APRIL 7-9, 2017 GPLB.COM 1 2 TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH Dear Members of the Media: Welcome to the Roar by the Shore…the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. We've designed this media guide to assist you throughout the weekend, whether it be to reference historical data, information on this year's event or information and statistics on our six weekend races. It also includes a section on transportation, hotels and restaurants to make your stay in Long Beach more efficient and enjoyable. Our three-day weekend is packed with activities on and off the track. In addition to the racing, two concerts will take place: on Friday night at 6:45 p.m., the Tecate Light Fiesta Friday concert will feature popular Mexican rock band "Moderatto," while on Saturday night, "SMG Presents Kings of Chaos Starring Billy Idol, Billy Gibbons and Chester Bennington" will entertain the Grand Prix crowd at the Rock-N-Roar Concert. The Lifestyle Expo, located in the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, will see more than 180,000 Grand Prix fans walk through multiple times. Our annual media luncheon takes place on Thursday, April 6, and will feature drivers from many of the racing series that will be here over the weekend. Media interested in attending should contact us. If you have any questions or particular needs surrounding the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, please do not hesitate to contact our Public Relations Department at (562) 490-4513 or [email protected]. Our website, gplb.com, can be accessed at any time to find the latest news and information about the Grand Prix, plus the website's Media Center area has downloadable, hi-resolution photos for editorial use. If you wish to download these photos, please contact us for password information. Our goal is to make your job easier and more enjoyable. Your continued support and enthusiasm is, as always, very much appreciated. We look forward to seeing you at the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach! Sincerely, Christian P. Esslinger Director of Communications APRIL 7-9, 2017 GPLB.COM 3 Table of Contents 5 PR Contacts 11 Schedule and Event Information 20 Event Overview & Feature Race Box Scores 71 Race Statistics 88 Verizon IndyCar Series Race 93 BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach 110 Pirelli World Challenge Championship 121 SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks 128 Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge 132 Can-Am Challenge 135 Sponsor Partners 145 Event Staff, Volunteers & Committee of 300 154 Long Beach Area Information 4 TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH Public Relations Contact List Grand Prix Association of Long Beach 3000 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90806 (562) 981-2600; (562) 981-2632 (Fax) Chris Esslinger - Director of Communications [email protected] Seventy-Seven Enterprises (312) 285-7762 Kelsey Duckett - Public Relations [email protected] Verizon IndyCar Series 4565 W. 16th St., Indianapolis, IN 46222 (317) 492-6526; (317) 492-6529 (Fax) Mike Kitchel - Director of Public Relations [email protected] Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge (Formula Drift) 200 Pine Avenue, Suite 615, Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 901-2600 John Pangilinan - Public Relations [email protected] IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship One Daytona Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32114 (386) 310-6500; (386) 310-6505 (Fax) Nate Siebens - Senior Manager, Communications [email protected] Pirelli World Challenge Championship Sports Car Club of America 6700 SW Topeka Blvd., Building 300, Topeka, KS 66619 (785) 357-7222; (785) 232-7228 (fax) Tom Blattler - Communications Director [email protected] SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks 10615 Twin Lakes Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28269 (704) 949-1255 Chris Hecht - Public Relations [email protected] Can-Am Challenge Historic Motor Sports Association 2029 Verdugo Blvd., #1010, Montrose, CA 91020 (818) 249-3515 Cris Vandagriff - President [email protected] APRIL 7-9, 2017 GPLB.COM 5 6 TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH Enjoy Some Turbocharged Action - All Week Long! The days leading up to the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will feature action both on AND off the track, including: Fri./Sat., 3/31-4/1 Opening round, 2017 Formula Drift Pro Championship, turns 9-10-11 of the Grand Prix circuit. Info/tickets: formulad.com or (562) 901-2600. Wed., 4/5 Roar in the Shore from 5 – 8 p.m. on Second Street in Belmont Shore will feature racecars from the Pirelli World Challenge, along with classic car displays, live music, driver autograph sessions and more. Miss Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Pageant Finals, 8 p.m.. Hotel Maya, 700 Queensway Drive. Thurs., 4/6 Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame induction ceremony honoring Emerson Fittipaldi and Tommy Kendall. 11 a.m.