Speed Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Are Back In Line Up At Grand Prix Of Long Beach

Stadium SUPER Trucks in action through Turn 10 from the 2018 Toyota Grand Prix. Image Credit: Bleu Cotton/Grand Prix Association of Long Beach (2018)

Speed Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Are Back In Line Up At Grand Prix Of Long Beach

The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach announced today that Robby Gordon’s SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks series has signed a multi-year agreement to return and race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach starting in 2019.

Very popular with Grand Prix fans, the Stadium SUPER Trucks series features highhorsepower trucks that not only race around the world-famous 1.97-mile, 11-turn Grand Prix racetrack but also jump high in the air utilizing a series of temporary ramps placed throughout the circuit. 

The SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks will run practice and qualifying on Friday with races on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Last year, Gavin Harlien (Sat.) and Matt Brabham (Sun.) earned Long Beach wins.

Robbie Gordon stands with son as Robbie gets honored with an induction into the 40th Los Angeles Sportswalk Of Fame. In June of 2012, Gordon announced that he was founding a stadium truck racing series, which he would own. The Stadium Super Trucks Series launched in 2013 and Gordon, an owner-driver, won the inaugural season championship. The series has since expanded worldwide and included races in Great Britain and Australia. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018) 

“To be able to come back and continue our great relationship with the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach for the seventh consecutive year is something awesome,” said Gordon. “The venue location, the atmosphere, the excitement, and fun make the Grand Prix of Long Beach one of the premier events in the world, and Stadium SUPER Trucks is excited to have it on the schedule for 2019 with a new multi-year deal.”

“I know our fans will be delighted to have the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks back at Long Beach this year,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “For many years, they have proved to be a thrilling attraction and a highlight of the race weekend.”

Robbie Gordon pushes his Robby Gordon Motorsports "Gordini" Dakar/Rally Raid Racecar, which Robbie based upon a design of Hummer, valued at $1,250,000.00 into it's display place. Gordon was able to give a special demonstration of his custom "one of" super truck at the Sportswalk ceremony event. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2018)

Featuring a wide variety of on- and off-track activities for the entire family, the Grand Prix will be headlined by the IndyCar Series, as well as the BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix, featuring the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In addition to the Stadium SUPER Trucks, the weekend will include the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge under the lights on Friday and Saturday nights, the powerful sports cars of the Pirelli World Challenge and the Historic IMSA GTO Challenge.

Ticket prices for the three-day event, which have not increased from 2018, range from $33 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $147 for a three-day ticket that includes Saturday and Sunday reserved seating in grandstand upper levels.  Pre-paid parking packages are also available, along with handicapped seating, IndyCar Series Paddock access passes, Super Photo tickets and an array of VIP Club packages.

Fans can select and pay for their Grand Prix of Long Beach seats, parking and paddock passes online at gplb.com. Ticket orders can also be placed by calling the toll-free ticket hotline, (888) 827-7333.  A printed ticket brochure that includes a circuit map, ticket prices, order form and other information is also available.

Fans can also follow the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook at GrandPrixLB, Twitter @GPLongBeach and Instagram at GPLongBeach
[ht: GPALB]

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks, SPEED Energy, Stadium SUPER Trucks, Long Beach, Grand Prix Of Long Beach, Truck Tech Talk, The EDJE

Pirelli World Challenge's 2017 "Roar By The Shore" Re-Titled To "A River Runs Through It"

Alvaro Parente, a 32-year-old driver from Porto, Portugal driving his No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S, held off a turn one challenge by local star Patrick Long of Manhattan Beach, Calif., driving the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3-R and extended his winning margin at the checkered flag to 2.86 seconds in a wild event that saw flooding between turns eight and nine due to a fire hydrant incident from off track on Ocean Blvd.. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2017)

Pirelli World Challenge's 2017 "Roar By The Shore" Re-Titled To "A River Runs Through It" 

The Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) is noted to bring a level of competition in sport car racing that delivers strong yet unexpected results. This third race of the 2017 PWC series season follows two races in Saint Petersburg Florida when the Verizon IndyCar Series also opened its 2017 season ... also by the shore.

But, hey, The Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach is squarely based in the land of fruits and nuts ... and Hollywood productions, so why not just script something memorable into this special sportscar racing mix. After all, this event is the longest continuous running temporary street course on the IndyCar schedule which has become a "Rites Of Spring" hallmark event in American motor culture.

On Lap 10 of the 50 minute timed race, as if on cue to bring in a very unique course hazard, not too dissimilar to golf course sand traps, someone up the hill on Ocean Blvd. ran over and broke a fire hydrant causing a massive amount of water to flow across the back straight between Turn 8 and Turn 9, setting up a potential for additional destruction due to a hydroplaning kind of skim-boarding (aero-sealed racing undercarriages) at well over 100 mph.

How cool ... professional auto racing with the unexpected addition of a water feature.

