Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach – My First Experience
by Nick Betz
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, watched it many times on TV but never been. It’s only a 30 minute drive from my house so there really is no excuse for me to not grace the beautiful shoreline with my presence but for some reason I’ve just never made the trip. I enjoy racing, I watch almost any form of it that comes on the television, F1, WRC, Pirelli World Challenge, NHRA, you name it it’s probably on my DVR.
This year's Grand Prix was going to be no different, I was planning on watching it from my couch like I do every year until I got the email saying I was on the approved Media Credential list for MotoIQ, say whaaaaaat??? I didn’t even know I had applied! It turns out that hard work and dedication really does pay off, as the Head Nerds In Charge put me on the credential list and somehow it got approved. The only stipulation, I had to work, this wasn’t just a “hey go play at the Grand Prix this weekend” type deal.
Now when I say work, that’s a relative term, as Confucius says “Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.” Well that’s mostly true, we do a considerable amount of hard work in the office keeping the site up and the content fresh for you guys, but shooting a Grand Prix, getting closer to the action that even the VIP guests can get, that’s not work, that’s just plain AWESOME!
My first Grand Prix credential, I will cherish you forever.
There is a lot going on during the Grand Prix, it’s full of family friendly activities like driver autograph sessions, IndyCar Fan Appreciation areas, car shows, and much more but we came for the racing.
With so many different types of races going on in the same weekend there's something for everyone. No matter what you want to watch it’s probably on track, with events covering TUDOR United Sports Car Championship, Pirelli World Challenge, Pro/Celebrity, Motegi Super Drift, and Super Stadium Truck Challenge, and of course IndyCar there’s something for everyone.
Once we arrived at the track our first order of business was to knock out some feature stories we want to bring to you. You’ll be seeing features on such cars as the Dale Coyne IndyCar, Mazda Prototype Racer, Corvette C7.R and more.
We were able to hang out with the Dale Coyne Racing team and shoot their IndyCar.
