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 49th annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, a three-day spectacle with tons of offerings for both hardcore race lovers and casual fans, will run from Friday to Sunday, April 19-21. 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.
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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, April 12, 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, 11-turn 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 20-minute races on both Saturday and Sunday.
Some of the cars being featured are key parts of Long Beach and Grand Prix history, including the one 1985 Grand Prix winner Mario Andretti drove, Michaelian said.
Zak Brown, McLaren Racing’s CEO, and Big Machine Racing’s Scott Borchetta will be among the drivers participating in the Historic IndyCar Challenge, Michaelian said.
Besides that historic element, the 2024 Grand Prix of Long Beach will also add the SRO GT America Powered by AWS, a series of 40-minute sprint races featuring vehicles from Acura, Audi, McLaren, Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati, among other big brands.
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But the Grand Prix will also have plenty of off-course offerings for visitors to try out between the main racing events.
There will once again be evening concerts on Friday and Saturday, both of which will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Terrace Theater plaza. The Fiesta Friday concert will feature DJ Ape Drums, a Mexican American performer who combined electronic dance and Caribbean music. The Grand Prix’s annual Saturday night concert will also return this year — but with a bit of a country twist.
Though the concert is typically headlined by rock performers, this year’s show will feature a “Country All-Star Jam,” with musicians Gretchen Wilson, Eddie Montgomery and David Lee Murphy backed by a band dubbed Sixwire.
“We’re gonna go a little country. I think it’s gonna be neat and I’m looking forward to seeing what the audience’s reaction will be,” Michaelian said. “(We’re) introducing a new concept and a new experience for people to come and enjoy — and hopefully they do.”
The Grand Prix’s concourse, meanwhile, will feature the usual attractions: a lifestyle expo, featuring more than 100 retailers, at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, as well as a family fun zone and tons of options for foodies.
The lifestyle expo will house another new addition to this year’s Grand Prix — one that will offer attendees a taste of what it’s like to race the Long Beach course.
Cooler Master, a new sponsor for the event, will bring its Dyn X Race Challenge — a professional-level racing simulation tournament — to the Grand Prix for the first time.
Participants will get to experience what its like to race in both GT sports cars and IndyCars thanks to the high-tech simulators. There will be a new tournament each day of the Grand Prix.
“We’ve been looking for a partner like that for a long time and (Cooler Master) came along and have embraced the event,” Michaelian said, “and the opportunity to put on a full on public participation driving simulator competition here during our race weekend.”
Competitors who finish in the top 10 on the leaderboards will win prizes, according to the GPALB — with even better winnings for the podium placers in each tournament.
“It’s going to afford the opportunity for everybody and anybody who wants to to come out and compete on these sophisticated simulators,” Michaelian said, “driving the Long Beach course with various types of vehicles.”
All in all, this year’s Grand Prix of Long Beach will offer racing fans the usual delights — with plenty of new additions to enhance the weekend-long experience.
The Grand Prix is not only a good time for racing fans — but it’s also good for Long Beach.
About half of the $60 million in economic impact created by the Grand Prix and its attendees last year was generated in the city itself, with consumers spending on hotel stays, restaurants, local businesses and more.
“Over the past 49 years, the Acura Grand Prix has become an integral part of the tapestry of Long Beach,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a Friday statement. “Every year, thousands of people come here to enjoy our waterfront, understand our community, see the Port of Long Beach as a backdrop and support our local economy.”
The event also drives jobs, Richardson said, as many of the food vendors at the Grand Prix — and even the folks who set up the circuit every year — are locals.
And live coverage of the Grand Prix will be featured on the USA Network and the streaming service Peacock — getting Long Beach’s name and its scenic views out to thousands more.
“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to bring 190,000-plus people here, which the city realizes the economic impact from, all featuring the backdrop of the city,” Michaelian said. “It’s almost a postcard of what the city has to offer.”