Water hazard interrupts Round 3 PWC race course. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2017)

Alvaro Parente, who got off to a very tight start from his pole qualifying position, was leading the race at the time with Patrick Long, winner of round two at St. Petersburg, in his No. 58 911 GT3-R close in tow.

"That was a little crazy with the water on the track," said the Portuguese born Parente in the post race press conference. "I went into that turn [Turn 8] and all of a sudden there was a river in front of me, so I just went foot off throttle, and prayed that I wouldn’t crash or anything, and just skidded through the puddle. It was last-minute for me; you’re flat out on that straight and suddenly you see a black shadow there, the water from the fire hydrant."

As for longtime factory Porsche competitor and local racer Long running in P2, "It was probably 20 feet of running water and with slick tires at 140 mph, that’s not what you want to see. It’s one of those situations where you sort of just stay calm, sort of relax, and let it end. I’m happy we didn’t have an incident and everyone responded really well, so hats off to the track and World Challenge series for their handling of an unnatural disaster. But, that’s Long Beach and that’s street racing. This series is about sprint racing and everybody’s racing hard."

Jim Jordan, a manufacturer motorsports executive for over 25 years in various roles and currently is a part of the Pirelli World Challenge management posted this on his Facebook timeline:

My good friends know I have always valued collecting experiences more than anything else. This season I have taken on a new responsibility in race control for the Pirelli World Challenges races. Not particularly complicated but I serve as the communications link between Race Control and the TV production crew. Most times this means fairly simple communications.

Today not so much. During the middle of our GT/GTA race at Long Beach there was an accident on Ocean Blvd where a vehicle wiped out a fire hydrant. We did not know this of course, but the corner workers quickly reported a "flood" coming down to the track!

All hands on deck! Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2017)

It was a weird situation, and the team did an amazing job of reacting without over reacting, fixing, communicating, and only losing 1 minute total of racing [Red Flag - 15 minutes]. It was very impressive to see the way the group worked together, from the track crew, to IndyCar [Holmatro Safety Team], to SCCA Cornerworkers, IMS Productions, and the WCVision staff. Very fun to have been a part of, and I imagine it will go down in "racing lore," the Long Beach Flood!

Full Race Results >>>

Naw, this 43 year old Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach venue deserves a water feature hazard incident with the verve of a Hollywood title - "A River Runs Through It."

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Pirelli World Challenge, Long Beach, roar by the shore, a river runs through it, Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach, Alvaro Parente, K-PAX Racing, Patrick Long, Wright Motorsports, Bryan Sellers, Jim Jordan, Holmatro Safety Team, Water, The EDJE

Ireland's James Deane Makes His Return To Formula DRIFT A Beaming Success

The Worthhouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15 driven by James Deane takes the 2017 Formula DRIFT season O’Reilly Auto Parts Round 1: Streets of Long Beach win. Image Credit: @worthousedrift via James Deane Facebook (2017)

Ireland's James Deane Makes His Return To Formula DRIFT A Beaming Success

Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship presented by BlackVue Dash Cameras kicked off the 14th season with an exciting day of action at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Round 1: Streets of Long Beach.  Irish driver James Deane returns to the Series and gets the win in the Worthhouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan S15.

“What a way to start the season,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT.  “With not only a capacity crowd, record numbers on the Livestream, but proof that Formula Drift is truly an international series where the best of the best come to compete.”

The first event of the season commenced on the Grand Prix of Long Beach Street Course.  The highly anticipated event was action packed from start to finish and the capacity crowd witnessed many competitive battles throughout the day.  The event also introduced new drivers to the field including Georgy Chivchyan from Russia and Piotr Wiecek from Poland and marked the return of Irish driver, James Deane.  The event broke records with the Livestream with over 1 million viewers tuning in from around the world over the two-day event weekend making for the largest viewership for a single event in Formula DRIFT history.

Deane returned to Formula DRIFT after a seven year hiatus from the Series in dramatic fashion.  Deane proved to be a contender after qualifying in second position and making his way through to the finals by defeating both former champion Michael Essa and the reigning and 3-time champion, Chris Forsberg.

Deane met with Ryan Tuerck in the Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86 in the semi-finals and with consistent driving all-day and a solid chase run he was able to advance to the Finals.

On the other side of the bracket in the semi-finals, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis in the Falken Tire / Drifz Wheels / Ark Performance Nissan 240SX faced off against Alex Heilbrunn in the IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3.  After a hard fought battle that was too close to call, the drivers met in a One More Time battle and while chasing Heilbrunn, Bakchis made an error entering the hairpin giving Heilbrunn the win to put him in the Finals.  Deane’s consistency and technical driving was no match for Heilbrunn in the Finals and Deane won his first Formula DRIFT victory to take the lead in the chase for the championship.

“Man, what a way to start back in Formula DRIFT after missing out on the last seven years,” said James Deane, winner of Round 1: Streets of Long Beach.  “I owe a lot to my good friend and teammate, Piotr Wiecek, who came up with this whole idea to come back to the Series as a two-car team.  To come out with the win is just mind blowing.  What a feeling!"

