Potential Of 20 Car Field For The Long Beach Grand Prix

The beginning of the end for ChampCar World Series in the streets of Long Beach. The fans are feeling locked out of unity information from the IRL official website about Long Beach. The PANOZ DP01 makes its final appearence in a race in that the tub specifications do not meet minimum requirements as set by the FIA (governing body for Formula One - safety parity) going into the IRL merged format. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (EDJE) 2007

Potential Of 20 Car Field For The Long Beach Grand Prix Of 2008

In an era where transitioning from a two sanctioning body open-wheel series to one supreme governing and sanctioning body to stage open-wheel automobile racing, information is very hard to come by.

The websites of both governing bodies are not mentioning information about the race through the streets in Long Beach and it is tough to understand why.

As for the ChampCar World Series website, it is a little hard to see why they would apply any more resources than they have to. They are the series that is being merged into the Indy Racing League. The CCWS is no longer and has applied for bankruptcy protection as the doors swing shut so why maintain the website.

The Indy Racing League has other issues. For their part, they are choosing to behave as if the race in Long Beach doesn't even exist as far as their website, indycar.com, is concerned. Not one mention in their articles, their schedule, their advertising (if any, as of the posting of this article), even though they are going to award full and sanctioned points to count toward the 2008 Series Championship.

Some of the reasons for this lack of information coordination range from a conflict between Honda who supplies the engines for the IRL cars and the master sponsor of the Long Beach race, Toyota, to legal articles mentioned in the bankruptcy papers filed on behalf of the CCWS that limit the IRL to even show their face - WHO KNOWS ... but the fans in Los Angeles suffer without a care from the sanctioning body.

To add further insult to this purposeful tactic, the first information about a driver line up for the race has to come from a posting at a British Formula One Fansite!

Originally Posted by krp205 – IndyCar Nation, Talkback (indycar.com messageboard)

autosport.com has just announced a 20 car field for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Justin Wilson (#9 Finisher – St. Pete) and Graham Rahal (Winner of Round #2 – Saint Petersburg) at Newman/Hass. (2)

Jimmy Vasser will join Oriol Servia (#7 Finisher – St. Pete) and Will Power (#8 Finisher – St. Pete) at KV. (5)

Bruno Junqueira (T-Driver) and Mario Moraes (T-Driver) at Dale Coyne. (7)

Nelson Phillippe and Roberto Moreno joining EJ Viso (#4 Finisher - St. Pete) at HVM Minardi. (10)

Franck Perera (T-Driver) and Enriques Bernoldi (T-Driver) at Conquest (12)

Paul Tracy, Franck Montagny and David Martinez at Forsythe. (15)

Alex Tagliani at Walker. (16)

Mario Dominguez and Alex Figge at Pacific Coast. (18)

Antonio Pizzonia and Juho Annala at Rocketsports. (20)
Reference Here>>

This brings the number of drivers where the points actually matter to nine (in BOLD) who will be fighting for a points paying position with eleven drivers who are racing this race as the FINAL race for the ChampCar World Series and do not have a ride with the IRL series sanctioning body for the 2008 season.

Are you all ready … I am just going to have to say it!

THIS IS WEIRD!

If this lack of support and excitement from the Indy Racing League to the fans of open-wheel racing in Los Angeles continues, 2008 will have to go down as a mutt year in the annals of Long Beach Grand Prix history.

Mario Andretti to be inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk Of Fame, 11am, April 17, 2008. Artist conception of Mario Andretti passing Jody Scheckter to win the Formula One 1977 US Grand Prix West at Long Beach. Image Credit: lugnutsracing.com

The race is due to be held April 18-20, 2008 with civic activities to begin one day earlier at 1 p.m., racing greats Mario Andretti and Parnelli Jones will be inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame (Pine Ave. at the Convention Center), joining past inductees Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Paul Newman, Carl Haas, Chris Pook and Brian Redman. Former land speed record holder Gary Gabelich will also be inducted posthumously.

... notes from The EDJE