Race No. 3

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach — Long Beach, California
April 3-5, 1998

Can the King of the Beach Reclaim his Crown?

By Peter Burke

CART's showcase race is the third event on the 1998 schedule. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach attracted over 300,000 people lastyear, and if El Niño is nice to us race fans, it will get crowded at the beach again. The forecast looks wet, though, which may give this year's event a very different flavor and allow some of the rain specialists to show off their talent.

Al Unser, Jr. is one of the rain specialists: he has won six out of ten events in Long Beach, recordingvictories in '88, '89, '90, '91, '94, and '95, making him the undisputed "King of the Beach." Earlier this season, he looked good at Miami before his car had gearbox problems, and he finished second atMotegi. He does have an uncanny ability to run at he front of the field at this track. If his car is at all competitive, he will be there again. The new Penske chassis has not been seen in a street race yet, so there are some unknown variables to work out at Team Marlboro Penske.

Gil de Ferran usually does really well at Long Beach. He won the last two pole positions and has the European rain racing backgroundneeded to do well in case the Long Beach Grand Prix will be a rain race this year.

Both, Unser Jr. and de Ferran, run on Goodyear tires. During the rain races of 1997 in Portland and Elkhart Lake, Firestone rain tires were slightly faster than Goodyears. If this is still the case in 1998, Alex Zanardi may not have much trouble defending his 1997 win at Long Beach. Zanardi finished third at the season opener in Homestead, but crashed out of the race in Japan. A win at Long Beach could add momentum to his title defense.

Michael Andretti, winner at Homestead but beaten by a fuel miscalculations in Japan, has won on Long Beach'stemporary street course in '86. The Swift was a difficult car on such tacks in 1997, but this year the team isconfident to do better in the streets of Long Beach. It has been 12 years since Andretti won there, while Christian Fittipaldi is still looking for his first win. Fittipaldi is a rain specialist, and almost won the rain race at Detroit in 1996.

Bobby Rahal never won in Long Beach, and after two disappointing events in his Last Ride season, he is looking for better results. He has four times finished 2nd (1988, 1991, 1992 and 1993) at Long Beach and is hoping to win it in his last attempt:

"I've had a lot of disappointments at Long Beach. A lot ofclose-but-not-quites.  I've been the bridesmaid, but never the bride. Even so, I still lovegoing to Long Beach. It's more than a race, it's an event. Still, it's a raceI'd very much like to win."

Adrian Fernandez, winner of the race in Japan returns to Long Beach with some added confidence, but he doesn't underestimate the competition:

You have to remember that it is still early in the season and that CART is the most competitive racing in the world. There are about 15 guys who can win a race, so we have to continue to work hard if we are going to be competitive all year. But, I feel confident that we can maintain the momentum going into the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

There is no point to list the 15 other drivers who can win this race at this point — just look at the points standings and you see most of them — and if rain does fall on Sunday there may be 20 drivers may have the chance to win. Surviving the duration of the race between concrete walls with puddles on the track may get deep enough to swallow a champ car may be the essential skill on Sunday. Today, Wednesday, there was even hail reported in Orange County...

Photos will take about a week again, maybe longer, because there is this 1040 form on my desk that hasn't been completed yet...