For more information visit, www.formulad.com and find Formula DRIFT on Instagram @formulad, Facebook www.facebook.com/formuladrift, Twitter @FormulaDrift, and Snapchat - formula_drift. Tune into Formula DRIFT on CBS Sports and check your local listings for airtimes.

Formula DRIFT 2017 Round 1 Podium - (L to R) P2 - Alex Heilbrunn, P1 - James Deane, P3 - Ryan Tuerck. Image Credit: Formula DRIFT (2017)

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Event Results

1. Deane, James
Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240
Winner

2. Heilbrunn, Alex
IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3
2nd Place

3. Tuerck, Ryan
Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86
3rd Place

4. Bakchis, Aurimas
Falken Tires / Drifz Wheels / ARK Performance Nissan 240
4th Place

5. Aasbo, Fredric
Rockstar Energy / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla iM
5th Place

6. Coffman, Matt
Nexen Tire / Coffman Racing Nissan 240
6th Place

7. Forsberg, Chris
NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z
7th Place

8. Kearney, Dean
Oracle Lighting Dodgle Viper
8th Place

9. Gittin, Vaughn
Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR
9th Place

10. Wiecek, Piotr
Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240
10th Place

11. Gushi, Ken
GReddy Racing / Nexen Tire Toyota Racing 86
11th Place

12. Field, Matt
Falken Tire / Vapetasia / ARK Performance Nissan 240
12th Place

13. Rintanen, Juha
STR Racing / Nexen Tire Nissan 240
13th Place

14. Bluss, Kristaps
HGK / Mast / Motul / Wisefab BMW E46
14th Place

15. Pawlak, Justin
Roush Performance Ford Mustang
15th Place

16. Essa, Michael
Achilles Tire / Essa Autosport BMW M3
16th Place

----

2017 Formula DRIFT Black Magic Championship Presented by BlackVue Standings After 1 Event

1. Deane, James
Worthouse Drift Team / Falken Tire Nissan 240
106.00 Points

2. Heilbrunn, Alex
IMR / Nitto Tire BMW M3
84.00 Points

3. Tuerck, Ryan
Gumout / Nameless Performance / Hankook Toyota 86
69.00 Points

----

2017 Manufacturer Championship Standings After 1 Event

1. Toyota
121.00 Points

2. Ford
74.00 Points

3. Nissan
52.00 Points

4. Dodge
51.00 Points

5. BMW
35.00 Points

6. Infiniti
18.00

----

2017 Tire Championship Standings After 1 Event

1. Falken
174.00 Points

2. Nitto
123.00 Points

3. Hankook
121.00 Points

4. Nexen
104.00 Points

5. Achilles
86.00 Points
(ht: Formula DRIFT)

... notes from The EDJE


TAGS: Formula DRIFT, Round 1, Long Beach, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Falken, Nitto, Hankook, Nexen, Achilles, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Dodge, BMW, Infiniti, James Deane, Alex Heilbrunn, Ryan Tuerck, The EDJE

#LBePrix (Long Beach Formula E Race) Is A Two-Car One-Driver Affair

Andretti Autosport's Scott Speed practicing pitstop car changes - #LBePrix.

A photo posted by Edmund Jenks (@the_edje) on Apr 3, 2015 at 5:15pm PDT

#LBePrix (Long Beach Formula E Race) Is A Two-Car One-Driver Affair

The FIA, the first sanctioning body to hold a race on the streets of coastal Long Beach city 41 years ago ... that has now become known worldwide as the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (TGPLB), will introduce Los Angeles California to the Formula E electric car racing series. The race will be held on a modified version of the track used by the TGPLB on Saturday, April 4th, 2015 and will feature FREE ADMISSION and is referred to as Long Beach ePrix (or Twitter hastag - #LBePrix).

The specification cars used are the fully-electric Spark-Renault SRT_01E that were built by Spark Racing Technology together with a consortium of the leading manufacturers in the world of motorsport (Top speed: 225km/h - 0-100kph: 3 secs - Gears: 5 - Min weight (inc driver): 896kg - Max power: 200kw / 270bhp).

One of the more interesting elements of an ePrix is that in order to run sustained fast racing level speeds, the race is held with two cars for each driver competing.

Or as the rule states:

Pit stops/Car changes
During races, drivers must make one mandatory pit stop in order to change cars. This must take place in their box and be observed by an FIA steward to ensure all safety equipment is correctly applied. A minimum time period (determined on the day) will also be enforced. Tyre changes, unless a puncture, are not permitted during a pit stop.

Virgin Racing Engineering gridding up with two cars in pit lane - #LBePrix

A photo posted by Edmund Jenks (@the_edje) on Apr 3, 2015 at 4:32pm PDT

And that is how it is done - a pit stop car change as performed in the pits on Shoreline Drive pit row at the Formula E #LBePrix by the Virgin Racing Engineering's driver, Sam Bird.

