Could NASCAR be interested in Long Beach? UPDATES

11/30/2024 03:19 AM

UPDATE: Penske Entertainment has purchased the Long Beach Grand Prix.

The acquisition adds the popular Southern California street race founded by Chris Pook and Dan Gurney in 1975 to a portfolio that includes the NTT IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Detroit Grand Prix. Penske Entertainment is also involved at varying levels in promoting IndyCar‘s Iowa Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, and the upcoming Arlington Grand Prix in 2026.

Earlier this year, and after receiving inquiries from rival sanctioning bodies about buying the event, longtime IndyCar team owner Gerry Forsythe acquired the half of the grand prix offered for sale by the estate of his late partner Kevin Kalkhoven and became its sole owner, ending any speculation as to whether NASCAR or Formula 1 would buy the event and replace IndyCar.

— Racer-—

UPDATE 3-28-2024: Any efforts by NASCAR, IndyCar, or Formula 1 to gain control of the 50-percent share of the Long Beach Grand Prix made available by the estate of the late Kevin Kalkhoven will not meet their desired outcome.

Gerald Forsythe, who purchased the country‘s biggest street race with Kalkhoven in the 2000s, says the event‘s fate will be settled in a different way.

"The estate has agreed to sell its 50% to me," the industrialist and former owner of the Champ Car series told RACER. "If [any series] has its sights on Long Beach please tell them to look elsewhere. This [is] an IndyCar event, and it will be into the future."

— Racer —

ORIGINAL POST 3-27-2028:

With NASCAR‘s latest visit to Southern California being spoken of as its final appearance at the Los Angeles Coliseum, could the 49-year-old Long Beach Grand Prix be the next target for America‘s most popular racing series?

Multiple sources tell RACER that NASCAR has been actively pursuing the 50-percent stake in the Long Beach race — a staple on the IndyCar calendar since 1984 — that became available for acquisition last year by the estate of the late businessman Kevin Kalkhoven.

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Asked if it was attempting to become the co-owner of the Long Beach race, NASCAR declined to offer details on the topic.

"The Southern California market is extremely important to NASCAR," Ben Kennedy, NASCAR‘s SVP of racing development and strategy, told RACER. "We have explored several different options in the area, and will continue to do so. I won‘t speak specifically to any particular racetrack in Southern California, but will say that if we had our druthers, we would have a race in Southern California every year."

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Where the story takes an interesting turn is with the other entity that has entered the conversation.

Many of the same sources tell RACER that Penske Entertainment, owners of the NTT IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the promoter of other events on its schedule, is trying to block NASCAR‘s efforts.

Those sources suggest the company owned by Roger Penske, whose team won the most recent NASCAR Cup Series championship with Ryan Blaney, is attempting to thwart NASCAR‘s Long Beach move by making a bid of its own to buy Kalkhoven‘s share.

See much more at Racer.