-three finishes at Lengthy Seashore. His win final yr was traditional Dixon, mixing persistence, aggression and a dangerous gas technique over the ultimate laps to win by lower than a second.
“It’s kind of been a little up and down,” stated Dixon, who completed within the high 10 simply as soon as in his first eight Lengthy Seashore begins. “You kind of remember more the ones that you lost. I wouldn’t say it’s always been seamless. It’s a difficult race. It’s a very challenging weekend.”
However as a lot because the race means to Dixon, it could imply extra to his boss. Hull, who has spent greater than 5 a long time within the sport, grew up in Southern California when it was a hub for all types of racing and he remembers when Chris Pook, a younger Lengthy Seashore journey agent, began the race.
“The city has changed. The landscape has changed. The image has changed,” he stated. “But what he did is lay such a positive foundation that friends of mine, when they talk about Long Beach, they don’t say ‘are you going to the Long Beach Grand Prix?’ They say ‘are you doing to the race?’ And everybody knows what that means.
“It’s like the Rose Parade. There are more parades in Southern California than that one. But that’s the only they talk about.”
Drivers race through the Lengthy Seashore Grand Prix on April 21.
(Ryan Solar / Related Press)
Given that private connection, this will probably be removed from a misplaced weekend for Hull regardless of how Sunday’s race ends since his driver is scheduled to be inducted within the Lengthy Seashore Motorsports Stroll of Fame on Thursday. Dixon, 44, will probably be honored alongside longtime Grand Prix president and CEO Jim Michaelian and former Lengthy Seashore mayor Beverly O’Neill, in recognition of their contributions to auto racing within the metropolis.
That can make Dixon — and by extension Hull — a everlasting a part of the race’s historical past. And whereas Dixon stated it appears like one thing of a lifetime achievement award, it’s going to additionally function motivation within the current.
“It’s a huge privilege because you’re talking about your past and accomplishments. And all you really want to do is get out on a track and win,” he stated. “It’s definitely a different frame of mind.
“I feel lucky to be honored like that. Especially while [I’m] still racing. But it does feel a little bit strange. You’d preferably like to be talking about it after the fact.”
Right here’s a information to the weekend:
Tickets
Normal admission, Friday, $54; Saturday, $101; Sunday, $107. Normal admission tickets include unreserved seating on Friday and Saturday however not on Sunday. Three-day package deal, $143.
Reserved seating, Saturday $110 for adults; Sunday costs vary from $119-$136 for adults and $90-$110 for juniors. Three-day packages, $155-$215 for adults and $123-$170 for juniors, relying on seating.
Tickets can be found at gplb.com/tickets
Thursday
Lengthy Seashore Motorsports Stroll of Fame Induction Ceremony, 11 a.m.-Midday in entrance of the Lengthy Seashore Conference and Leisure Middle on South Pine Avenue. Driver Scott Dixon, former Lengthy Seashore Mayor Beverly O’Neill and Grand Prix Affiliation President and CEO Jim Michaelian will probably be honored.
Thunder Thursday on the Pike Shops, Pike Shops, 95 S. Pine Ave., Lengthy Seashore. 6:30 p.m. — Freestyle motocross demonstration over Shoreline Drive. 6:45 p.m. — Pit cease competitors, with 4 vehicles representing IndyCar groups headed by Alex Palou, Christian Rasmussen, Will Energy and Graham Rahal. 7:30 p.m. — Profitable staff to be awarded $10,000 verify from Grand Prix Affiliation of Lengthy Seashore 7:45 p.m. — Freestyle motocross demonstration over Shoreline Drive
Friday
7:30 a.m., gates open; 7:30-8:15 a.m., GT America follow #1; 9-10 a.m., IMSA follow #1, 10:15-10:45 a.m., Historic Formulation Exhibition follow; 11:40 a.m.-12:10 p.m., GT America follow #2; 12:25-12:45 p.m., Stadium Tremendous Vans follow; 1-2:30 p.m., IMSA follow #2; 3:05-4:25 p.m., IndyCar Sequence follow #1; 4:35-4:50 p.m., GT America qualifying; 5-6 p.m., IndyCar sequence autograph session; 5:10-6 p.m., IMSA qualifying; 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tremendous Drift problem; 8:30 p.m. gates shut.
DVBBS Friday Live performance, 6:30 p.m. at Terrace Theater plaza, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Lengthy Seashore, that includes Canadian DJ duo DVBBS. The occasion is free to Friday race ticket holders. Area on the plaza is restricted and will probably be out there on a first-come, first-serve foundation.
Saturday
7:30 a.m., gates open; 7:45-8:05 a.m., Historic Formulation Exhibition follow #2; 8:30-9:30 a.m,, IndyCar Sequence follow #2; 10:30-11 a.m. IMSA autograph session; 10:45-11:05 a.m., Historic Formulation Exhibition #1; 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., IndyCar Sequence qualifying; 1-2 p.m., IMSA pre-race; 1-1:45 p.m., Grand Prix legends autograph session; 2-4 p.m., IMSA Sports activities Automotive Grand Prix; 4:30-5 p.m., Stadium Tremendous Vans race #1; 5:20-6 p.m., GT America Race #1; 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tremendous Drift Problem, #2; 8:30 p.m., gates shut
Foreigner in live performance, 6:30 p.m., Terrace Theater plaza, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Lengthy Seashore. The live performance is free to Saturday race ticket holders. Area on the plaza is restricted and will probably be out there on a first-come, first-serve foundation.
Sunday
7:30 a.m., gates open; 9-9:30 a.m., IndyCar Sequence warm-up; 10:45-11:05 a.m., Historic Formulation Exhibition; 11:20 a.m.-noon, GT America race #2; 12:50-1:30 p.m., IndyCar Sequence pre-race; 1:30-4 p.m., Grand Prix of Lengthy Seashore; 4:30-5 p.m., Stadium Tremendous Vans race #2; 5:30 p.m., gates shut.