,,, notes from The EDJE


TAGS: FIA Formula E Championship, FIA, Formula E, #LBePrix, Long Beach, Virgin Racing Engineering, Sam Bird, Andretti Autosport, Scott Speed, The EDJE,

Formula Drift Championships begin 2014 season in Long Beach

Formula Drift Championships begin 2014 season in Long Beach 

Formula Drift 2014 Pro Championship begins its seven round national schedule by tearing up the streets of Long Beach for the 11th time. The course is set to use a portion of the back straightaway leading into the turns 9, 10, and Turn 11 hairpin of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach track.

Formula Drift cars line up to accept members of the gathered motorsports and celebrity media during the Toyota Pro/Celebrity track orientation and media day. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

This excerpted and edited from Formula Drift website -

As the first official series in North America, Formula DRIFT has taken competitive motorsports to the extreme, attracting fans and car enthusiasts from all walks of life and establishes itself as the worldwide leader for the Sport. This high-skilled, high-powered motor sport where drivers intentionally maneuver their cars into well executed, controlled sideways slides at high speeds through a marked course, has professional drivers & teams competing in seven championship competitions in 2014.

Judged on execution and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time, Drifting is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and is often compared to the freestyle nature of skateboarding and motocross.

Formula DRIFT Fast Facts

•     Created first ever drifting world championship; brought together 32 drivers, 17 past and present championship, from 12 nations, representing 12 series
•     Created Formula Drift Asia Championship; first Pan-Asia professional championship
•     Created Formula Drift Pro Am Affiliate Network; bridge together various regional level series, the "minor league" for Formula Drift
•     7-stop Championship Series travels across the United States
•     87% of Formula Drift Fans are between 18-34 years old
•     Formula Drift is one of only a few sports to see a growth in attendance during the economic downturn in 2009 and 2010.
•     FIRST drifting championship in the world to be sponsored by non-endemic companies such as EA Games
•     FIRST drifting championship to have factory backed teams
•     FIRST drifting championship in the world to have an official, sanctioned competition on city streets
•     FIRST drifting championship to be aired on national cable & syndicated globally with a dedicated series of shows
•     FIRST drifting championship to be filmed and featured in high definition
•     FIRST drifting championship to be filmed and featured in 3D
•     Formula Drift has the MOST diverse driver field (nationality, age and gender) of any drifting series in the world and field of competition cars (year, make and model) of any drifting series in the world
•     Responsible for holding the MOST professional drifting events than anyone in North America
•     Held the HIGHEST attended drifting event ever

[Reference Here]

This excerpted and edited from RACER -

PREVIEW: Formula DRIFT Long Beach
Jen Horsey, RACER - Wednesday, 02 April 2014

The action has already begun. A media demonstration day Tuesday saw drivers Dean Kearney and Ryan Tuerck both hit the wall hard in a pair of unrelated crashes.

"It's an unforgiving track. It's really slippy and once you get into the marbles, there's no recovery from that," says driver Fredric Aasbo, who kept his Hankook Tire Scion Racing tC (pictured, ABOVE) out of trouble Tuesday. "It's a balancing act. You want to be able to find the limit, but that track bites your a** – if it goes wrong it's like a game of pinball, bouncing off the walls."

The motorsport calls for full commitment from competitors. Judges award points to drivers for smoky, sideways drifts based on criteria of speed, angle and style. While it is relegated to alternative status by racing purists, there is no arguing the high degree of car control required to deliberately hurl a sideways car into a corner and keep it pinned at 90mph, inches from an opponent's door.

"It is a race. It's not timed, per se, but leaving the other guy in the dust – or in the smoke – is still what matters most," says Aasbo.

And while both Kearney and Tuerck are expected to return to competition this weekend, it can be tough to bounce back from a tangle with the Long Beach course – especially given the power the cars are producing this year. This season is seeing a continuation of the incremental trend toward ever-increasing horsepower, facilitated by the series' open rulebook, which encourages development and innovation.
----
Perhaps more controversial [in this year's competition] is Formula Drift's decision to eliminate the third-place knockout round. Typically one of the most exciting battles of the weekend, drivers held nothing back in their attempts to earn the final spot on the podium.

Although the action was exciting, Sage said organizers made the decision for the fans. Too often, the third-place round often ran long as judges determined the competition too close to call and repeatedly called the drivers back to try again. Television schedules suffered and fans wore out. Third place will now go to the highest-qualifying driver who achieves the bracket.

"Our closest cousin, NHRA, doesn't run (a third-place round) either," said Sage. "We thought we would do away with it for one year and evaluate."

In a championship round, drivers qualify for one of 32 spots on the grid, then work their way through a series of head-to-head knock-out elimination tandem runs to the winner-take-all first-place battle. Qualifying for this weekend's main event takes place on Friday (gates open at 11 a.m.), with gates opening for the main event on Saturday at 10 a.m. The top rounds of competition get started with the official opening ceremonies Saturday at 3 p.m.

