The 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was an IndyCar Series motor race held at the streets of Long Beach in Long Beach, California, on April 20, 2008. It was the third round of the 2008 IndyCar Series for teams who competed in the Champ Car World Series in 2007. This was because the 2008 Indy Japan 300 occurred on the same weekend and there was no way of changing dates to avoid the clash. KV Racing Technology driver Will Power led all but two laps and won the race. Franck Montagny, driving for Forsythe/Pettit Racing, finished second, and Mario Domínguez finished third for Pacific Coast Motorsports.
Due to the reunification of IndyCar and Champ Car, this was the final race held under Champ Car sanctioning. The race was run under 2007 Champ Car rules, which included the standing start, option tires, two-day qualifying format, and was run based on time (1 hour, 45 minutes) rather than a set number of laps. The contingent of former Champ Car teams produced a 20-car field, all utilizing the turbocharged Panoz DP01-Cosworth for the final time. Every participant who elected to run other races in the IndyCar season was awarded championship points towards IndyCar. The option tire rule was adopted by the IRL for 2009, as well as standing starts for selected road and street course races in 2013 and 2014 only to be abandoned in 2015 due to safety concerns.
As the sole Champ Car event in 2008, the winner of this race would be the de facto champion of the 2008 Champ Car World Series season, similar to the USAC Gold Crown Series from 1984 to 1995. With Will Power winning the race, he is the last Champ Car champion. This fact is often unacknowledged.
Several IRL staff and team personnel had flown back from Japan Sunday afternoon (local time) and saw at least part of the race, including Motegi winner Danica Patrick, who had scored her historic win the previous evening.
Results Finish CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid LapsLed Points 18 Will PowerKV Racing Technology831:45:25.41548153 27 Franck Montagny (R)Forsythe/Pettit Racing83+5.094600 396 Mario DomínguezPacific Coast Motorsports83+15.51610035 436 Enrique Bernoldi (R)Conquest Racing83+25.6778032 55 Oriol ServiàKV Racing Technology83+26.27612030 634 Franck Perera (R)Conquest Racing83+28.0673028 715 Alex TaglianiWalker Racing83+36.5182026 837 David Martínez (R)Forsythe/Pettit Racing83+37.1271800 933 E. J. Viso (R)HVM Racing83+44.94414122 1012 Jimmy Vasser KV Racing Technology83+48.6351300 113 Paul TracyForsythe/Pettit Racing83+55.9565019 1218 Bruno JunqueiraDale Coyne Racing83+1:07.55311018 1306 Graham RahalNewman/Haas/Lanigan Racing82Crash9017 1429 Alex FiggePacific Coast Motorsports82+1 Lap1600 154 Nelson PhilippeHVM Racing80+3 Laps700 169 Antônio Pizzonia (R)Rocketsports80+3 Laps1500 1714 Roberto MorenoHVM Racing63Drive train1710 1810 Juho Annala (R)Rocketsports42Brakes2000 1902 Justin WilsonNewman/Haas/Lanigan Racing12Engine1012 2019 Mario Moraes (R)Dale Coyne Racing5Crash19012Race average speed: Lead changes: 3 between 3 driversCautions: 3 for 9 laps
Points standings
IndyCar Series points standings (Top 10) +IRL Standings after Long BeachPos.DriverPts.Pos. Change1Helio Castroneves11202Scott Dixon -1203Danica Patrick -1404Tony Kanaan -2305Will Power -256Dan Wheldon -277Enrique Bernoldi -388Oriol Servià -389Ed Carpenter -4210Graham Rahal -42
Champ Car World Series points standings +Final 2008 CCWS StandingsPos.DriverResultPts.1 Will Power1312 Franck Montagny (R)2273 Mario Domínguez3254 Enrique Bernoldi (R)4235 Oriol Servià5216 Franck Perera (R)6197 Alex Tagliani7178 David Martínez (R)8169 E. J. Viso (R)91310 Jimmy Vasser101111 Paul Tracy111112 Bruno Junqueira12913 Graham Rahal13814 Alex Figge14715 Nelson Philippe15616 Antônio Pizzonia (R)16617 Roberto Moreno17418 Juho Annala (R)18319 Justin Wilson19320 Mario Moraes (R)201
References