Paul Tracy left Long Beach as the championship leader, fittingly so for the 2003 Champ Car World Series Champion. However, Paul Tracy’s masterful drive of the Long Beach circuit was probably not nearly as important as what was going on off the track.

More significant are the people in attendance who gathered more attention than the bright blue Indeck Forsythe Champ Car. Tom Cruise made a guest appearance courtesy of Paul Newman. Cruise got to ride passenger with Roberto Moreno in the Champ Car Back Seat Driver, and being there first hand, I can tell you Moreno didn’t go easy on “Cole.” Cruise would then be accompanied by his two bodyguards and girlfriend in the Newman/Haas pit-box for the beginning parts of the race.

After Cruise left, Sir Paul McCartney decided to stop in, as yet another guest of Paul Newman. Newman was on Larry King Live the night prior, to be interviewed by McCartney’s wife, Heather. It was a great sight to see the celebrities turn out for the race, and begs to ask the question; “If Champ Car is good enough for Tom Cruise and Sir Paul McCartney, is it good enough for you?”

Even more importantly, Lee Kunzman from Hemelgarn Racing was in attendance of the Long Beach event, where that team is said to have finalized their paperwork to see to it that they will be racing in the Champ Car World Series come May 23rd in Mexico. Hemelgarn is expected to field one entry for Michael Valiante with sponsorship coming from Delta Faucets. Yes, the purple people eater will be back! The question I have is why would Hemelgarn Racing miss the opening round, and the biggest American event in Long Beach, California and open their season in Mexico, despite the American sponsor?
Also in attendance were Las Vegas officials hoping to finally secure a deal to see the Champ Car World Series race around Mandalay Bay in the streets of “Sin City.” The original idea is to hold the event in conjunction with the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show. However, two problems arise with that possibility. One, SEMA’s date conflicts with the Mexico City race, and would Champ Car really want to hold an event while SEMA is going on or after SEMA? I’m not sure it makes total sense to hold the event while one of the world’s largest autoshows is going on. However, it would make sense to hold the event the week after or before, so Champ Car teams can entertain potential sponsors. Vegas would take care of one TBA, so what’s the other TBA?

“We don’t want to release anything that’s not 100% finished,” said Kevin Kalkhoven. “We have to be sure that all of the T’s are cross and I’s are dotted before we announce anything.” Rumors for the second TBA have ranged from the Fontana road course, all the way to a street race in Durban, South Africa.

In a more interesting development that happened in Long Beach, Ford officials have opted to not renew the engine contract with Champ Car, which was due on April 1st. However, I see this as a positive manner, because this could have a very distinct possibility that the old contract called for an exclusive to Ford. Well, Champ Car is said to be in close talks with BMW, Nissan, and Hyundai regarding the production of the new Champ Car engine formula. This would allow Champ Car to properly structure an agreement with Ford, to ensure the possibility of new engine manufacturers entering the series.

Rumored to be in attendance of the event was none other than Tony George. Nick Rodriguez, a Champweb.net reader, took the picture above at the event. Is that Tony George sitting there with the straw hat on, watching KangarooTV, or is that one of George’s impersonators who was hired while George made the trip to Motegi, Japan?

I must say that Bobby Rahal has some serious balls. Not only did Rahal park his hospitality unit in between Newman/Haas and Dale Coyne Racing in the Champ Car paddock, Bobby Rahal himself decided to drop by Sunday morning for the Toyota Atlantic race, where Rahal still fields two cars. Yes, it’s true that Rahal was booed from the stands, but what I found more interesting is the quote from Rahal when he decided to take his team to the Indy Racing League. “This was a business decision, and we must go where my sponsors want me to go.” I’m confused, do Rahal’s sponsors want him in the Champ Car paddock in Long Beach or in the Indy Racing League’s paddock in Japan?

The hot rumor coming out of Southern California was the sponsorship of the Grand Prix, itself. The rumor on the table is that Tecate is interested in striking a deal with the Long Beach administration and Champ Car for a ten-year multimillion dollar deal that would see Tecate replace Toyota as the title sponsor of the event. Tecate was all over the event this year, with sponsorship of the concerts, not to mention the hundreds of Tecate banners spread throughout the track. It would be a perfect fit, but the question is, will Toyota let this happen?