The following weekend, during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the drifting action returns to the streets of Long Beach with the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge (pictured, ABOVE). The demonstration event is open to all weekend ticket-holders and takes place under the lights Friday and Saturday nights (April 11 and 12), with the action starting at 7 p.m.
[Reference Here]

Actually, for those who do not mind a little pre-season, pre-race party, on which one might meet some drivers and team owners, head over to The Federal Bar at 102 Pine Ave. just up from Ocean Ave. in downtown Long Beach. The action is set to begin at 6:00pm PT with drink specials offered all night and as an added treat, Formula DRIFT cars will be on display.

... notes from The EDJE

Driven To Race Screening At Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach

Driven To Race - A feature length, documentary film, Driven To Race follows ambitious, young male and female drivers (and engineers - pictured, Kate Gundlach - now fulltime with the Star Mazda racing series) Peter Dempsey who struggles to find enough funding to stay in the race - even as he’s winning races; 17 year old American John Edwards, the youngest person ever to win an open wheel race in North America (at 12 years old!); JC and Kristy Kester - the only brother sister team in professional racing; and 28 year-old Charles Hall who was on the verge of a promising career in Europe before a major auto accident kept him out of racing for nearly 2 years. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Driven To Race Screening At Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach

Cargo Productions, in concert with MAZDASPEED Motorsports, have created a documentary style film depicting the process, competition and commitment of drivers, teams, sponsors, and culture displayed through the course of a 12 race season in an open-wheel automobile racing series.

Driven To Race - Screening at the The Art Theatre of Long Beach - Thursday, April 15th - Two showings - 2:00 PM and 9:00 PM - Admission: $7 with flyer (below) - Get in FREE with your IRL, ALMS & SCCA Hard Card, MPG and AARWBA members also FREE!

For the record - Cargo Productions produced the film independently and had complete creative control. Mazda USA and MAZDASPEED Motorsport was pleased Cargo Productions chose one of the many racing series Mazda has a commitment to for automobile technology and driver development, but did not fund or influence the film. It is largely due to this distinction, Driven To Race stands on its own as one of the best documentaries about a competitive pursuit, any competitive pursuit, ever made.

The "Premiere" screening was held for a select group of invitees to the 2010 MAZDASPEED Motorsports pre-season media gathering held at the The District @ Tustin Legacy about a month ago to rave reviews. The evening was introduced by Mazda Sr. VP Robert Davis who gave an update as to what was new and expectations for the 2010 racing season and the famed MAZDASPEED Motorsports ladder series development and participation.

Joel Miller gets the green light to run on the streets at Long Beach. The Firestone Indy Lights schedule for the Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach weekend shows practice sessions on Friday, April 16 at 12:15 p.m. and Saturday, April 17 at 8 a.m. followed by qualifying at 12:55 p.m. Saturday afternoon. There is a warm-up session at 8 a.m. Sunday, April 18 before the 45-lap race gets underway at 10:40 a.m. It precedes the IZOD IndyCar race that will get the green flag at 1:15 p.m. All times shown are Pacific Time Zone. Image Credit: Andersen Racing

One of the key players in the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear 12 race season featured in "Driven To Race", was upcoming driver from Hesperia, Joel Miller. Joel will be driving at Long Beach in the next rung up the ladder for open-wheel motorsports, the Firestone Indy Lights Series ... this is first season on this platform toward his ultimate goal of getting a fulltime ride in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Driven To Race attendance authorization - one must CTRL-CLICK and then print this flyer to bring to one of the two offered screenings at The Art Theatre of Long Beach - Thursday, April 15th - 2:00 PM or 9:00 PM - and Admission: $7.00 ... with flyer! NOTE: Flyer does not guarantee admission if all seats are taken. See you there. Image Credit: MAZDASPEED Motorsports

Some of the most notable reactions to Driven To Race are as follows:

This excerpted and edited from Automotive .com -

Movie Review: Driven to Race by Mazdaspeed Motorsports, Cargo Productions
Posted March 15 2010 04:18 PM by Joel Arellano

The film showcases what happens to each team as they compete through the requisite twelve races. Director Brian Spillane breaks the two hour film into bite-size chunks, each focusing on a particular driver or aspect of racing. Hall, for example, had been involved in a horrendous non-racing auto accident that shortened his legs. Driver John Edwards, on the other hand, enters the series one race short.
----
In my opinion? Cargo Production did a bang up job in providing an insider’s look into the little documented world of “grassroots” racing. I found the film entertaining, highly educational as well as absorbing. Both serious racers as well as the general public will enjoy the film.
Reference Here>>



This excerpted and edited from The Motorsports Report -

“Driven To Race”
... or The best Documentary that every wannabe Race Driver should see
By Dicken Wear - The Motorsports Report - Thursday, March 11, 2010

“Driven To Race”, is by far one of the best documentaries ever made about open wheel racing, and where the world finds these new up and coming drivers.
----
Many movies, some with major stars and multi-million dollars budgets, have failed to covey to the viewer what this great independent film has accomplished, on a budget that most productions would have spent on “Craft Services” (snacks) .
----
The people at Cargo Productions hit the nail on the head. You only hope it will be this good, but above all else, this is the real story of what it takes. Luck, Money, Talent, Desire and Dedication.
Reference Here>>

For our money here at The EDJE, we could not have become more informed or entertained about all of the surrounding aspects of what it takes to be a part of the disciplined pursuit of motorsports competition.

