Long Beach Grand Prix- a spectacle for all ages and demographics

 This past spring I had the opportunity to attend the races in Long Beach, California. The Grand Prix is a three-day event spanning the weekend of April 9-12th, near the strip of hotels in downtown Long Beach. Each day is its own full-fledged event with a different schedule for each. Friday was the practice session for the race cars, Saturday was the qualification round, and Sunday was the day of the actual race.  

At the Grand Prix, they have a full-fledged event with food and drink courtesy of food trucks and stalls, and even some refreshments complementary for attending. Nearly anywhere in the arena, you have access to savory items such as funnel cake, tacos, street dogs, and more. Besides that an entire expo hall was set up to showcase vendors, selling toy cars, racing memorabilia, and other products. 

The Grand Prix also had multiple areas set up with vehicles scheduled to perform later in the event. One such group was the stadium trucks parked outside the expo hall. Another was the drift cars, and next to those were the vintage indy cars

. So instead of simply getting to view them from afar, this event allows you to get close enough to touch them, making it a memorable experience.

For the main events, the day starts with historic Grand Prix racing. Indycars from the 60’s-80’s race around the GP circuit, and allow fans to admire them, and compare them to the ones of today. After that, we have IMSA practice races, where Porsches, Fords, and the like race, followed by modern Indycars for the primary race. The day isn’t over, however, as there are two non-competitive events, stadium truck racing and finally drifting. Between the ramp-jumping trucks and the squealing drifters, it's hard to say the event didn’t end on an exhilarating point.

Overall this was an enthralling experience for any motorsports fan or gearhead in general. It happens every year in April and is a great opportunity to bring family, friends, or significant others along.