Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame facts for kids

City of Long Beach City Manager Pat West presenting Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame plaque to Mario Andretti on April 17, 2008

The Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame is a special "walk of fame" located in downtown Long Beach, California. It's a place that honors people who have made big contributions to car racing in Long Beach.

This idea started in late 2005. The city wanted to make its connection with the exciting open-wheel car racing event, the Grand Prix of Long Beach, even stronger. Many people supported the idea, including city leaders and racing fans. The Walk of Fame was officially opened on April 6, 2006, by Beverly O'Neill, who was the mayor of Long Beach at the time. The city helped fund this project to show everyone Long Beach's important role in auto racing.

Honoring Racing Legends

Each year, two or three racing heroes are chosen to be added to the Walk of Fame. A group of local officials and members of the Long Beach Grand Prix Association vote for the new honorees.

What the Plaques Look Like

When someone is inducted, a special bronze plaque is placed permanently in the sidewalk. These plaques are about 22 inches wide. Each one shows a picture of the inductee's race car and lists their greatest achievements in racing. You can find these plaques along the main Grand Prix of Long Beach race track, right in front of the Long Beach Convention Center.

The induction ceremony happens during the week of the Grand Prix. Drivers and their families receive a smaller replica of the bronze medallion from the mayor of Long Beach. It's a bit like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but for motorsports!

Who Has Been Inducted?

Since 2006, 39 people from the world of motorsports have been honored. The very first two members, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill, were inducted in 2006. Most of the inductees are from the United States.

In 2019, Sébastien Bourdais and Will Power were the first two active IndyCar Series drivers to join the Walk of Fame. Only one person, Gary Gabelich, has been honored after their passing. He was a world land speed record holder and was inducted in 2008. In 2024, Katherine Legge became the first woman to be inducted, which was a big moment!

Three racing teams have also been added. Newman/Haas Racing was the first team in 2007. They were known as one of the most successful teams at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Later, Chip Ganassi Racing (2011) and Galles Racing (2012) were also inducted.

Not all inductees are drivers. Bruce Flanders, Gerald Forsythe, Kevin Kalkhoven, Roger Penske, and Christopher Pook are five non-drivers who are also members. The most recent inductees in 2024 were Katherine Legge and Takuma Sato.

