Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

As certainly as swallows return to San Juan Capistrano in March, so do race cars reappear in Long Beach in April. “It’s the speed, the sound, the sensory appeal,” said race organizer Adam Saal, explaining how a three-day event featuring dozens of cars making 95 laps around the streets of Long Beach manages to attract 200,000 visitors.

Call it $13 million in motion. That is an approximate value of the 26 cars that will race this week in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. “The rolling chassis of an Indy race car costs $300,000, combined with the latest in turbocharged engines and sophisticated drive trains, and you’re looking at a half-a-million-dollar race car,” Saal said. “They rebuild the engines after every race,” Saal said, sometimes using three different engines a day.

And then there is the cost of the fuel. “It’s not gas! It’s methanol. It comes from garbage and wood. It’s environmentally pure,” Saal said. No pollution? “Well, there’s a certain amount of pollution, but it’s not as bad as gas. Pollution’s not a problem.”

As always, sports and entertainment stars will be featured in the 10-lap Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. The driver list includes singer Donny Osmond, actress Marsha Mason, commentator Leeza Gibbons of “Entertainment Tonight,” “Coach” star Craig T. Nelson, James B. Sikking of “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” all-time Dallas Cowboy leading rusher Tony Dorsett and Olympic gymnast Bart Conner. Former pro drivers Dan Gurney and Parnelli Jones are entered, and the token Toyota dealer entrant will be Lew Webb Sr., owner of Toyota of Cerritos and four other dealerships. All are scheduled to get behind the wheel of identically prepared Toyota Celica GT-S liftbacks and compete for fun and charity. They will earn about $2,000 a minute, with the proceeds to be divided between the Children’s Hospitals of Los Angeles and Orange County.

In the Indy cars, the regulars will be four-time winner Mario Andretti, three-time winner and defending champion Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan and Rick Mears, all names from the Indianapolis 500 and the CART Indy Car World Series schedule of 16 other races.

What is new this year? “Patriotism,” Saal said. “Patriotism is so high this year we figured--what a perfect tie-in! We’ll use the Grand Prix as a chance to pay respect to our country.” Look for free flags at the entrances.

The grand marshal will be Navy Petty Officer James Ford, a decorated hometown serviceman who was injured at war. He was on watch aboard the guided missile cruiser Princeton when it hit a mine in the Persian Gulf. Ford had a shattered kneecap and head cuts requiring 38 stitches.

The race rev-up begins at 8:15 a.m. Friday with a full day of practice and qualifying runs for all divisions. Saturday will see more qualifying, plus the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at 1 p.m. and the Exxon Supreme Series sprint at 4:15 p.m. for three classes of production-based cars including the Nissan 300 ZX-Turbo, Mazda RX-7, Ford Mustang, Dodge Daytona, Chevy Beretta and Buick Skylark.

On April 14, the schedule is loaded with the Texaco System 3 Challenge for Firestone Indy Lights, a 45-lap race for “spec” cars all using sealed Buick V-6 engines and Firestone tires, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.; the 95-lap Grand Prix main event from 1 to 3 p.m.; and the Toyota Atlantic Championship, a 37-lap race for smaller open-wheel cars powered by four-cylinder Toyota engines.

Other community events include:

Tuesday: A charity golf tournament beginning at 10 a.m. at the U.S. Naval Golf Course in Los Alamitos.

Wednesday: A charity ball at 6:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which sits near Shoreline Drive in the center of the race course loop in downtown Long Beach.

Thursday: Mini Grand Prix for go-carts pushed by students around the center lawn at the Long Beach City College Liberal Arts Campus beginning at 10:30 a.m.; and the Indy car garage preview from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Long Beach Convention Center.

The Concours d’Promenade motorsports expo will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during race weekend Friday through Sunday at the Convention Center and Sports Arena.

Grand Prix tickets in junior and adult categories range in price from $15 to $140, depending on the day, reserved grandstand seating, garage pass and other variables. For tickets, call (800) 752-9524. For more information on events and the race, call 437-0341.

GRAND PRIX FACTS

Course: 1.67 miles, 11 turns Speed: About 175 m.p.h. tops. Purse: $1.1 million total. Winner will get at least $120,000. Al Unser Jr. in 1990 won $143,908. Economics: $5 million budget for the event. $2.25 million spent by corporations entertainingtheir clients. $27 million estimated impact on the local economy. Standing: It is the second of 17 races on the 1991 CART/PPG Indy Car World Series schedule.The first race was March 17 in Australia. History: Street racing began in Long Beach in 1975. The first feature event was a Formula 5,000 race.

International competition began in 1976 with a Formula One World Championship event.

It became the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in 1984.

This year is the 17th running.