Long Beach Grand Prix Tickets - Honoring Racing Legends

The Long Beach Grand Prix has long been the West Coast's biggest racing event of the year, and this year's Long Beach racing weekend just got a little bit more exciting. The IRL has just announced that the City of Long Beach and the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach will be bringing back two of the race's hottest competitors of all time to this year's race weekend festivities, pulling the names Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal out of the depths of open-wheel racing and back into the spotlight for the first time in years, as both Unser and Rahal have been tapped as honorees at the fourth Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame induction ceremony, taking place April 16 before Long Beach race weekend festivities kick off.

Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, recently made a statement concerning the selections of both Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal as inductees into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame, claiming, "This year's inductees represent not only great drivers, but individuals that have contributed much to the success of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long beach over the years. That's why 'Little Al' is known as the 'King of the Beach' and Bobby has achieved great success at Long Beach not only on the track but also as an owner."

With their inductions, Unser and Rahal will soon join the ranks of racing legends Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Chris Pook and Brian Redman, who have all had an enormous impact on the Long Beach Grand Prix and have already been inducted into the Walk of Fame. Racing fans over the years have continually lined up to get Long Beach Grand Prix tickets to watch these racing icons zoom around the Streets of Long Beach road course, and Unser and Rahal will forever be remembered as the ultimate icons to this famed race.

Al Unser Jr. started competitive car racing before he was even old enough to obtain a driver's license, racing sprint cars at age 11. He competed in the World of Outlaws series of sprint car racing in his teens and made the move to road racing soon thereafter, making his CART debut in 1982. In his fruitful racing career, Unser took the Indianapolis 500 title twice and won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race six times (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994 and 1995). His racing career was cut short after he broke his pelvis in an accident in 2003, and the great Al Unser Jr. announced his retirement from racing in 2004.

Bobby Rahal is also one of the most coveted names in car racing, and not just because his name is on the stamp of approval for the Rahal Letterman Racing IndyCar team. Rahal grew up in Ohio and raced with both Formula 1 and CART in his racing career, winning the CART Series three times (1986, 1987 and 1992). As a driver and as a team owner, Rahal has won the Indy 500 twice (1986 and 2004, respectively), and his 15 starts at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach resulted in four second-place finishes.

Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal will both be active participants in this year's Long Beach Grand Prix weekend, with Rahal as a team owner and Unser Jr. competing in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on April 18. Tickets to see these racing gods in action are available online, so don't miss the chance to see the great Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal back on the racetrack before it's too late!

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