Long Beach field jumps to 20
Veteran Canadian driver Alex Tagliani will pilot the #15 Walker Racing entry, while Mexico's Mario Dominguez will drive a second car for Pacific Coast Motorsports (PCM). Another veteran, Roberto Moreno, will drive the #14 Minardi/HVM Racing car.
Tagliani finished 5th here last year and recorded his best Long Beach finish in 2003, standing 3rd on the podium. The April 20 race will be his ninth start at Long Beach. Tagliani has one career Champ Car victory, at Road America in 2004.
Dominguez, wheeling the #96 PCM entry and teaming with Alex Figge, will be making his 7th appearance on the starting grid here. Dominguez notched a best-finish 4th here in 2006 and has two career Champ Car wins, at Australia in 2002 and Miami the following year.
Moreno, like Dominguez, will be making his 7th career start at Long Beach, where he scored a best-finish 6th in 1986. He finished third in the championship chase in 2000 and has two career Champ Car wins, at Cleveland (2000) and Vancouver (2001). Moreno's teammates at Long Beach will be Nelson Philippe and E. J. Viso.
They'll join a starting field that is scheduled to include:
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal, winner of the IndyCar Series race April 6 at St. Petersburg, Fla., and Justin Wilson
Four-time Long Beach victor Paul Tracy, David Martinez and Franck Montagny (Forsythe/Pettit Racing)
KV Racing Technology's Oriol Servia, Will Power and Jimmy Vasser, the 1996 Long Beach winner coming out of retirement for the Champ Car finale
Bruno Junqueira and Mario Moraes (Dale Coyne Racing)
Franck Perera and Enrique Bernoldi (Conquest Racing)
Antonio Pizzonia and Juho Annala (Rocketsports Racing).
The final race in the Champ Car series is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 20.
Ticket prices for the three-day Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach range from $25 for a Friday General Admission ticket (no reserved seat) to $125 for a three-day ticket that includes Saturday and Sunday reserved seating in grandstand upper levels. Pre-paid parking packages are also available.
Credit card orders for the 2008 event can be placed by calling the toll-free ticket hotline – (888) 82-SPEED – or online by visiting www.gplb.com. Handicapped seating, Champ Car Paddock Passes, Super Photo tickets and a wide variety of Hospitality Club packages are also available.
A ticket brochure that includes a circuit map, ticket prices and order form can be obtained by calling the hotline.