Inductees

Key

	Indicates posthumous induction

Inductees of the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame

Inductee	Nationality	Year	Notes	Refs
Gurney, DanDan Gurney	United States	2006	Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR, and sports car driver and team owner and Grand Prix of Long Beach co-founder
Hill, PhilPhil Hill	United States	2006	1961 Formula One World Champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring winner
Newman/Haas Racing	United States	2007	One of the most successful teams at the Grand Prix of Long Beach
Pook, ChristopherChristopher Pook	United States	2007	Co-founder of the Grand Prix of Long Beach and Grand Prix Association of Long Beach president and CEO
Redman, BrianBrian Redman	United Kingdom	2007	1975 Long Beach Grand Prix winner and 13-time Formula One Grand Prix starter
Andretti, MarioMario Andretti	United States	2008	Formula One, IndyCar, Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Long Beach GP and Daytona 500 champion
Gabelich, GaryGary Gabelich	United States	2008	Dragster and stock car driver who set the world land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1970
Jones, ParnelliParnelli Jones	United States	2008	1963 Indianapolis 500, midget car, NASCAR, off-road and sprint car winner
Rahal, BobbyBobby Rahal	United States	2009	Indianapolis 500, CART and Sports Car Club of America champion and 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring winner
Unser Jr., AlAl Unser Jr.	United States	2009	Double Indianapolis 500, International Race of Champions, CART champion, Grand Prix of Long Beach and 24 Hours of Daytona winner
Andretti, MichaelMichael Andretti	United States	2010	1991 CART champion and two-time Grand Prix of Long Beach winner
Sullivan, DannyDanny Sullivan	United States	2010	1985 Indianapolis 500 winner, 1988 CART champion and 1992 Grand Prix of Long Beach winner
Chip Ganassi Racing	United States	2011	Quintuple Grand Prix of Long Beach winning team
Vasser, JimmyJimmy Vasser	United States	2011	Long Beach Grand Prix driver and winner owner, 1996 CART champion and 2010 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race winner in the Pro class
Galles Racing	United States	2012	Five-time Grand Prix of Long Beach winning squad
Pruett, ScottScott Pruett	United States	2012	Pruett drove a wide variety of vehicles, and won at Long Beach in each of Trans-Am and Grand-Am
Fernández, AdriánAdrián Fernández	Mexico	2013	2009 American Le Mans Series at Long Beach class winner and helped increase Hispanic/Latino presence in Long Beach Grand Prix
Tracy, PaulPaul Tracy	Canada	2013	Four-time Grand Prix of Long Beach winner and 2003 CART champion
Forsythe, GeraldGerald Forsythe	United States	2014	Won the Long Beach Grand Prix twice and the support Atlantic Championship round four times as a car owner
Franchitti, DarioDario Franchitti	United Kingdom	2014	Quadruple IndyCar Series champion and winner of both the Long Beach Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500
Kalkhoven, KevinKevin Kalkhoven	Australia	2014	Won the 2008 Grand Prix of Long Beach and the 2005 Long Beach Atlantic Championship race as a car owner
Gordon, RobbyRobby Gordon	United States	2015	Winner in each of IndyCar, NASCAR, sports car and off-road racing
Herta, BryanBryan Herta	United States	2015	Won the 1993 Indy Lights Championship and won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 as a car owner
Flanders, BruceBruce Flanders	United States	2016	Since 1978, Flanders has announced the Grand Prix of Long Beach and short track events
Penske, RogerRoger Penske	United States	2016	Penske led Team Penske to 16 Indianapolis 500 wins, 177 race victories, and 13 IndyCar titles at the time of induction
Fittipaldi, EmersonEmerson Fittipaldi	Brazil	2017	Two-time Formula One and Indianapolis 500 champion, and the 1989 CART winner with 40 race wins in both series
Kendall, TommyTommy Kendall	United States	2017	Sports and stock car driver who won multiple Trans-Am Series Championship titles and the IMSA GTU Series Championship
Castroneves, HélioHélio Castroneves	Brazil	2018	Won the 2001 Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Indianapolis 500 three times
Montoya, Juan PabloJuan Pablo Montoya	Colombia	2018	Clinched the 1999 Grand Prix of Long Beach en route to claiming the 1999 CART tile and won the Indianapolis 500 twice
Bourdais, SébastienSébastien Bourdais	France	2019	Quadruple Champ Car World Series champion and triple Long Beach race winner
Power, WillWill Power	Australia	2019	Two-time Long Beach Grand Prix winner, and the 2014 IndyCar Series and 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion
Servià, OriolOriol Servià	Spain	2020	1999 Indy Lights champion and CART, American Le Mans Series, Grand-Am and Formula E driver
Ribbs, Willy T.Willy T. Ribbs	United States	2020	Formula Atlantic, IMSA, and NASCAR driver who was the first African American to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1991
Auberlen, BillBill Auberlen	United States	2022	Two-time class Long Beach sports car race winner who won 63 times in IMSA competition at the time of induction
Zanardi, AlexAlex Zanardi	Italy	2022	Double CART, Long Beach Grand Prix champion, 15 wins in American open-wheel racing, and Paralympic handcycling champion
Hinchcliffe, JamesJames Hinchcliffe	Canada	2023	Won the 2010 Indy Lights race at Long Beach and the 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Hunter-Reay, RyanRyan Hunter-Reay	United States	2023	Winner of the 2010 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the 2012 IndyCar Series title and the 2014 Indianapolis 500
Legge, KatherineKatherine Legge	United Kingdom	2024	First woman to win a major North American open-wheel car race with her victory in the 2005 Long Beach Atlantic Championship event and was the first female Champ Car race leader in 2006.
Sato, TakumaTakuma Sato	Japan	2024	Double Indianapolis 500 winner who won the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach, becoming the first Japanese racer to win an IndyCar Series event.

Inductees by Nationality

Inductees by nationality

Nationality	Inductees
United States	24
United Kingdom	3
Australia	2
Brazil	2
Canada	2
Colombia	1
France	1
Italy	1
Japan	1
Mexico	1
Spain	1

More About Racing Halls of Fame

• International Motorsports Hall of Fame
• Motorsports Hall of Fame of America