Before the week started, I was talking with the founder of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Chris Pook, about the history of the race.  He said that when Mario Andretti won the race in 1977, that’s when things really took off.  He said it was the personality that got people excited and had the grandstands full.

That driver swagger and personality was on display all weekend in the Long Beach Sports Arena press conference room.

The celebrities warmed up the podium for the weekend after Al Unser Jr and Keanu Reeves rode to victory in Pro/Celebrity Race.  Helio Castroneves and Team Penske reconvened in Long Beach and of course, the winner and top finishers after the race on Sunday.

These drivers are a different type of sports celebrity, as you can see from the videos above.  Take Will Power for example.  He wins the race last year, comes back this year to post the best lap in practice.  Helio is acquitted and flies to Long Beach the same day.  Power still grabs the pole with a new car, and drives the majority of race on Sunday without a working radio.  He finished second.

This is the type of guy who’s easy to root for.

And in racing, those guys are everywhere.  How can you not feel for Helio Castroneves and really pull for him.  He could have been a million different places on Sunday, but he got a break, and he was on the streets of Long Beach.

This crop of IRL drivers is that personality Pook was talking about.  Dario Franchitti is an Indianapolis 500 winner, and he’s got a movie star wife.  The “pure sports fan” cringes thinking about a sporting event in People Magazine, but it will be in there, and that’s a good thing.

Long Beach is a perfect place for those personalities to grow in popularity and coverage.  Like sitting under the umbrella of Los Angeles, Long Beach Grand Prix can do the same with the Indy 500.  Be the breeding ground for future champions.

So, when you see these drivers on TV, realize that we Long Beachians are are kind of tied to IndyCar.  They all know Long Beach now.  And now we get to know them.  I think this will be a beautiful relationship.