-noon, Pine Ave., in front of the Convention Center. Free to the public. "Thursday Thunder at The Pike Outlets,” 6:30-9:30 p.m. at The Pike Outlets at Pine Ave. & Shoreline Dr. in downtown Long Beach. Free to the public. Includes IndyCar pit stop demonstrations, freestyle motocross and much more. Fri., 4/7 Tecate Light “Fiesta Friday” Concert, starring "Moderatto" on the concert stage following racing activities. FREE with race ticket. Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Monte Carlo Night at the Renaissance Hotel Long Beach, 111 E. Ocean Blvd., benefiting Long Beach-area charities. Gaming 7 - 10:30 p.m. Info: (562) 490-4509. Get autographs from Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves and the rest of the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers from 4-5 p.m. in the IndyCar Paddock. FREE to race ticket holders. Sat., 4/8 “Rock-N-Roar” Concert: SMG Presents KIngs of Chaos Starring Billy Idol, Billy Gibbons and Chester Bennington. On Concert stage following racing activities. FREE with race ticket. APRIL 7-9, 2017 GPLB.COM 7 WHAT: The 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, featuring the second round of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series. WHEN: Friday through Sunday, April 7-9. WHERE: The streets of downtown Long Beach surrounding the Long BeachConvention and Entertainment Center and encompassing the Aquarium of the Pacific and a portion of the Pike at Rainbow Harbor complex. The start/finish line is on Shoreline Drive. THE CIRCUIT: 1.97 miles in length, 11-turn temporary street circuit. ATTENDANCE: The weekend event draws more than 180,000 spectators making it one of the largest paid spectator special events in Southern California. WHO: The featured race is Sunday afternoon’s Verizon IndyCar Series event, which features an international field of world-class drivers expected to include: defending race and Series champion Simon Pagenaud; Long Beach winners Scott Dixon, Will Power, Takuma Sato, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves and Sebastien Bourdais, along with Graham Rahal and James Hinchcliffe. Series will have cars with turbocharged engines and aero kits supplied by Honda and Chevrolet. Five other racing events will be run. SUPPORT RACES: BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach: Features the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with three classes: the all-new Daytona Prototypes (DPi), GT Le Mans (GTLM) and the addition of the GT Daytona (GTD) sports car class. Practice and qualifying will be held on Fri., April 7, and the race will run early Sat. afternoon, April 8. Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge: The popular Formula DRIFT invitational competition, taking place Friday and Saturday nights, always attracts huge crowds! Expected to feature 16 of the sport’s top cars and drivers. Practice and eliminations will take place both nights! SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Race: On Sat., April 8 and Sun., April 9, the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Truck Series will bring its 600-horsepower V-8 engine trucks in 20-minute races featuring jumps and lots of excitement. Pirelli World Challenge Championship: Two classes (GT, GT-A) of sports cars from famous marques like Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Cadillac, Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren battle fender-to- fender on Sun., April 9 before the IndyCar race. Can-Am Challenge: New for 2017, these classic 1000+ horsepower cars from Can-Am’s golden era, 1966-74, will race on the streets for the first time. Marques such as McLaren, Lola, Shadow and more will compete midday on Sat., April 8. 8 TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH TELEVISION: IndyCar Series: NBC Sports Network (live), April 9, 1 – 4 p.m. PT IMSA: FOX (live), April 8, 1 – 3 p.m. PT World Challenge: CBS Sports Network, April 9, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. PT Super Drift Challenge: TBD SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks: TBD SANCTIONING INDYCAR; IMSA; SCCA Pro Racing; USAC BODIES: CONCERTS: There will be concerts, free to race ticket holders, on the Concert Stage outside the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center (facing Ocean Blvd.) beginning with the Tecate Light Fiesta Friday Concert starring Moderatto and Saturday’s Rock-N-Roar Concert headlined by SMG Presents Kings of Chaos starring Billy Idol, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. MISS TOYOTA Taking place on Wednesday, April 5 at the Hotel Maya, the Miss Toyota GRAND PRIX OF Grand Prix of Long Beach will feature 18-20 young ladies vying for the title – LONG BEACH plus cash and prizes - in the ultimate sports model search. Preliminary PAGEANT: heats will be held at locations in Long Beach. RACE WEEKEND Wed., April 5 – Roar in the Shore, 5 – 8 p.m., Second Street in Belmont SCHEDULE*: Shore. Features race and classic car displays, live music, driver autograph sessions and more. Miss Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach finals, 8 p.m., Hotel Maya. Thu., April 6 – Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony, 11 a.m., in front of the Convention Center.