Driven To Race is a must see (and when it is available on DVD or Blu-Ray), must have film to view and share over, and over as it is the best effort of its type to ever be produced ... a hallmark of honesty, information and entertainment!

Screening at the The Art Theatre of Long Beach - Thursday, April 15th - Two showings - 2:00 PM and 9:00 PM - Admission: $7 with flyer (above) - Get in FREE with your IRL, ALMS & SCCA Hard Card, MPG and AARWBA members also FREE!

... notes from The EDJE

“Vacation” Pays Dividends For Franchitti At INDY Long Beach

Dario Franchitti, driving the Target Chip Ganassi #10 Dallara, receives the White Flag as he crosses the Start/Finish Line on Shoreline Drive with one more lap to go for the win of the 35th Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach. Image Credit: James Doss, Have Camera Inc. (2009)


“Vacation” Pays Dividends For Franchitti At INDY Long Beach

On a 97 degree day (a record for this day) at Long Beach, one of the most demanding street courses in modern motorsports history, a driver has to bring his (or her) “A-Game” in order to win. Relaxed, Ready. And Rested … after taking a one year “vacation/break” from open wheel motorsports competition, Dario Franchitti, 2007 ICS Champion (and Chip Ganassi) - out pitted, out conserved (on fuel), and out communicated Will Power (and a Penske pit crew managed by Rick Mears) to win the 35th Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach.

Will Power had secured the pole position and maintained the position through the first round of pit stops. Chip Ganassi brought Dario in a little early during the first stint, suspecting that because most all of the teams had opted to start the race using the Red Option sidewall, softer compound tires, that the grip of the tires would go away … and some of the drivers would tangle, or make a mistake that would bring out a full course Yellow Caution Flag. Chip was right.

Mike Conway nosed his Dreyer & Reinbold, Dad’s Root Beer car into the Turn 1 wall bringing out a local Yellow. Then, Transition Player hopeful, EJ Viso of HVM Racing (starting in position #4) was tapped by Franchitti’s Target Chip Ganassi teammate, Scott Dixon (P6), stalling Viso’s broken Dallara at turn #7.

This incidents served to jumble the field and catch Power out for 32 laps until the next pit stop… along with a five car pile up going into the hairpin turn #11 that leads to the long right sweeping straightaway of Shoreline Drive. This incident put another top qualifier, and another Transition Player hopeful, out of the race from the damage the incident had caused. Justin Wilson, who had qualified for the pole position at the last ChampCar World Series race held here at Long Beach in 2008, qualified and started in position #5.

A disruption in communications had Will Power at a little disadvantage. Radio communications with the in-car radio system only operated with a small window of one-way (in) delivery so the Penske team had to resort to Pit Boards hung over the wall to let their driver know when to PIT and etc. Will believed he heard that there was a full course Yellow Flag caution when, in fact, the call was a local Yellow Flag caution. Will slowed and a couple of cars went by – one of them was Dario’s full communications enabled Target Chip Ganassi Dallara.

The stage was set for a show down of pit strategy and driving to conserve fuel. The attitudes of both drivers, in the end, was that each would have had the best of each other if they did not have to drive, maintaining position due to fuel conservation tactics, to win and to keep second place.

To be honest, the way the weekend unfolded for Will Power, and how he responded to the multiple unusual challenges thrown at him and the team (Helio Castroneves late arrival due to an acquittal on Tax issues – Will having to break in a new, untested chassis and still have the fastest track times), Dario needed his prior ChampCar track experience and the one year “Vacation/Break” … just to beat the former ChampCar and current ICS rising star!

How the field fared (*** denotes Transition Player):

Pos / Driver / Team / Gap
1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi
2. Will Power*** Penske + 3.3182s
3. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green + 4.0537s
4. Danica Patrick Andretti Green + 5.0742s
5. Dan Wheldon Panther + 6.5655s
6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 7.5900s
7. Helio Castroneves Penske + 8.6332s
8. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon + 9.4835s
9. Robert Doornbos*** Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 9.9583s
10. Alex Tagliani*** Conquest + 13.6185s
11. Ryan Hunter-Reay Vision + 15.2097s
12. Graham Rahal*** Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 15.8507s
13. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 1m05.1013s
14. Vitor Meira Foyt + 1 lap
15. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 1 lap
16. Darren Manning Dreyer & Reinbold + 1 lap
17. Stanton Barrett 3G + 1 lap
18. Ed Carpenter Vision + 3 laps

Retirements:

Driver Team Laps
Mario Moraes*** KV 71
Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 60
Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 51
Justin Wilson*** Dale Coyne 24
EJ Viso*** HVM 16
(ht: autosport.com)

Unification of the series had brought out the best in Long Beach for this 35th edition of the race on Shoreline Drive. The competitors were very pleased with the crowd reaction and the environment during the four days of event activity.

