19-03-2025
These 5 Cars from Long Beach Grand Prix History Coming to the Petersen
This year marks the 5oth running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, and the Petersen Automotive Museum is celebrating with five race cars from the event's storied history.
The exhibit will be open to the public from March 20 through April 8 in the museum's lobby, giving visitors an up-close look at machines that once roared through the streets of Long Beach. And the best part? You can go into the lobby for free!
As you may know, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach saw three distinct kinds of racing over its half a century.
It started in 1975 with a Formula 5000 race, won by Brian Redman in a Carl Haas Lola Chevrolet.
Then it was Formula 1 for eight glorious years. You could actually go to Long Beach—Long Beach!—and see the greatest drivers in the fastest cars in the world. Niki Lauda won it, Mario Andretti won it, it was darn near magical (for a kid from San Pedro who snuck in).
The CART/Champ Car era started in 1984 and lasted until 1987, an era that saw Andrettis and Unsers trading wins seemingly the whole time.
Then IndyCar took over in 2008 and has been running at Long Beach since.
'The exclusive display at the Petersen will feature five historic race cars spanning the three iconic racing eras—Formula 5000, Formula 1, and IndyCar—representing the evolution of open-wheel racing at North America's premier street race,' the Petersen said in a release. 'The cars will later take to the track during the Historic Formula Exhibition on race weekend, providing fans with a thrilling glimpse into motorsports history with the three types of cars racing together for the first time.'
The five cars on display at the Petersen will include:
The 1974 Formula 5000 Dan Gurney All-American Racers Eagle 755, winner of the 1975 Long Beach pole position with Vern Schuppan at the wheel, which was also the first car ever to turn a wheel on the streets of Long Beach. The car is currently owned by local businessman and sprint car sponsor Tom Malloy.
Representing Long Beach's Formula 1 era, 1976-83, will be the 1976 March 761 currently owned by Richard Griot and driven by Italy's Vittorio Brambilla in 1976 at Long Beach, along with the 1980 McLaren M30, most notably driven by Alain Prost during the 1980 F1 season and currently owned by Sean Allen.
The Indy Car era will be represented by the 1981 All-American Racers Eagle 8100, owned by Dennis Firestone and driven by Firestone himself in-period. In addition, the 1999 Reynard driven that season by Bryan Herta and currently owned by Erich Joiner, will be on display.
'Racing in Long Beach has been an important part of American motorsports for five decades, and this exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum offers a rare opportunity to celebrate its legacy,' said Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian. 'Fans will not only be able to witness these legendary machines up close but also experience them in action during race weekend.'
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located in the mid-city area of Los Angeles at the intersection of Wilshire and Fairfax. If you go past the lobby exhibit of Long Beach Grand Prix cars, which you really should, entry is $21 for adults, $12 for kids 4-11. See The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is April 11-13. You can buy tickets for the race at
