TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH 2009

The Circus Comes To Town The Long Beach Grand Prix is far more than just a race, it's a circus. This has it all, less the lions and tigers. While perhaps taking a little poetic license, the 2009 LBGP has all the key ingredients from the three rings, side shows, freak shows, concessions, and death defying feats aplenty. This year as always the center ring is devoted to Indy. If for no other reason, the stars of the series are all but household names in the same way NASCAR drivers are. One of the outer rings of this circus is devoted to the American Le Mans Series. While the GT2 and GT3 cars are not as fast as jet aircraft, the screaming cars are nearly as loud. The other ring is the domain of the Speed World Challenge that brings back memories of what stock cars used to be, modified production cars that have been tuned to out-gun nearly anything around them.

The side-show as in years past is the Pro/Celebrity Race featuring a few pros along with numerous celebrities battling it out in similarly modified Scions. While the term freak show is socially unacceptable, so are the drifting events, or at least to those who love the environment. Drifting races are judged in a way more similar to "Dancing with the Stars" - not exactly racing as we know it. The Long Beach streets that are transformed into a 200-mile per hour race track are also the outpost for the hungry, with restaurants galore and vendors such as King Taco. While the racers risk life and limb, the attendees are in danger of overdosing on food, or melting under 90 plus degree heat on Sunday. At least everyone gets a taste of danger. - John Grafman LA Car's Long Beach Grand Prix coverage: LBGP 2009: The Circus Comes to Town LBGP 2009: Pro/Celebrity Race LBGP 2009: The Molly Sanders Interview LBGP 2009: Drifting LBGP 2009: The Tanner Foust Interview LBGP 2009: American Le Mans Series LBGP 2009: IndyCar Racing LBGP 2009: Speed World Championship LBGP 2009: Racing Goes Green LBGP 2009: The Grand Prix Lifestyle