It began in 1975 as a dream. Today, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is the nation's number one organised street race and the largest sports special event on the West Coast. Christopher R. Pook is credited with fostering and developing the idea for the annual Long Beach Grand Prix, the first post World War II actual city circuit Grand Prix in the United States.
In 1973, Pook conceived the idea of running a world-class automobile race through the city streets of Long Beach. The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach (GPALB) was established and among the first individuals Pook enlisted was American auto racing great Dan Gurney as the first vice president of operations. Pook had to convince everyone that Formula One cars could successfully and safely race through Long Beach. His dream became a reality when the initial event, a Formula 5000 event, was staged in September 1975. Thereafter, the Long Beach Grand Prix became a Formula One race and "The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach" evolved into an annual event on the World Championship Grand Prix circuit, a world renowned spectacle that was rated second only to the Monte Carlo Grand Prix.
Following the 1983 event, Pook made a decision to change the format of the Long Beach Grand Prix from Formula One cars to Indianapolis cars, the fastest growing automobile series in the world. Within days of the Long Beach announcement, events in the New Jersey/New York area, Portland and Las Vegas were announced, and today the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach has developed into the most significant Indy Car race aside from the Indianapolis 500.
The track was going to be even quicker in 1992, when minor changes to the circuit promised the fastest Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach layout in history. Construction on Pine Avenue would prevent the cars from travelling through the traditional Hyatt Garage portion of the circuit. Instead, a straight shot onto Seaside Way would decrease the amount of turns and increase the speed. The new layout was going to be 1.6 miles in length featuring 8 turns. Construction of this super circuit began Monday February 17th, when an experienced crew took the preliminary steps. The construction process itself was a carefully calculated two month project, fitted with two poles apiece on which the 10 miles of cable was tightly strung. Ten miles of fencing was then strapped in place above the blocks and the end result was a safety system that protected competitors and fans alike. The rubber came in the form of worn out automobile tires, which cushioned any potential concrete blows. Strapped together as pallets consisting of 64 tires each, over 200 of the units were placed at strategic points around the circuit in order to minimise potential injury and racecar crash damage. After the safety system was built, the work was far from over. Spectator passageways, television and photo towers, hospitality suites and grandstands around the circuit all had to be built before race week.
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach stands alone in setting the standard for organised major league street racing in North America.
