The 50th anniversary of the Grand Prix of Long Beach is just around the corner — and to celebrate the milestone, we’re presenting readers with 50 fun facts about Southern California’s 200-mph beach party over the next week.
We’ll start things off by sharing 15 fun facts today. Then each day from Monday through the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach’s final day, on Sunday, April 13, we’ll five additional facts — until we get to 50.
So let’s get to it.
No. 1
The Grand Prix draws nearly 200,000 people to Long Beach over its three-day run every year.
No. 2
The Grand Prix generates around $100 million worth of economic impact in Long Beach and the Southern California region annually.
No. 3
The Grand Prix creates around 700 jobs across the region, about 525 of which are in Long Beach.
No. 4
The Long Beach Grand Prix originally began as a Formula 5000 race.
No. 5
Mario Andretti won the first Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) competition at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 1984.
No. 6
The Grand Prix of Long Beach hosted a celebrity race — which drew dozens of famous competitors, including Jay Leno, Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Jason Bateman and more — from 1977 to 2016.
No. 7
The 2020 iteration of the Grand Prix was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To make up for it, the race organizers put on two events within six months of each other in 2021 and 2022.
No. 8
The track configuration has changed at least eight times since the event began.
No. 9
The Grand Prix Foundation of Long Beach hosts a pre-race 5K on the racetrack every year. This year’s 5K will take place on Sunday, April 6.
No. 10
The Grand Prix Foundation has donated more than $4.2 million to local charities since its 1991 inception.
No. 11
The Grand Prix Foundation donates tickets and hospitality packages to charitable and civic organizations.
No. 12
The Grand Prix Foundation has supported a scholarship to help graduating seniors from Long Beach Unified School District campuses pay for college since 1997.
No. 13
The Committee of 300, colloquially known as the “red coats,” has played an instrumental role in promoting, planning and staging the event since 1975.
No. 14
Each year, the Committee of 300 “adopts” a charity that it supports through year-round fundraising events and efforts.
No. 15.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is the second-oldest continuously running event in IndyCar — behind the Indianapolis 500 itself.
Coming Monday
The next five facts, Nos. 16-20, will be posted on Monday, April 7.