Dario said it best during his post race news conference (to paraphrase) - "We went to local eateries at night and the crowds ... the buzz in the atmosphere surrounding the venue were fantastic ... pretty cool."

View Video Highlights From VERSUS Here>>

... notes from The EDJE

INDY Long Beach - Dallara's First Practice Sessions

Hot Wheels IndyCar Dallara - Hot Wheels take to the track at Long Beach the first time in unification of North American Open Wheel Automobile Racing. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

INDY Long Beach - Dallara's First Practice Sessions

The sound of the Dallara Honda engines filled the air and bounced/reverberated off of the buildings in downtown Long Beach for the first time today.

Here is a sample of the experience with updates to follow.

At the end of the first practice session, three of the top five lap speeds were registered by Transition Players from the former ChampCar World Series!

Top Five As Follows (** denotes Transition Player):

Dario Franchetti - 1:11.1915
Ryan Briscoe - 1:11.5385
Mario Moraes** - 1:116395
Will Power** - 1:11.6512
Graham Rahal** - 1:11.6777

All covered by less than a half of a second on the clock!

Dallara Logo painted on the side of the manufacturer's transport truck. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

Well, it's back to the track for the 2:00 PM PT session #2.

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Second practice leaderboard. Screen Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

The second practice ended and the Transition players did not fare as well as expected. It was the general consensus around the track that local knowledge would win out given all other things being equal. Guess again.

Penske Racing has a manufacturer's knowledge, a ChampCar ex-patriot as one of it's drivers, and a former home field advantage to take into account as the team has placed last year's winner Will Power in the lead speed position with Ryan Briscoe taking station at P9 - This just in ... Helio Castroneves, the two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, was just acquitted by a Florida jury of six counts of tax evasion and he will drive the #3 Dallara platform.

Chip Ganassi, team owner of the cars driven by ICS Champions Scott Dixon (2008) and Dario Frachetti (2007). Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

Closely following Will Power and Penske (who will be assigned a third Dallara sponsored by Verizon Wireless and it will carry the #12) is Target Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon in P2 and his teammate, Dario Franchetti notching in at P6.

Positions 3, 4, 5 are held by relative rookies to the track with Luczo Dragon Racing's Raphael Matos, Panther's Dan Weldon, and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Mike Conway.

This leaves the Transition Players (after Will Power who has to take on an untested chassis) struggling along at positions 10 - Graham Rahal, 11 - EJ Viso, 12 - Justin Wilson, 14 - Robert Doornbos, 15 - Mario Moraes, and finally, 17 - Alex Tagliani.

A slow, sad day for the merged ChampCar crowd and the people who follow their fortunes.

... notes from The EDJE

Dallaras on Shoreline Drive - Long Beach & A House United

Shoreline Drive as pictured by Long Beach CA Webcam - Live action - take a peek at what's going right now in Long Beach CA. The ABC Camera is perched high atop the World Trade Center in downtown Long Beach. Images update every three minutes. Image Credit: ABC

Dallaras on Shoreline Drive - Long Beach & A House United

Last year, at this time, North American Open Wheel Racing (NAOWR) was in a state of confusion and disarray. A merger of the two racing series - IndyCar Series (ICS) and ChampCar World Series (CCWS) had decided to merge just a couple of months from the beginning of the 2008 season and the season, at best, became an exercise of catch-up by the teams and drivers of the CCWS.

The week that the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was held, the only teams and drivers to compete were the Transition Players being blended into the Indy Racing League and the ICS. It was a final party for the old series that had owned the streets of Long Beach ever since 1984 when the American racing body known as Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART)/Champ Car World Series (CCWS) took over from the European Formula 1 series. This became the last official race for ChampCar and the two year old Panoz DP01 - and the only race where these drivers and teams would compete at a ChampCar venue, with ChampCar equipment, and a ChampCar fan base - while earning IndyCar Series championship points.

Will Power - KV Racing Technology, taking a hard right-hand turn to enter Shoreline Drive on his way to win the final CCWS race ... and the first one to pay out IndyCar Series Championship points. Will Power will be driving for one of the "Established" teams in the IRL this year, Penske Racing, substituting for Helio Castorneves who is taking a leave of absense to attend to personal business held over from his appearance in "Dancing With The Stars" (taxes). Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The other drivers and teams from the ICS were racing Dallaras in Motegi, Japan ... the home track of the IndyCar engine manufacturer, Honda.

This year, Dallaras with Honda engines will be running on Shoreline Drive and the dynamic couldn't be richer for the sport of North American Open Wheel Racing. Racing teams and drivers are all under one banner ... names like Penske, Andretti, Unser, Rahal, Newman/Hass/Lanigan, AJ Foyt, Coyne, Bachelart, Conquest, Ganassi, Kalkovan, Vasser, Dixon, Power, Wilson (to mention a few) will all once again be heard in the racing paddock and streets of Long Beach with one purpose in mind ... to get as many points as possible toward the ICS 2009 championship.

