Friday, April 12, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
With its teams essentially having been legislated out of the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar's biggest race -- at least in terms of attendance -- has become the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
More than 100,000 spectators (including a healthy Las Vegas contingent) are expected to jam temporary grandstands surrounding the scenic 1.59-mile street circuit in downtown Long Beach Sunday for the 13th IndyCar renewal of the race.
The Grand Prix's success since undergoing a Formula One to IndyCar transformation almost brings a tear to the eye of car owner and event co-founder Dan Gurney.
Gurney may be even more misty-eyed Sunday, given he'll have a car on the grid for the first time in many years -- backed by race sponsor Toyota, no less.
"Well, it is a marvelous thing to see," said Gurney, who during his driving days was the first man to win a race in the four major disciplines of Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR and World Sports Car.
"(Race president) Chris Pook and I sort of knew it was a dream. We could not conceive what it has become."
Speaking to racing media via teleconference, Gurney said the Long Beach race was patterned after Formula One's marquee event, the Grand Prix of Monaco.
"I think we both thought of Monaco as being something that had a special flavor to it," Gurney recalled. "We tried to reach for that in Long Beach and it has become a happening among road circuits that we are awfully proud of."
Gurney would probably burst his firesuit if the All-American Racers Eagle driven by Juan Fangio -- his entry in Sunday's race -- could muster a top 10 finish.
The brand-new team, replete with a brand-new engine (Toyota) and chassis (Gurney's latest Eagle design), has had severe teething problems in the first three races of 1996.
"It is not tougher than we thought it would be, (because) we thought it would be very, very tough and it is," Gurney said of the difficulty developing an unproven engine/chassis package.
"We have scored a 21st place, a 17th and a 15th so we are headed in the right direction. But we have been bringing up the rear and it really is a reality check."
One driver who never brings up the rear anywhere along the IndyCar trail, and Long Beach in particular, is Al Unser Jr.
The Marlboro-Penske veteran has won six of the past eight races in the Long Beach streets, including the past two. But Unser will be hard pressed to make it three in a row, given the emergence of the Honda engine and Firestone tires in the season's first three races.
Early season points leader Jimmy Vasser captured the first two races of his career, at Homestead, Fla., and Surfer's Paradise, Australia, while Brazilian Andre Ribeiro delighted his countrymen by winning on the new oval at Rio. Both drivers have the Honda-Firestone combination.
Backmarkers
* LAS VEGAS SPEEDWAY PARK: Don Williams and Mike Ray will continue their sportsman division battle when NASCAR Winston Racing Series stock car action resumes Saturday with the Saturn Spring Fling at 7 p.m. The pair split double main event wins two weeks ago. Tickets are $10 and $6 for seniors, military with ID and students. Children 12-under are free. ... More than 700 riders are expected for what is being billed as the world's largest amateur motocross race, set for today-Sunday at the LVSP dirt track. Racing is scheduled from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. Three-day tickets are $30, two-day passes $24 and a single-day pass $12. ... The drag strip will host Desert Storm '96, an all-import event, at 2 p.m. Sunday. ... Tim Arden (Super Pro), Mike Dobrenko (Pro), Ricky Gray (Sportsman), Paul Wong (Street) and Joe Smith (Motorcycle) were division winners at last weekend's ET Series drag race.
* ETC. ... JK Racing, a new NHRA Pro Stock drag racing team owned by Las Vegas businessman John Kight, claimed its first nationals victory last weekend, with driver Mike Edwards defeating Joe Gibbs Racing's Jim Yates at the Slick 50 Nationals in Houston. ... In addition to serving as title sponsor of the Sept. 20-22 Las Vegas Cup at Lake Mead and co-sponsor of the 11-race Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association Tour, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will be presenting sponsor of the Formula One Professional Outboard Performance (PROP) Tour. The popular outboards and UHRA Shootout will share the Las Vegas Cup bill. ... Las Vegan Chris Trickle returns to the NASCAR Southwest Tour wars Saturday night at the Coors 100 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif.
* WEEKEND SLATE:Winston Cup: First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway (10 a.m. Sunday, ESPN). The last polesitter to win at Wilkesboro was Terry Labonte in 1988. IndyCar: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (3 p.m. Sunday, ABC). Al Unser Jr. has won six of the past eight races held at the temporary seaside course. NHRA: Winston Select Invitational at Rockingham (N.C.) Dragway (tape delay, 4:30 p.m. May 17, ABC). The non-points event features 8-car fields in Top Fuel and Funny Car and the standard 16 entries in Pro Stock.
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