THE LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX IS BACK!
Beach party: 3-day event has tons of offerings for hardcore and casual fans
Thrill seekers from around the world will once again descend on Long Beach's downtown this weekend to get a taste of the high-speed world of racing.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the 49th annual race and a three-day spectacle with tons of offerings for both hardcore race lovers and casual fans, will run from Friday to next Sunday. The Grand Prix is one of Long Beach's biggest annual events, and one of its grandest — which is why organizers have dubbed it the region's “200-mph beach party.”
Last year's event toppled Grand Prix attendance records, with more than 192,000 spectators visiting across all three days. They helped generate around $60 million for the regional economy, city officials said previously.
Initial sales for this year's event were already trending past 2023's markers, according to Jim Michaelian, the president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach.
“Keep in mind that (the Grand Prix), like any outdoor event, is to a certain degree weather-related,” Michaelian said in a Friday interview. “Last year, we had great weather all the way through the weekend — we're certainly hoping that will be the case again this year.”
The Grand Prix has a sterling history when it comes to having good weather when it matters most. In the event's nearly 50-year history, Michaelian said, it's never rained on Sunday — when the titular NTT IndyCar Series race gets underway — and organizers are hoping that lucky streak will continue despite the region's unseasonably wet weather recently.
“If (the weather is good),” Michaelian said, “I think we can either match or exceed the numbers that we did last year.”
The marquee Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of the most iconic races in the IndyCar Series, with drivers zipping around a 1.97 mile, 11turn street circuit through some of Long Beach's most well-known landmarks — at speeds up to 180 mph. This year, the race will be the third in the IndyCar season.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Super Drift Challenge and Robby Gordon's SPEED/ UTV Stadium Super Trucks will precede the main IndyCar event throughout the weekend.
But it wouldn't be the Grand Prix if there wasn't something to excite veteran racing fans — and draw in younger ones.
“There's always something new with the Grand Prix,” Michaelian said. “That's the definition of having a recurring event year after year, and one of the challenges for us is the opportunity to make sure that our returning customers have an enhanced experience over what they've had in the past.”
This year, the Grand Prix's new experience is also something old: the Historic IndyCar Challenge.
Vintage cars from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s will circle the track during twin
Monday: