It’s that yearly ritual that lets us know Spring has arrived, the Long Beach Grand Prix. It’s also the same weekend that the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race takes place. This event has been running since the 1980s and has included many A-, B-, and C-list celebrities over the years.
Usually it ends with a majority of the cars crumpled up. It’s always fun to see which pro drivers get schooled by the celebrities. The rundown for this year looks to be comedy gold.
From the top:
Adrien Brody: A serious actor and Oscar winner. He has real star horsepower.
Raven-Symone: A kid actor who is no longer a kid but still plays the role on a kid’s show that got her “famous” in the first place. Not an Oscar winner, nominee, or invitee.
Alex Trebek: Host of Jeopardy!. Why, oh why is Sean Connery not in the field to wreck him on the first lap, or even the pace lap. Hopefully his game-show-host coiffed hair does not get jacked up by the helmet.
Danny Way: Extreme athlete who once jumped the Great Wall of China on a skateboard and has performed a multitude of ludicrous, death-defying stunts.
Mary Lynn Rajskub: Chloe from the television show 24. Hopefully Jack Bauer doesn’t go nuts and kill everyone to help her win.
Tim Daly: Television and Movie actor who’s gone all serious with his acting. We remember him from the sitcom Wings.
Eric Close: TV actor now on the show Without a Trace. Also an accurate description of where he’s going to end up on the finishing order sheet.
Keanu Reeves: Does the man need any introduction? He’s the greatest actor of our generation.
Carlos Mencia: Comedian, kind of.
Ken Baker: They were scraping. This guy is from E! Hollywood News and is a regular correspondent for Ryan Seacrest’s radio show. Wow.
Bentley: Fashion stylist guy who apparently has a musical album on the way. Screams racer doesn’t it? He’ll be screaming when someone nerfs him into the wall.
The Pros:
Jamie Little: The winner of last year’s race and a NASCAR pit reporter for ESPN/ABC. She’s fast and hot.
Al Unser Jr.: Two-time Indy 500 winner and two time CART series champ. He won the LBGP six times during his career.
Coy Gibbs: Joe Gibbs son, lucky sperm club member, and NASCAR Nationwide series competitor. He’s got a couple of top 10 finishes under his belt in that series.
Johnny Benson: Long time Stock Car racer and 2008 NASCAR truck series champ. We’ve got our money on him…or Trebek.
