Celebrity Race Is One-Man Show

Pole sitter Grant Show of “Melrose Place” withstood a last-lap challenge by former winners and fellow actors Jason Bateman and Perry King and won the 20th anniversary pro-celebrity race Saturday at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Bateman actually passed Show in Turn 2, but King then hit Bateman’s car in the rear quarter panel, knocking it sideways, and Show regained his lead. Bateman, in a nice racing move, straightened his car and finished second, just ahead of two-time defending champion Alfonso Ribeiro of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”

Wayne Rainey, the paralyzed former world motorcycle racing champion, was fourth in a car he drove using hand controls after having led briefly after the start, and King finished fifth after his late-race misadventures.

“It was a little like NASCAR out there, wasn’t it?” Show said, alluding to the last-lap banging. “I wanted to have fun and winning was second, but it makes me feel good that I was able to juke it out with [Bateman and Ribeiro]. Having those guys up with me made it fun.”

This year’s pro-celebrity race was like each of the previous in that all drivers were in identically prepared Toyota Celica sedans. But it was unlike all the others in that there were no real pros driving. Instead, previous celebrity winners were invited back.

Sponsoring Toyota contributed $48,000, $3,000 for each of 16 participants, to Racing for Kids, a program that benefits children’s hospitals in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Orange County.

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In the day’s professional race, for Toyota-powered Formula Atlantic cars, pole sitter Case Montgomery of Salinas held off an early challenge by Canadian Lee Bentham, then outlasted fellow Canadian Patrick Carpentier in a 38-lap race over the 1.59-mile track.

Bentham was all over pole sitter Montgomery for seven laps, then tangled with a slower car, leaving Montgomery with the track practically to himself. With a 10-second lead, he went into cruise control, then almost got caught by the hard-charging Carpentier with 10 laps to go.

“When I saw him there, I got my burners going,” Montgomery said of Carpentier. “I thought it might be too late, and it almost was.”

Montgomery had to get through traffic in the last two laps and nearly tangled with Jeret Schroeder, Carpentier’s teammate, on the last lap before beating the Canadian by a car length. Montgomery averaged 92.068 mph. Chuck West of Sonoma finished third.

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Saturday’s announced attendance, 75,500, was a record for the second consecutive day. The two-day total was 123,500.

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Times motorsports writer Shav Glick was presented the PPG Colorful Character Award, given every so often to those involved in the CART Indy car Series.

“The [award was] designed to recognize people who add color, style and personality to the PPG Indy Car World Series,” said Mike Sack of series sponsor PPG. “We are delighted to recognize a writer who so effectively carries the color and excitement of the series to millions of readers.”