Long Beach Grand Prix

It was the perfect time to launch the Long Beach Grand Prix. Because Formula One was so good for those few years, even Americans were interested. It was the second Formula One race where the LBGP really came into its own. What rolled out of the Lotus pit reset the world of racing: the fantastic Lotus 78 with American Mario Andretti behind the wheel. Not only was the Lotus 78 the first F1 car to feature ground-effect side pods, it was absolutely gorgeous in its John Player Special black paint with gold trim. Parked, it looked 10 mph faster than some competitors did at speed.

Long Beach would be the first win for the Lotus 78 and the point of Andretti's ascension to the elite tier of Formula One drivers. On lap 77, Andretti out-braked Jody Scheckter and dove beneath him in a daring maneuver at the Shoreline hairpin to seal a victory. That move remains the greatest moment in the LBGP's history. Look it up on YouTube, it's awesome.

By 1978, it was hard to remember a time when the LBGP didn't exist. While Carlos Reutemann won that year's race in a Ferrari, it was also the year Mario Andretti became only the second American to win the F1 World Championship. The legendary French-Canadian madman, Gilles Villeneuve, would win the race in 1979 with another Ferrari.

However, by the 1980s, Formula One was already becoming problematic for the LBGP organizers as sanctioning, travel and other fees pushed costs higher. After the 1983 race (won by John Watson in a McLaren), Formula One and Long Beach parted ways. But the party went on.

The Champ Car Years (1984-2008)The natural replacement for Formula One was the series run by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), then the same cars running in the Indianapolis 500. CART machines (or Champ cars or whatever) brought a turbocharged whine to the race and a more informal air. With the completion of the Long Beach Convention Center, the temporary street circuit barrier walls were changed so they no longer ran into the edges of downtown, but instead squirreled around the new building's perimeter.

The center's presence also meant room for more exhibitions, paddocks and subsidiary events. No longer just a race, the LBGP was becoming a weekend packed with displays, multiple races (Formula Atlantic and Trans-Am most prominently) and lots of parties. At some level, the CART races were really the culmination of every weekend instead of the sole focus.

With the addition of Formula D drifting to the 2005 schedule and ALMS in 2007, some of the subsidiary events were becoming as popular as the fading Champ Car series itself. For 2008, the stage was set with the OK for a time attack exhibition, thanks to the vouch of the now LBGP-integral Formula Drift guys.

The Time Attack Years (2008-?)The LBGP street course is unlike anything any time attack car has faced before. There's little room for error (with the entire circuit lined with cement barriers), the course is very fast with many blind exits, there's little available practice time and there are varying levels of surface grip (depending on what condition the streets are in). The drivers would have to be fast and adaptive. Anything less and there would be a host of smashed-up track machines.

With the paddock filled with swooping Champ Cars and sculpted ALMS prototypes, the Super Lap Battle competitors would have to bring their A-game. And even as Murphy's Law threatened to unravel the weekend for many teams, they didn't disappoint.

It didn't take long for problems to arise among the Super Lap competitors. The ber-quick Twins Turbo RX-7 repeated its curse from the November Buttonwillow finals event, lighting up with an engine fire in the first session. Owner Jack Mardikian took the injured Mazda home and returned the next day with a Honda Challenge H1-class Civic, which ran reliably for the rest of the event.