This April 16-19, 2009, the NAOWR cultures will become one after a split of over 13 years when the IRL ran it's first race. This is the year the IRL will be welcomed to the famed streets of Long Beach by a rabid and knowledgeable crowd ... and a house will become united.

Welcome to the 35th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach!

LBGP Logo - Image Credit: Grand Prix Association of Long Beach

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2009 Event Schedule

35th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

(Subject to change without notice)

(PDF Printable Version)

Thursday, April 16

(NOTE: Admission is FREE to Thursday events – no ticket required)

The Long Beach Motorsports Walk Of Fame induction ceremony kicks off a week of motorsports family unification - two cultures become one. This year will feature six-time Long Beach Grand Prix winner and 2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Grand Marshal, Al Unser, Jr. and Past CART/CCWS Champion and IRL team owner (Rahal Letterman Racing) Bobby Rahal. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2008)

Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame Induction - 11 a.m.

(Pine Ave. at Convention Center)

Lifestyle Expo opens - 3 p.m.

American Le Mans Series (ALMS) practice - 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.

RaceMania at Shoreline Village - 3 p.m. – 10 p.m.

ALMS practice - 5 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.

Lifestyle Expo closes - 6 p.m.

FREE Admission to “Shark Lagoon,”
Aquarium of the Pacific - 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Tecate “Thursday Thunder on Pine” (Pine Ave., incl.
Miss Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Pageant) - 6:30 p.m.

Tuner Thursday at The Pike - 6:30 p.m.

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Friday, April 17

Gates open - 7 a.m.

Lifestyle Expo opens - 8 a.m.

ALMS practice - 9 a.m. – 9:40 a.m.

IndyCar practice - 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Toyota Pro/Celebrity practice - 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Firestone Indy Lights practice - 12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

IndyCar practice - 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Toyota Pro/Celebrity qualifying - 3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

ALMS qualifying - 3:55 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.

IndyCar autograph session - 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
(IndyCar Paddock)

Team Drifting - 5:05 p.m. – 5:25 p.m.

SPEED GT Challenge practice - 5:30 p.m. – 5:55 p.m.

Tecate Light “Fiesta Friday” Concert Starring
“El Tri” - 6 p.m.

Lifestyle Expo Closes - 6 p.m.

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Saturday, April 18

Gates open - 7 a.m.

ALMS Warmup - 7:30 a.m. – 7:45 a.m.

Lifestyle Expo opens - 8 a.m.

SPEED GT Challenge practice - 8:05 a.m. – 8:35 a.m.

Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying - 8:45 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

IndyCar practice - 10:25 a.m. – 11:25 a.m.

Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race Logo - Image Credit: Grand Prix Association of Long Beach

Toyota Pro/Celebrity RACE - 11:40 a.m. – 12:40 p.m.

Team Drifting - 12:50 p.m. – 1:10 p.m.

IndyCar qualifying - 2:10 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.

American Le Mans Series Logo - Image Credit: ALMS/IMSA Racing

Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series At Long Beach RACE - 4:15 p.m. – 5:55 p.m.

Lifestyle Expo closes - 6 p.m.

Tecate Light Rock-N-Roar Concert - 6 p.m.
Starring "Puddle of Mudd"

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Sunday, April 19

Gates Open - 7 a.m.

Lifestyle Expo opens - 8 a.m.

SPEED GT Challenge qualifying - 8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

IndyCar practice - 8:40 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.

Firestone Indy Lights RACE - 9:40 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.

Falken Tire Competition Drift Ford Mustang - Image Credit: Formula Drift (2008)

Team Drifting - 11:05 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

IndyCar Pre-Race Activities - 12:30 p.m.

35th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach IndyCar Race (85 laps) - 1:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

SPEED GT Challenge RACE - 4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Lifestyle Expo closes - 5:30 p.m.
Reference Here>>

See you all at the streets of Long Beach!

... notes from The EDJE

Danica Patrick First Stateside Conference - Long Beach

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Danica Patrick Honors Long Beach Venue With First Stateside Conference

Danica Patrick, through the arrangement of the management of the Indy Racing League, held a news conference at 4:15pm PT in the press conference room at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. An honorable gesture was carried out by the IRL to have the woman who became the first-ever female motorsports driver to win a race in a professional open-wheel automobile racing series give a second news conference so soon after traveling from Japan to the Grand Prix racing venue in Long Beach.

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

This conference in Long Beach was held just 19 hours after Danica won the IRL race at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan and helps to strengthen the move toward unification of the two American Racing series (the merge of ChampCar into IndyCar).

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

The conference followed immediately after the ChampCar World Series podium winners conference and interview at the end of this, the final race featuring the rules, equipment, teams and drivers of the CCWS. The winner of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Will Power – KV Racing Technology, stated clearly that his hat was off for Danica and that she had earned the win through skill and strategy.

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Thanks to the Indy Racing League for making this happen … a class act!

In the video, Danica discusses the final laps strategy and the end of the race, celebrating, and the team day planned for AGR at the American Honda facility in Torrance, California tomorrow.

... notes from The EDJE